RECIPE : Piernik Cake - Polish Gingerbread Cake
I’m not the best baker in the world nor will I ever win a prize for the prettiest, best decorated cake; but I can bake and most of the time the cakes are pretty darn yummy.
Recently on a press trip to Poland promoting Poland Tastes Good, I visited the Muzeum Piernika in Torun and got to taste many varieties of gingerbread and even had a go at making a gingerbread ornament and decorating a gingerbread cookie with royal icing. Read about my visit here.
As was so taken with the gingerbread that I have tried making one at home. I’ve tried this recipe out a few times, modifying quantities and ingredients and adding my own wee twist and I am finally happy with the result.
It is quite a bread like cake as is Polish Piernik cake but it packs a punch with the spices and cherry vodka!
TARTANSPOON’S PIERNIK GINGERBREAD CAKE RECIPE
INGREDIENTS FOR THE CAKE
140g butter (salted or unsalted I don’t think it makes a difference)
300g honey
100g light brown sugar (I used Demerera but make sure you dissolve it thoroughly)
3 large eggs
365g plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
3 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground pepper
INGREDIENTS FOR THE FILLING
Dark Cherry Jam
Cherry Vodka
INGREDIENTS FOR THE ICING
225ml Double Cream
100g dark chocolate
40g milk chocolate (you can adjust the chocolate split depending on your liking of dark chocolate. I like dark chocolate but its quite bitter, so the milk chocolate added some sweetness)
1 tbsp honey
METHOD FOR THE CAKE
Grease and line two cake tins.
Pre-heat the oven to 140C.
In a saucepan, melt the butter, honey and sugar on a medium heat. Make sure it’s well dissolved and then allow to cool completely. I tipped the mixture out into a shallow dish to allow it to cool quicker.
In a bowl, sieve all the dry ingredients and mix them together.
Once the butter /honey mixture is completely cool, whisk in the 3 eggs. Please make sure the mixture is cool otherwise you’ll end up with scrambled eggs!
Add your wet ingredients to your dry ingredients and mix gently using a wooden spoon. Don’t over mix.
Pour the mixture into the cakes tins, dividing equal amounts into each tin.
Bake for around 20-25 minutes. You will smell when the cake is done as the aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg fills the air but do a quick cake bake check and pierce the cake with a skewer - if its ready it’ll come out clean.
Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool completely.
METHOD FOR THE ICING
Once the cakes are fairly cool, start to make your icing.
In a saucepan, place the chocolate, honey and cream and melt on a medium heat. Stir to combine the ingredients and allow an even melt.
Once melted, remove from the heat and allow to cool. As it’s cooling give the mixture a stir so that the icing doesn’t set. To ice the cake you want the mixture thick-ish but still runny.
FINISHING THE CAKE
Once the cakes are completely cooled, even them off by using a serrated knife to trim the top to make an even surface to allow for stacking.
Pierce the cakes with a skewer and soak the sponges with cherry vodka. The vodka will absorb quickly.
Now build your cake. Place the bottom layer on a cooling rack and top it with cherry jam. I love cherry jam so laid it on quite thick. Layer this on according to your own tastes and any jam can be used. I think plum is the more traditional jam to use, but I wanted to use the cherry vodka so hence the cherry jam.
Place your second sponge on top. You can make more layers of sponge and layer in the same way as the step above. I only made two layers.
Once the cake is built, it’s time to pour on the icing. Start in the middle of the cake, pouring the icing over the cake and work towards the edges. The momentum of the thick-ish icing will allow the icing to naturally drip over the sides and it should cover the whole cake.
The icing will harden more but not completely; but enough for you to easily cut through the icing and cake without it dripping everywhere.
Cut yourself a slice and enjoy!
