Piernik (Polish gingerbread)

Category: 

Dessert

Area: 

Polish

View Original

Ingredients

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

Instructions

Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease and line the base and sides of a deep 20cm cake tin with baking parchment. Put the honey, sugar and butter in a medium saucepan and cook over a medium heat until fully melted. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Put the flour and spices in a large bowl and mix everything together.

step 2
Once the liquid ingredients have cooled, whisk in the eggs. 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. 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. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 20 mins before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

step 3
Once cooled, use a large serrated knife to slice the cake into 3 layers. Spread the jam across the 2 bottom cake layers, then reassemble the cake and set aside while you make the glaze. 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. 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. Use a fish slice to carefully transfer the cake to a serving plate and allow the glaze to set. To decorate, dust with a little edible gold powder, if you like. Uniced, this cake will keep for up to 5 days. Once iced, enjoy within 3 days – just keep in the fridge, but remove before serving and eat at room temperature.