Piernik (Polish gingerbread)

Dessert · Polish classic.

Ingredients

• 140g Unsalted Butter
• 300g Clear Honey
• 100g Brown Sugar
• 375g Self-raising Flour
• 3 tsp Ground Ginger
• 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Clove
• 1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp Pepper
• 3 Large Egg
• 200g Plum Jam
• 225ml Double Cream
• 140g Dark Chocolate
• 3 tablespoons Clear Honey

Method

1. Heat the pan — Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease and line the base and sides of a deep 20cm cake tin with baking parchment.
2. Heat the pan — Put the honey, sugar and butter in a medium saucepan and cook over a medium heat until fully melted.
3. Mix together — Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Put the flour and spices in a large bowl and mix everything together.
4. Whisk — Once the liquid ingredients have cooled, whisk in the eggs.
5. Mix together — Pour over the dry ingredients, whisking them together to form a smooth batter – be careful not to overmix as this can lead to a dry cake.
6. Bake — Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 50-55 mins or until risen and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
7. Continue cooking — Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 20 mins before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
8. Continue cooking — Once cooled, use a large serrated knife to slice the cake into 3 layers.
9. Continue cooking — Spread the jam across the 2 bottom cake layers, then reassemble the cake and set aside while you make the glaze.
10. Mix together — Put the cream, chocolate and honey in a medium pan and cook over a low-medium heat until the chocolate is melted and you have a smooth, pourable mixture.
11. Cover and cook — Put the cake on a wire rack set over a parchment-lined baking tray and pour over the glaze, making sure to cover the entire cake.
12. Continue cooking — Use a fish slice to carefully transfer the cake to a serving plate and allow the glaze to set.

More Poland recipes

• Beetroot & red cabbage sauerkraut
• Bigos (Hunters Stew)
• Bigos (Polish hunter's stew)
• Braised stuffed cabbage
• Challah
• Golabki (cabbage roll)