Sharlotka or Russian Apple Cake

Last week, my older daughter was learning about Russia in school.  I was asked to bring in some Russian desserts.  After a while of digging, I realized that several Russian dessert recipes were similar to Polish dessert recipes.

One example is Sharlotka.  The Russian Apple Cake.  In Polish, it would be a Szarlotka.  The pronunciation is almost identical, the subtle difference being that in Polish, there are more variations to the "S" sound than there are in Russian.  The "Sz" in Szarlotka is just slightly different, with the sound of the "Sh" coming from between your bottom front teeth instead of the top front teeth as a "Sh" sound does.

While the pronunciation is almost identical but not exactly the same, the same can be said of the recipes for these two versions of an Eastern European Apple cake.  There are also versions of this cake in the Czech Republic, Ukraine, and other countries.  In the Eastern European culinary world, there are also countless other cakes and desserts using apples.

Another interesting note, it is possible that the all American apple pie may actually have it's origins in some sort of version of this cake.

This recipe is extremely easy and once you make it, it will become a family favorite.  My family always eats the entire cake the day I make it and I know yours will as well.

Forgive the poor quality photo taken with my phone, I was baking four different desserts and had little time...

Ingredients:

4 large Granny Smith or other tart Apples
3 Eggs
1 cup unbleached Flour
1 cup Sugar *
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/ teaspoon Ground Cloves


Optional: 

* Try this recipe with Raw Sugar for a subtle variation to the sweetness.  I make it with Raw Sugar or 1/2 table Sugar, 1/2 Brown Sugar and prefer it that way;

1 teaspoon Lemon Juice, if you like, mixed with apple slices;

Try with cinnamon instead of cloves;

Try mixing Raw Sugar with the apples before layering in cake pan.





Grease cake pan with Butter.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash, peel, core and thinly slice apples.  If using cloves, raw sugar or lemon juice, mix with apples. 

Layer apples in bottom of cake pan in whatever pattern you want.

In mixing bowl, mix together Eggs, sugar and baking soda.  Add in Flour and mix well.  Texture should be like fork blended sour cream. 

Pour on top of apples.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes until golden brown.

Allow to cool, then turn over onto plate.

Smacznego!

Related Posts:

Placek, Kuchen, Coffee Cake, Delicious

My First Plum Cake Ever

Take Apricot, Add Potato, Make A Kid Smile

Rice Keugel

Dandelion Soup Disaster and Wafle

Yesterday, I had a culinary disaster and a culinary success.  The Dandelion Soup was terrible, the Wafle was perfect as usual.

Dandelion Soup

Spring is here and with Spring, come particular recipes.

Dandelion Soup is one of them.  In Polish, it would be Mlecz (pronounced Mleh-ch), or more technically, Zupa mniszek lekarski (pronounced Zoopah Mnih-shehk Leh-kar-skee).

But first, a Polish Mama History & Nutrition Lesson:

Dandelions are native to Poland, and the rest of Europe.  The seeds were accidentally brought over by European settlers when they first came to the Americas.  This is a part of what is known as the Columbian Exchange.

Dandelions are called "Mniszek Lekarski" because it is considered to have medicinal properties.  I'm not a linguist, but it translates to "Nun's (or Monk's) Medicine".  I believe this might be in part to do the fact that Dandelion was used for medicinal use in the Dark Ages, at a time when Doctors tended to also be Monks, etc.  Of course, women in the lower classes also used the same medicines but were persecuted as witches for possessing the same pharmaceutical knowledge but not being in the same upper social classes or treating those in upper social classes.

Here is a link showing how Dandelion is used for kidney and liver issues.

Dandelions are high in Vitamin A and C.  Dandelion in various forms is used to help women ease menstrual cramping, mastitis, help with breast milk production, along with helping lower blood sugar levels.

On the the Dandelion Soup Disaster...

Ingredients:

3 large bunches of Red Dandelion leaves, washed and chopped
1 Leek, thinly sliced
1 Carrot, top on, peeled and sliced
2 thermapaks of Chicken Broth
2 Ribs of Celery, diced
2 Bay leaves
3-4 Potatoes, peeled and diced
Sour Cream to garnish
Salt and Pepper, to taste


Cook.  It's soup, put it all in the pot together, and boil until the potatoes are done. 

Photo of the stock before adding in the Dandelion leaves...

Normally, I would end this with a Smacznego, but...

