What makes Eastern European cakes different from American cakes?
The difference is structure: these cakes are built from many thin layers instead of two or three tall sponges. In the tradition, each layer — honey dough, puff pastry, sponge — is baked on its own, stacked with cream, and then left to rest so the layers soften and the whole thing cuts clean.
That resting step is why the texture is what it is. Cream does the work that buttercream does in an American layer cake, and the outside is usually finished with crumbs from the layers themselves rather than a thick frosted shell. Cut a slice and you can count the stripes.
At New Level the cakes are made in-house daily and sold by the slice, which is the usual way to meet them: one slice, one coffee, no occasion required.
What is medovik, the Russian and Ukrainian honey cake?
Medovik is a honey cake made of many thin honey layers with a soft cream filling, traditionally sour-cream based. It is a classic across Eastern Europe, and it is the cake most people have in mind when they search for Russian cake or Ukrainian cake in Florida.
The honey in the dough gives the layers a deep caramel color and a gentle, toasty flavor; the cream keeps the whole slice soft rather than dry. It is rich without being sugary, which is why people who say they don't like cake often finish a slice of this one.
We have a page on the cake itself — Honey Cake (Medovik) in Pompano Beach — and a longer explainer on what medovik is if you want the background before you come in.
What is Napoleon cake?
Napoleon is the Eastern European version of mille-feuille: many thin puff-pastry layers with custard cream between them. Where the French pastry stays crisp and tall, the Eastern European Napoleon is meant to settle — the custard soaks gently into the pastry, so the slice is tender all the way through with just a little crackle at the edges.
It is the other cake people grew up with, the one that shows up at birthdays and New Year's tables, and it tends to win over anyone who finds medovik too honey-forward. There is more on it on our Napoleon cake page and in What Is Napoleon Cake?
What else is in the case besides medovik and Napoleon?
Honey & Raspberry is the third cake in this family on our menu — the honey tradition with raspberry worked in, so each bite has something bright against the cream. If you like medovik but want a little tartness, this is the one to try first.
Alongside them the case holds cakes that aren't part of the Eastern European canon at all: Pistachio & Raspberry, Strawberry, Chocolate & Blueberry and Snickers, plus a Strawberry Cheesecake Dessert Cup with cheesecake filling, strawberry sauce and cookie crumb, and cinnamon rolls in several flavors, including a Caramel Peanut Cinnamon Roll.
What coffee should you order with a layered cake?
Start with the coffee — New Level is a specialty coffee shop first, and the cake is what goes with it. A cappuccino is the safest match for medovik: enough milk to carry the honey, enough espresso underneath to keep the slice from going flat. Napoleon, with its custard, sits well next to an Americano, which stays clean and lets the vanilla come forward.
For Honey & Raspberry, or on a warm Pompano Beach afternoon, an iced latte works better than anything hot. If you'd rather not think about it, an espresso and any slice is a complete plan.
One guest put the coffee this way: "I stopped there just to grab a quick coffee, and now I honestly have a hard time drinking coffee anywhere else! The flavor is smooth, rich, and never burnt." — Nataliia, Google review. You can see the full lineup of espresso, cappuccino and latte or jump to the coffee section of our home page.
Where can you find Eastern European cakes in Broward County?
New Level Coffee & Bakery is at 698 East McNab Road, Pompano Beach, FL 33060, in north Pompano Beach, open every day from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Monday through Sunday. Phone: +1 786-606-1786.
Lighthouse Point is about five minutes away by car, and people come up from Fort Lauderdale and down from Deerfield Beach for the cakes and the coffee. We're a top-rated spot on Google, with dine-in and takeout both, so a slice can stay here with a cappuccino or travel home in a box.
If you want something savory with the coffee instead, there's Chicken Quiche and beef samsa as well.