medivnyk
{{Short description|Ukrainian Dessert}}
{{Infobox prepared food
| name = Medivnyk
| image = Medivnyk - 2.jpg
| caption = Homemade medivnyk
| alternate_name = Medovyk
| country = Ukraine
| region = Galicia
| course = Dessert
| served = Ambient
| type = Cake
| main_ingredient = Buckwheat honey, flour, brown sugar, eggs, orange rind
}}
Medivnyk or medovyk{{cite book |title=Чікен Київ. Секрети київського куховарства |first=Олесь |last=Ільченко |publisher=Варто |year=2021 |isbn=9789662321517 |language=Ukrainian }} ({{langx|uk|медівник}}) іs a Ukrainian honey cake.{{cite book |title=A Taste of Russia: A Cookbook of Russian Hospitality |first=Darra |last=Goldstein |authorlink=Darra Goldstein |edition=3rd ed., rev. and updated, 30th anniversary |year=2012 |publisher=Russian Life Books |ISBN=978-1-880100-67-7 |entry=Ukrainian honey cake }}
According to food writer Marianna Dushar, medivnyk is a fundamental dessert of Lviv regional cuisine.{{cite web |url=https://panistefa.com/medivnyk-duzhe-dobryj/ |title=Медівник дуже добрий |date=20 Nov 2017 |work=Pani Stefa }} Polish-Ukrainian food writer Wiktoria Popin classifies medivnyk as a keks (a type of fruitcake).{{cite web |url=https://picantecooking.com/ua/recipes/keksi/starosvitskiy-medivnik/ |title=Про старосвітський медівник |first=Вікторія |last=Попін |work=Picante Cooking |date=3 Jan 2020 }} Medivnyk typically includes spices, nuts and raisins. Buckwheat honey is preferred to give the cake its distinctive taste.
Apart from the spongy cake, medivnyk in Ukrainian can also mean prianyk or pernik, a hard honey cookie.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/ukrainska0minuvshina/page/n91/mode/2up?view=theater |page=91 |title=Українська минувшина: Ілюстрований етнографічний довідник |section=Українська кухня |last1=Пономарьов |first1= Анатолій |edition=2 |location=Kyiv |publisher=Либідь |year=1994 |ISBN= 5-325-00592-8 }}
The village of Velykyi Bychkiv, located in the Rakhiv Raion, Zakarpattia Oblast, has a peculiar wedding custom. Instead of baking a traditional wedding korovai, they make an "embroidered" honey cake called medivnyk. This traditional bread is intricately decorated with ornaments resembling Hutsul embroidered shirts.{{Cite web |date=2023-05-08 |title=From ceremonial bread to popular delicacy: The story of medivnyk and its significance in Ukrainian culture {{!}} Ukrainian honey cake |url=https://ukrainian-recipes.com/from-ceremonial-bread-to-popular-delicacy-the-story-of-medivnyk-and-its-significance-in-ukrainian-culture.html |access-date=2025-02-10 |language=en-GB}}