Somewhere, this went horribly wrong.  The soup is supposed to have a pleasant sour-bitter taste.  Instead, the dandelion taste was so overwhelming that the only way to describe it is if you were to try to swallow powdered aspirin and it coated your tongue.  It was so difficult to eat, none of the children could swallow one bite and I only got in about 5 spoonfuls while telling myself that it is good for women.

My Tato took one sip to try it after I told him it was terrible.  He loves dandelions on occasion and was looking forward to trying my soup.  His words were "No, something is really wrong with the zupa."

I'll be trying again today.  Wish me luck!

In the meantime...

Wafle

Wafle is a quick way to say Torcik Waflowy, or Waffle Torte.  Wafle is an easy cake to make.  When you need something fancy, delicious, inexpensive and not complex, Wafle is a great option because you can still make a great impression with minimal work.

Ingredients:

1 package of Wafer sheets

For Filling, use any combination of Preserves (rose hip, raspberry, apricot, other fruits that you like), hazelnut cream, chocolate cream or frosting, white frosting, melted chocolate

For Garnish, use shaved chocolate, berries, drizzled frosting, crushed walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts

It's not the prettiest I've ever made but the kids were helping me, so it was even more Pyszny...

Lay down a paper doily on the surface you plan to serve the cake, since it can sometimes be difficult to move the cake once it's done.

Lay down a wafer sheet.

Smear a layer of filling.

Lay down the next wafer sheet, and continue until the last sheet has been placed on top.

Do not top the cake yet.  Use a heavy book or board to press down on the cake and refrigerate for about 2 hours.

Remove the heavy object.  Top the cake with a final layer.  Garnish.

Serve to your guests.

I used apricot preserves for all but the middle layer, which was a hazelnut spread.  The top was a chocolate spread garnished with crushed hazelnuts.

Smacznego!

Related Posts:

Creamy Cauliflower Soup or Zupa Kalafiorowa

Mazurek Krulewski

Apricot Potato Dumplings

Beef Kidneys, A Culinary Disaster

Easter Cake - Mazurek Krolewski

If you are looking for an Easter cake recipe to make this year, please check out the Embassy of Poland, Washington DC's Easter newsletter for my recipe and many other useful stories.

The recipe is a bit time consuming but well worth it.  Easter in Polish culture is traditionally about the coming of Christ, the end of Lent and fasting, the coming of Spring and all the celebration this entails.

A Mazurek Krolewski (pronounced Mah-zur-ehk Krool-ev-skee) is typically made with almonds and decorated with chocolate, jams, berries, various nuts, powdered sugar, whatever your family enjoys.

I topped our Mazurek this year with a chocolate glaze, royal icing, sliced strawberries and crushed hazelnuts.

As I was preparing to decorate it, my six year old informed me that the theme for this year's cake was "April Showers bring May Showers" and I went from there.  Typically, I decorate with a raspberry jam, powdered sugar, raspberries and dots of chocolate glaze, but I love having my children involved in cooking and keeping them excited about a tradition.

Since my 2 year old ate some of the decorated cake, we will be decorating another one for Easter.

Smacznego!




Related Posts:

I Am Raising Two Future Foodies

Wesolych Swiat i Allelujah!

Polish Stuffed Eggs in Shells or Jajka Faszerowane w Skorupkach

Teaching Children About Poland

Polish Cheesecake or Sernik

I was asked on Facebook by Chrystal if I knew of a recipe her mother in law remembered.  It was a cheese pie made with farmer's cheese.  Sernik (pronounced Sehr-nyeek) is Poland's very popular version of cheesecake, using Twarog or Farmer's Cheese.

I originally meant to make the version my Babcia's recipe describes.  It involved doing something that I think is secretly quintessential to Polish foods-stuffing it.  In the original recipe, raisins and almonds are in the cake.  Hence, stuffing it.


However, after such wonderful help from my toddler at the extremely packed grocery store, I became distracted watching her concentrated face as she focused on putting sour cream, milk, and other items into the shopping cart for me and jumping "I big helper!" each time.  And forgot to purchase the raisins, which we buy quite often but are the snack of choice in my house.


So, you will forgive me as the finished product does not have raisins (and therefore, almonds since I think they should go hand in hand in this recipe).  But I will share the recipe as it is written with the raisins and almonds in it.  The pictured version below has chopped prunes instead-another delicious substitution.


