Karpatka Polish Mountain Cake

 

 

On a dreary day when there is no sunshine and it is snowing what do you do? You make a cake, a dessert or some soup. So I always try to draw some cooking creativity from Polish cusine. When I was in Poland and Ukraine I loved this cake. They have many versions of these custard filled pastries, unlike our dessert shops here. The thing that is more common there is that you will have this in someone's home versus a pastry shop. This is a peasant cake resembling the Carpathian mountains covered in snow. It has a puff pastry crust and delicious custard filling.  The puff pastry rising like a mountain range in the oven.  Absolutely gorgeous! No storebought pastry will tase as good as when you make this yourself. Easy recipe with normal ingredients. No running to the store to buy some 10 dollar bottle of something of which you only need a pinch. Unless of course you want an expensive bottle of red wine to wash it down....then run to the liqour store. Absolutely scrumptious looking and tastes as good as it looks. . Double yummo! Smaczny! Smaczny!

 

Ingredients

 

1 cup water

1 cup flour

1 Tsp. baking Powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup butter

5 eggs

4 cups milk

1 cup sugar

5 egg yolks

2 Tsp. vanilla

5 Tbsp. cornstarch + 5 Tbsp. flour

1 cup butter at room temperature

Icing Sugar

 

Bring 1 cup water and butter to boil. Add flour, BPowder and salt stiring quickly on low heat. Remove from pan and mix 1 minute until dough easily comes off walls of pot.

 

 

 

Set aside and cool.  Transfer to  a mixing bowl with whisk and one by one add one egg until smooth like butter.  Grease two 9 by 13 pans and lightly dust with flour. Patiently spread 1/2 mixture into each  pan until base of pan is covered.

 

Pop into a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 25 minures.  I used the top rack in my oven.

 

It comes out looking like the mountains.
Gorgeous!

 

While crust cooks, in a bowl whisk together 1 cup milk, vanilla, yolks and cornstarch and flour until smooth.

 

 

In a saucepan put the remaining 3 cups milk on medium until sides of milk get tiny bubbles..do not boil.  Add the sugar stirring quickly until well combined and melted. Slowly add the flour-egg mixture whisking consistently on low-medium heat until everything starts to thicken like a pudding.  Remove from heat and pour into a bowl and cover with saran so it doesn't form a layer of skin on top of filling.  Let cool. In a mixing bowl mix 1 cup butter and slowly add cooled custard to butter until well combined.

Remove one crust from pan and set on a wire rack.

 

 

 

  Line the  empty  pan with overlapping parchment paper.  Set crust back in pan. This is for easy removal later.  Spoon filling over crust in pan and cover with remaing crust pressing down gently.  I actually had to slice a bit of my high mountain top off before it spooned on the fillling. Cool in fridge for 2 hours.

 

 

 

 

 

Monster Meatballs and Chuckwagon Soup

 

Make a pot of Veggie Soup.

I used carrots, potatoes, parsnips, onions and celery.  Depending on how many veggies you use....add water to cover.  I like lots of veggies. Add 2 Tbsp. Veggie stock and simmer about 15 minutes. Then add 1 can diced tomatoes...simmer until veggies are soft . Season with salt and pepper. While soup is cookin',  I boil up some Wagonwheels and Alphabets pasta  in another pot.  I like to add these last with some fresh broccoli just to steam.  I make my meatballs in advance, freeze them,  and just pop them in the soup at the last minute to heat thoroughly.  Make buttered toast with Parmesan cheese sprinkled and a little bit of garlic salt and stick in oven to keep warm.Yummy on a cold day.