Karpatka – Polish Carpathian Mountain cream cake

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In the Karpatka cake, thin, airy, crispy choux pastry bases meet a thick layer of delicate custard buttercream. Who can resist a large eclair with ice cream flavor? The Polish Carpathian Mountain cream cake is not only a highlight on the coffee table in terms of taste, but also visually. You can find a detailed Karpatka recipe with the exact quantities and step-by-step instructions below.

Karpatka recipe

What is Karpatka?

Karpatka is a popular cake in Polish cuisine. It consists of choux pastry bases and custard buttercream, which is also used to fill the cake “Ptichka”, the chocolate Spartak cake or the frying pan chocolate cake.

Traditionally, the Karpatka was supposed to consist of two different types of dough: the bottom base – shortcrust pastry, the top base – choux pastry. Nowadays, however, the cake is made exclusively from choux pastry in Polish pastry shops.

The cake got its name because of its appearance. Its surface is hilly and dusted with powdered sugar. It looks like the snow-covered Carpathian Mountains.

If you like choux pastry, try the cake “Damskie palchiki”, the choux pastry rings with quark, the mini cake “Konstantinovskoe” and the cream puffs.

Karpatka cake

Like a large eclair with ice cream flavor

The taste and look of the Karpatka cake is reminiscent of the popular eclairs. This cake also features the delicious combination of the fluffy, crispy choux pastry and the delicate, creamy custard butter filling, which is practically addictive. The cake cream also tastes a little like plombir ice cream.

Polish Carpathian Mountain cream cake with fruit

The Karpatka cake also tastes delicious if you add fruit to it. They give it a summery note, just like the cream puff cake with cherries or raspberries.

You can prepare the fruit filling using any berries, sugar and a little cornstarch, as I did with the raspberry filling for my lemon raspberry cupcakes. Spread the cooled fruit filling over the bottom cake base and then over the cream layer.

You can also refine the Karpatka cake with fresh fruit. Please note that you should then eat it within about 1 – 2 days.

Polish Carpathian Mountain cream cake

How to make the choux pastry bases

Heat the dough

After stirring in the flour, you must heat the dough. To do this, boil it, stirring and turning constantly, until it has separated from the base of the pan as a lump of dough, leaving behind a white skin.

Stir in eggs

Your choux dough has the right consistency when it is shiny and sticks to a wooden spoon in peaks. To achieve this, stir the eggs into the choux mixture one at a time. It is best to whisk the last egg in a small bowl and add it to the choux mixture in batches. You may not need the whole egg or you may need another egg.

Bake the cake bases

Under no circumstances should you take the cake bases out of the oven too early, otherwise they could collapse. They are done when they are golden brown. Do not open the oven door while they are baking. It is better to bake for a few minutes too long than too short.

Choux pastry cake with custard buttercream

This Karpatka cake is

  • heavenly creamy,
  • with thin, crispy choux pastry,
  • airy,
  • tender,
  • incredibly delicious,
  • aromatic,
  • with custard buttercream,
  • easy to make with common ingredients,
  • ideal for dessert during the week or for a party,
  • for all eclair lovers,
  • sweet classic of Polish cuisine.

Polish sweet specialty

How to make Karpatka: tips and tricks

  • The amount of eggs specified in the recipe for the dough may vary. It is best to whisk the last egg in a small bowl and add it to the choux mixture in batches. This is because you may not need the whole egg or you may need an extra egg.
  • You can spread the choux pastry unevenly in the baking tin. This will give the cake bases a nice “mountainous” look after baking.
  • Do not open the oven door while the cake base is baking, otherwise it could collapse. It is ready when it is golden brown in color.
  • You can adjust the amount of sugar for the cream to taste. Please note that the dough does not contain any sugar.
  • Butter and the custard must be room warm and both at about the same temperature so that they can combine to form a smooth cream when whipped. If the two components have a large temperature difference, the cream may curdle.
  • The Karpatka cake tastes best in the first two days or so. After that, it doesn’t go bad, but the choux pastry gradually softens.

Did you make the Karpatka cake using this recipe? I look forward to your result, your star rating and your comment below on how it turned out and how you liked it.

