Carpathian Cake with Fruit

The Carpathian cake, also known as karpatka, is a popular Polish dessert made from baked dough and a creamy filling. It is named after the Carpathian Mountains because the dough rises in waves during baking, resembling a mountain range, and when dusted with powdered sugar, it looks like snow-covered peaks. The fruit filling makes the dessert very juicy, and the addition of fruit also pleasantly refreshes it.

Details

Preparation Time: 60 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: 1
Spiciness: 0
Number of Servings: 10

Ingredients

Dough

80 ml Milk, whole milk
80 ml Water
60 g Butter, unsalted
2 teaspoons Sugar, white
0.25 teaspoons Salt, table
100 g Wheat flour, white, multi-purpose
3 pieces Egg, fresh
pieces Powdered sugar

Sadni nadev

400 g Strawberries
pieces Sugar, white
1 teaspoon Koruzni škrob
pieces Water

Vanilijeva krema

500 ml Milk, whole milk
2 piece Egg, fresh
130 g Sugar, white
30 g Koruzni škrob
10 g Wheat flour, white, multi-purpose
10 g Vanilla, extract, imitation
170 g Butter, unsalted

Steps

First, we start preparing the cream. Pour milk into a pot and slowly heat it over medium heat until it boils.
Meanwhile, in another bowl, add eggs and mix them with sugar. Mix with a hand whisk until the eggs and sugar combine into a uniform mixture, then add cornstarch and flour. We should get a smooth and uniform mixture without lumps, into which we slowly pour the hot milk while continuously stirring.
Place the bowl with the egg mixture on the stove and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the cream thickens. Remove the bowl from the heat and mix in the vanilla extract. Pour the cream into a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Let the cream cool to room temperature.
While the cream is cooling, prepare the dough. Pour milk and water into a pot. Add butter, sugar, and salt, and place the pot on the stove. Stir until the butter and sugar melt, then let the mixture come to a boil.
Remove the pot from the heat and mix in the flour. Quickly stir to get a uniform and smooth mixture without lumps, then place the pot back on the stove. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, for another 1-2 minutes until a smooth dough ball forms that pulls away from the sides of the pot and the stove.
Transfer the dough to a bowl and let it cool for about 5 minutes. Gradually, one by one, mix the eggs into the cooled dough. It is important to mix well each time an egg is added so that the egg binds well with the dough. The dough should be completely smooth and without lumps.
Grease a round cake pan (20 cm in diameter) with butter, then line the bottom with parchment paper. Transfer half of the dough to the pan and spread it evenly with a spatula, smoothing the top. Bake the dough in an oven preheated to 190 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes. During baking, it will rise and form waves, resembling a mountain range. Repeat the baking process with the other half of the dough. Let both baked layers cool completely.
Prepare the fruit filling. Slowly boil the fruit, sugar, and a little water for a few minutes until the fruit dissolves. Add cornstarch, which has been smoothly mixed with two tablespoons of cold water, and cook for another minute while continuously stirring until a thicker mixture forms. Let the fruit filling cool.
Finish the vanilla cream by first creaming the softened butter in a larger bowl. Gradually mix in the cooled cream, spoon by spoon.
Finally, assemble the cake. Place one layer in the cake mold and spread about a third of the fruit filling on top, then spread the prepared cream over it, smoothing the top. Add the remaining fruit filling on top of the cream, then cover everything with the second layer. Store the dessert in the refrigerator for 2 hours before serving.
When serving the cake, remove it from the pan and dust the top with powdered sugar.

Nutrition Information (Per 100g)

Calories: 262.36 kcal
Fat: 16.89 g
- Saturated Fat: 9.9 g
Carbohydrates: 21.69 g
- Sugars: 11.94 g
Protein: 4.09 g
Fiber: 0.79 g