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Russian Cake “Muraveinik” (Anthill Cake)

Anthill or Russian Muraveinik cake is perfect with your morning coffee or evening tea. It tastes wonderful and is easy to prepare. Yum!

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I struggled to accept this Russian Muraveinik cake into my life. I fought against it and gave my husband a hard time for pushing to make it. He remembered having it from childhood. Hopefully it will bring back memories for some of you as well.

The cake didn’t seem very cute and the concept of an “anthill cake” was strange to say the least. Then I tried it. My sister, Svetlana also tried it and I wish to quote her: “That cake is bomb. It’s like a delicious cookie, coffee cake, scone, and biscotti in one. The poppy seeds give it a nice toasted flavor!” I agreed with her.

This Muraveinik is perfect with your morning coffee or evening tea. Enjoy this oddity of a cake. It does taste wonderful and, when sliced, I have to admit it is a little glamorous.

Ingredients for Muraveinik:

3 cups Canadian flour, sifted *measured correctly
1 stick of butter
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 pinch of salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vinegar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp poppy seeds for decoration

Muraveinik Cream Ingredients:

3 sticks butter at room temperature
1 can cooked condensed milk (click on the link for the how-to)
1/2 cup toasted chopped hazelnuts

Anthill Cake

How To Make Cake Muraveinik (Муравейник):

1. Sift 3 cups of flour into a large bowl and mix in butter using hands or Kitchen Aid paddle attachment until combined and crumbly. Add a pinch of salt

Anthill Cake-6

2. Beat 1 egg and 1 cup sugar in a small bowl with a whisk until pale yellow and well combined. Add to the flour mixture and stir with paddle attachment or spatula until well combined. Mixture should still be crumbly.

Anthill Cake-7

3. Pour vinegar over baking soda in a small dish and give it a quick stir. Immediately mix with sour cream and let it sit for 2-5 minutes. Pour sour cream mix into the flour mixture. Add more flour if needed to make sure that dough is not runny. It should be the consistency of cookie dough.

Anthill Cake-8

4. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for 1 hour to harden.

Anthill Cake-2

5. After 1 hour, break the dough into smaller pieces and feed it through the meat grinder using the large hole meat grinder attachment. Put dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Try to separate the strings of dough on the baking sheet. The more you spread it out on the dish, the easier it will be to break it into pieces later.

Note: if you don’t have a meat grinder attachment, divide dough into 4 parts, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze 1 hour, then grate your dough with a hand grater.

Anthill Cake-9

6. Place prepared dough in the middle of the oven and bake for 20 min at 350˚ F.

Anthill Cake-3

7. Remove from the oven, and let the cookies cool, then break them into small pieces. Place broken cookies in large mixing bowl and toss in chopped hazelnuts.

Anthill Cake-11

8. To make the cream, use an electric hand or stand mixer to beat softened butter until fluffy, then beat in cooked condensed milk until smooth. Pour cream over the cookie mixture. Mix everything together well.

Anthill Cake-10

9. This mixture makes one large or two small “anthills”. We made 2. Divide the dough in half. Form each mound or “ant hill” by firmly patting down the cake as you mold it. Sprinkle with poppy seeds, cover with plastic wrap and place the cake in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight before serving.

Anthill Cake-12

Serve cold with tea… or coffee and store it in refrigerator:D

Ant Hill or Russian Muraveinik cake is perfect with your morning coffee or evening tea. It tastes wonderful and is easy to prepare. Yum!

Russian Cake "Muraveinik" (Anthill Cake)

5 from 14 votes
Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients 

Servings: 10
  • Ingredients for Muraveinik:
  • 3 cups Canadian flour, sifted
  • 1 stick of butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp vinegar
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 Tbsp poppy seeds for decoration

Cream Ingredients:

  • 3 sticks butter at room temperature
  • 1 can cooked condensed milk
  • 1/2 cup toasted chopped hazelnuts

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl combine together 3 cups of sifted flour with 1 stick of butter until combined and crumbly. Add pinch of salt.
  • Beat 1 egg and 1 cup sugar in a small bowl with a whisk until pale yellow and well combined. Add to the flour mixture and stir with paddle attachment or spatula until well combined. Mixture should still be crumbly.
  • Pour vinegar over baking soda in a small dish and give it a quick stir. Immediately mix with sour cream and let it sit for 2-5 minutes. Pour sour cream mix into the flour mixture. Add more flour if needed to make sure that dough is not runny. It should be the consistency of cookie dough.
  • Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for 1 hour to harden.
  • After 1 hour, break the dough into smaller pieces and feed it through the meat grinder using the large hole meat grinder attachment. Put dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Try to separate the strings of dough on the baking sheet.
  • Place prepared dough in the middle of the oven and bake for 20 min at 350° F.
  • Remove from the oven, and let the cookies cool, then break them into small pieces. Place broken cookies in large mixing bowl and toss in chopped hazelnuts.
  • To make the cream, use an electric hand or stand mixer to beat softened butter until fluffy, then beat in condensed milk until smooth. Pour cream over the cookie mixture. Mix everything together well.
  • Divide the dough in half. Form each mound by firmly patting down the cake as you mold it. Sprinkle with poppy seeds, cover with plastic wrap and place the cake in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight before serving.