Try out these other recipes from Polish cuisine:

Karpatka recipe

Karpatka cake

In the Karpatka cake, thin, airy, crispy choux pastry bases meet a thick layer of delicate custard buttercream. Who can resist a large eclair with ice cream flavor? The Polish Carpathian Mountain cream cake is not only a highlight on the coffee table in terms of taste, but also visually. You can make the Karpatka at home with this recipe.
Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Cooling time 3 hours
Course Dessert
Cuisine Polish
Servings 10

Equipment

  • Ø 20 cm springform tin

Ingredients
  

for the dough

  • 60 ml milk
  • 65 ml water
  • 50 g butter room warm
  • 2 eggs German size L
  • 75 g flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt

for the cream

  • 500 ml milk
  • 160 g butter room warm
  • 2 eggs
  • 120 g sugar
  • 40 g cornstarch
  • 1 pinch of ground vanilla bean

for dusting

  • powdered sugar

Instructions
 

Preparation of the dough

  • Line the base of the springform tin with baking paper.
  • Cut butter into small pieces, put it together with water, milk and salt in a small saucepan with a thick base and bring to the boil briefly, stirring constantly. The butter must have melted before the mixture boils.
  • Remove the saucepan from the heat, immediately add the flour in one go and stir quickly and vigorously with a wooden spoon to form a homogeneous mixture.
  • Place the saucepan back on the stove and heat the dough over a high heat for approx. 1 - 2 minutes, stirring constantly and turning with a wooden spoon, until the dough has separated from the base of the pan as a lump, leaving behind a white skin.
  • Immediately transfer the hot dough to a clean mixing bowl and leave to cool to lukewarm.
  • Stir in eggs, one at a time, until the dough is shiny and sticks to a wooden spoon in peaks. It is best to whisk the last egg in a small bowl and add just enough to the dough in batches until it has the right consistency. The dough must be spreadable, never runny or firm.
  • Divide the dough into two equal portions, first spread one portion on the base of the springform tin and bake the cake base in a preheated oven at 374 °F (190 °C) for approx. 25 minutes until golden brown. Then bake the second cake base in the same way. If you have two springform tins of the same size (Ø 20 cm), you can bake the cake bases at the same time.
  • Leave the two cake bases to cool.

Preparation of the cream

  • Whisk eggs, sugar and cornstarch vigorously in a thick-bottomed saucepan to form a homogeneous mixture without lumps.
  • Pour in milk and stir.
  • Place the mixture on the stove, bring to the boil, stirring constantly, so that it thickens into a custard, and continue to cook the custard for 2 - 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
  • Stir vanilla into the custard and leave to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
  • Beat softened butter for approx. 5 minutes until light and creamy.
  • Add the vanilla custard in batches, beating each time to form a smooth, homogeneous cream.

Preparation of the Kapatka cake

  • Line the base and sides of the springform tin with baking paper.
  • Place one of the cake bases in the springform tin.
  • Spread all the cream on top and smooth it out.
  • Place the second cake base on top of the cream and press down lightly.
  • Chill the cake for at least 3 hours.
  • Remove the Karpatka cake from the springform tin before serving and dust with powdered sugar.

Notes

  • The amount of eggs specified for the dough may vary. It is best to whisk the last egg in a small bowl and add it to the choux mixture in batches. This is because you may not need the whole egg or you may need an extra egg.
  • You can spread the choux pastry unevenly in the baking tin. This will give the cake bases a nice "mountainous" look after baking.
  • Do not open the oven door while the cake base is baking, otherwise it could collapse. It is ready when it is golden brown in color.
  • You can adjust the amount of sugar for the cream to taste. Please note that the dough does not contain any sugar.
  • Butter and the custard must be room warm and both at about the same temperature so that they can combine to form a smooth cream when whipped. If the two components have a large temperature difference, the cream may curdle.
  • The Karpatka cake tastes best in the first two days or so. After that, it doesn't go bad, but the choux pastry gradually softens.
  • See the detailed tips and tricks for making the Karpatka cake at the top of the article.

If you are using Pinterest, you can pin the following picture:

Pin Karpatka

 

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