Polish Carpathian Mountain cream cake

vegan, sugar free
NO SORRY CHRISTMAS IS COMING💗🎄

This Polish Carpathian Mountain cream cake recipe is known as karpatka. It's a peasant version of the more refined kremówka, which is made with puff pastry. 

Karpatka is made with the same type of dough used to make cream puffs and éclairs, known as pâte à choux in French. When dusted with confectioners' sugar, the dessert takes on the look of the craggy, snow-capped Carpathian Mountains, hence its name. In addition to the filling below, karpatka can be filled with easy pastry cream.

Ingredients:

1 cup water
125g unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
5 large eggs 
1 teaspoon baking powder

Filling: 
1 cup whiping cream
icing sugar

Garnish:
confectioners' sugar

Method:

Heat oven to 200 C.Grease two baking trays (20cm x 30cm) with butter and flour.

In a medium saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil. When butter has completely melted, remove from heat and, using a wooden spoon, add flour all at once. Return to stove and stir over low heat for 2 or 3 minutes or until dough cleans sides of pan and forms a ball.

Remove from heat and stir in baking powder and eggs one at a time, beating well, either by hand or with an electric mixer, after each addition. The batter should be smooth and glossy and cling to the spoon. Divide the dough into two exact portions.

Pour dough into prepared baking trays, but don't smooth it out. You want the finished top to look like a rugged mountain. Bake 25 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack before filling.

Filling:Pour the cream into the chilled bowl. A good rule of thumb is 2 tablespoons of sugar for every cup of cream, though feel free to adjust the sweetness to your own taste. 

Tip: If you’re in a hurry, powdery confectioners’ sugar dissolves faster than the granulated variety.

Beat the cream until it begins to thicken. You can whip until the cream makes stiffer peaks if desired, but be careful: You don’t want to turn the mixture to butter.

Spread filling over one sheet of pastry and cover with the other sheet. Sprinkle with icing sugar and chill.


I’d love for you to keep in touch! You can enter your email address right here to get new recipes sent to you twice per week. Join me on Facebook and Instagram!!