Serve cold with tea... or coffee and store it in refrigerator:D

    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: Russian, Ukrainian
    Keyword: Muraveinik" (Anthill Cake)
    Skill Level: Medium
    Cost to Make: $
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    Natasha Kravchuk

    Welcome to my kitchen! I am Natasha, the creator behind Natasha's Kitchen (established in 2009), and I share family-friendly, authentic recipes. I am a New York Times Best-Selling cookbook author and a trusted video personality in the culinary world. My husband, Vadim, and I run this blog together, ensuring every recipe we share is thoroughly tested and approved. Our mission is to provide you with delicious, reliable recipes you can count on. Thanks for stopping by! I am so happy you are here.

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    5 from 14 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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    Comments

    • irina
      October 2, 2012

      1 stick of butter

      Reply

    • irina
      October 2, 2012

      I made this cake last night and had it with my morning coffee. Wow its sooo good! I did however ended up using walnuts because my kids ended up eating the hazelnuts while I was making the dough! I toasted them and put them through the meat grinder instead. It came out amazing. But next tine in gonna have to try the hazelnuts. Cause you can’t go wrong with those! Thank you for the recipe I will Def be making this more often and I’m not much of a Baker LOL.

      Reply

      • irina
        October 2, 2012

        I forgot I don’t use Crisco so I used butter instead and it came out great.

        Reply

        • Natasha
          natashaskitchen
          October 2, 2012

          That’s what I’m planning to do next time. How much butter did you use?

          Reply

      • Natasha
        natashaskitchen
        October 2, 2012

        You’re welcome Irina 🙂 that cake does go really well with coffee or tea.

        Reply

    • NADIA
      September 20, 2012

      so 1 stick of crisco is 1/2 a cup?

      Reply

      • Natasha
        natashaskitchen
        September 20, 2012

        1 stick of Crisco is 1 cup.

        Reply

    • nina
      September 20, 2012

      we make this cake every holiday but our recipe is a little different. we never use Crisco. that stuff is the worst for the health. even margarine is not so great. we use butter which is much healthier and you can’t taste the difference.
      We make cookies this way:
      1 pack of butter (4 cubes)
      4 eggs
      1 cup of sugar
      1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
      5 cups of flour
      The rest is pretty much the same. except never tried it with hazelnuts.
      Natasha, tried couple of your recipes and loved them.

      Reply

      • Natasha
        natashaskitchen
        September 20, 2012

        Nina, Thank you!!! I was truly hoping there was a butter substitute recipe out there. I will be trying your recipe and updating my recipe accordingly in the future. Thanks again, I can’t wait to try yours. I’m not a superfan of Crisco either. In fact, I hardly ever use it.

        Reply

        • Olga
          November 18, 2013

          Natasha,

          Would this recipe be an exact substitute in terms of amount? Four cubes of butter seems like a lot… doesn’t it?

          Reply

          • Natasha
            natashaskitchen
            November 19, 2013

            Olga, what are you substituting in the recipe? Butter instead of Crisco? It’s kind of like a giant cookie and cookies require lots of butter. We have to test it out with butter instead of Crisco but some of my readers have had good success with sub-ing it.

            Reply

    • Svetta
      September 19, 2012

      Natasha, I just made this cake today. I had it once as a child in Russia and always remembered it. Thank you for posting this recipe! Do you know how to make this cake, I’ll try to describe it: Sour cream cake, once the cake is baked it is ripped apart then dipped in the cream and pieced back together to form a cake???

      Reply

      • Natasha
        natashaskitchen
        September 19, 2012

        I think I saw something similar on Olga’s Flavor factory blog. I’ll have to post something like that soon. It looks and sounds delicious 🙂

        Reply

        • lena
          December 27, 2014

          Sounds like the cake “kucheryavii pareni” (кучерявый парень:) that’s one you break into pcs and coat with sour cream/sugar/cool whip cream… Then pour chocolate syrup over top:))

          Reply

          • Natasha
            natashaskitchen
            December 27, 2014

            Russian/Ukrainian cake names are kind of hilarious, aren’t they? 😉 Boy oh boy that sounds good! Do you have a recipe for it?

            Reply

      • Luda
        September 24, 2012

        Svetta – I have a recipe for the cake you are asking about. I can e-mail it to you if you want.

        Reply

    • Tanya
      September 19, 2012

      My mother in law puts raisins in her cake and uses walnuts and it’s so good:)

      Reply

      • Natasha
        natashaskitchen
        September 19, 2012

        Raisins does sound really good. I wonder if craisins would work too?

        Reply

    • Oksana
      September 18, 2012

      This is the best cake ever. My aunt use to make when i was littla ed it. Thank you so much for the recipe. Cool idea thru meat grinde…

      Reply

      • Natasha
        natashaskitchen
        September 18, 2012

        Thanks Oksana. I’m glad it brought back memories for you 🙂

        Reply

    • Nadia
      September 17, 2012

      I love this cake! But I dont make it in 1 heap. I just lay it out in a pan, refridgerate it, then cut it into 1-inch squares and place them into mini cupcake cups. It’s perfect for a party!

      Reply

      • Natasha
        natashaskitchen
        September 17, 2012

        I think I like that even better! No cutting required. Thanks for the tip Nadia! 🙂

        Reply

    • Irina
      September 17, 2012

      Oh my … I was looking for a recipe for this cake. Thanks for posting!!! I can not wait to make it too … it is very yummy!!!! Thank you!!! Thank you!

      Reply

      • Natasha
        natashaskitchen
        September 17, 2012

        You’re so welcome. Since my husband had a hard time persuading me about this recipe, I know he is probably thinking “I told you so” reading your comment. 🙂

        Reply

    • Alena
      September 16, 2012

      What’s crisco and where do you buy your hazelnuts? By the way, you wrote beet instead of beat and peaces instead of pieces ( step 2 and 5). 🙂

      Reply

      • Natasha
        natashaskitchen
        September 17, 2012

        Fixed 🙂 Oh gosh I must have been editing that after a night shift! 🙂 I think our hazelnuts were from Winco. Crisco is a vegetable shortening that is commonly used in cookies and baking. I kinda wish there was a healthier alternative. If we discover something new, I’ll let you know. 😉

        Reply

    • vikulya
      September 16, 2012

      Do you think crisco may be substituted with margarine?
      Thank you:)

      Reply

      • Natasha
        natashaskitchen
        September 16, 2012

        Yes you can substitute it or do half crisco and half margarine

        Reply

    • jelena
      September 16, 2012

      i remember this cake too, and if im not wrong, my mom used to use cookies instead of making dough…i cant wait to make it!

      Reply

      • Natasha
        natashaskitchen
        September 16, 2012

        That’s an awesome idea! I love it and my husband thought so too. Maybe those vanilla wafer cookies would work well?

        Reply

    • Anna
      September 15, 2012

      very lovely, never tried this one before, looks quite delicious!

      Reply

    • Fedor
      September 15, 2012

      wow, need to ask my wife to make this one, it looks really good!

      Reply

      • Natasha
        natashaskitchen
        September 16, 2012

        🙂

        Reply

    • anna
      September 15, 2012

      wow, that is awesome looking, cant wait for you to make it again and let me try it! jk I need to get back into baking again, this gives me a little more motivation toward that direction! thanks looks delicious

      Reply

    • Victor
      September 15, 2012

      I remember this cake from Ukraine, my mom used to make it all the time during holidays, brings back memories 🙂

      Reply

      • Natasha
        natashaskitchen
        September 15, 2012

        Same story with my husband 🙂

        Reply

        • Irina M
          May 1, 2013

          lol my husband’s favorite too, he’s from Ukraine also 🙂
          Natasha, what’s Crisco Vegetable shortening? And do your cookies come out hard or soft? cuz mine come out hard and thats what I don’t like about this cake, will try your recipe!
          Thank You!

          Reply

          • Natasha
            natashaskitchen
            May 1, 2013

            Crisco is a type of shortening, found in the baking section at the grocery stores. But next time I will use 1 stick of butter instead of Crisco. Butter is a healthier than Crisco :).

            Reply

    • Natasha
      September 15, 2012

      That’s one of my favorite cakes:) I like to add a little bit more hazelnuts, you can’t ruin this cake with extra hazelnuts!
      Why didn’t you want to try it? Because of the name?

      Reply

      • Natasha
        natashaskitchen
        September 15, 2012

        You definitely can’t go wrong with more hazelnuts :D. I did was reluctant to make the cake, because I never had it before and it did not had the “looks” :). But it makes it up in taste.

        Reply

    • Ella
      September 15, 2012

      Is this similar in consistency to a chocolate kielbasa?

      Reply

      • Natasha
        natashaskitchen
        September 15, 2012

        Yes, it is similar, just slightly softer, but I think it actually might work in that form. It doesn’t have any chocolate in it though.

        Reply

    • Julia
      September 15, 2012

      It does look pretty glamorous. Your pictures are gorgeous. I would definitely like to eat what’s on that plate!

      Reply

      • Natasha
        natashaskitchen
        September 15, 2012

        Thank you Julia; doesn’t it? It’s my husbands very first cake creation.

        Reply

    • Dena
      September 15, 2012

      Beautiful cake. I don’t think I have ever seen anything quite like it.

      Reply

      • Natasha
        natashaskitchen
        September 15, 2012

        Thank you Dena! Me either! 😉

        Reply

      • Natasha
        natashaskitchen
        September 15, 2012

        I like your website by the way. Keep up the good work!

        Reply

        • Dena
          September 21, 2012

          Thank you! I appreciate you taking a look at my site. I am enjoying yours, too, and am now following your posts.

          Reply

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