Also, there are other equally lovely versions of this recipe which involve more separating and mixing of the eggs and other ingredients.  But this is the easy version my Babcia shared with me.  It is thicker because you are not adding any whipped egg whites or leavening agents, such as baking soda. 


Sernik covers a range of versions, from light, fluffy souffle like to thick and rougher textured but equally delicious and sweet versions.


Sernik can also have a crust or not.  I personally like mine crustless.


I will share another version that is light and fluffy in a week or two.  I will also make it with a crust, in case you would like to have it that way.



Ingredients:


2 pounds Twarog *
6 Eggs
6 tbsp. Flour
1 1/3 cup Sugar
4 tbsp. Butter
1/2 cup Raisins**
1/2 cup Almonds***
up to 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract (you might have to experiment with how much you prefer)
3 tbsp. Orange Zest



Crumble the cheese well.  Add eggs and sugar.  Mix well together.

Soak raisins in hot water for 10 minutes to plump up.  Dry and coat with the flour.

Add raisins, flour, almonds, orange peel, vanilla to the filling mixture.

Add warm melted butter.  Mix well.

In a greased springform pan, pour the filling and spread evenly.

 

Bake for 1 hour at 300 degrees.

Let sit a few minutes before removing from pan and cutting.

You may melt chocolate and drizzle it on top.  I prefer whipping cream on mine and fresh berries.

Smacznego!





Notes:

*  The recipe originally calls for 1 kg Twarog, which is 2.2 lbs but I just rounded it to 2 lbs.

You can use ricotta cheese or small curd cottage cheese instead, but it must be very well drained and not soured. 

You could also make your own Twarog, which I personally have not yet done myself but plan to do in the next few weeks as a fun experiment with the kids.  I think, however, that you would probably need to get real fresh unprocessed cow's milk for it to be truly successful.


**  The recipe originally calls for using a Vanilla Bean instead of Vanilla Extract, but I've had difficulty locating it out here on the prairie.  I'm sure that closer to the city, you could find it more easily.  I did, at one point, find it for $9 for one bean, which to me is just extremely high.

If you decide to use a Vanilla Bean, you will have lovely black specks throughout the cake, which to me, look more authentic.  Just slice in half and scrape out the seeds and add to the dough where the extract is used.

You can also use Vanilla Sugar instead of the regular sugar and vanilla extract or vanilla bean.



***  You can either soak the whole Almonds in hot water for 10 minutes and then skin, or use sliced or slivered Almonds.  Your preference.





Related Posts:

Farmer's Cheese Spread or Pasta Twarogowa

 Placek, Kuchen, Coffee Cake, Delicious

A Christmas Gift Idea-Vanilla Sugar

Vanilla Sugar, or Cukier Waniliowy (pronounced Tsook-ee-er Van-eelov-ih), is a great homemade gift for Christmas.

With Christmas coming in just a couple of days and the stores loaded with gifts that often times just don't quite suit the loved one you are shopping for, a homemade gift can be a great idea instead. 

Vanilla Sugar can be made and gifted to your child's school teacher, mailman, your neighbors, your Babcia, anyone.

You can make it with two different types of Sugars.

Powdered Sugar is perfect for dusting on cakes and cookies.

Granulated Sugar is perfect for flavoring coffee, adding to baked goods instead of plain sugar, and other drinks.

Make it a week or two ahead, if you have time.  If not, you can let the recipient know to wait a couple of weeks to let the flavors develop more. 


Place it in a pretty jar with a ribbon and a note that when the sugar starts running low, to just add more sugar.  The vanilla pods will keep flavoring the sugar until they lose their scent.


Ingredients:

1-3 cups of Sugar
2-3 Vanilla Pods



Cut up the Vanilla Pods into 1/2" to 1" chunks (that way, the flavor is released but they are still large enough to be noticed and not accidentally taken out of the jar with a tablespoon of sugar).

Place in a pretty jar.  Add sugar.  Mix it up.

Keep in a cool, dry place with the lid on tight.

Smacznego!



Related Post: 

Polish Hunter's Seasoning or Przyprawa Mysliwska

Nalesniki z Serem or Polish Crepes/Pancakes with Cheese

Placek, Kuchen, Coffee Cake, Delicious

A recipe that my mother sometimes made when I was a child called Placek (pronounced pwah-tsek and basically means a yeast cake) was always for eating with coffee with friends while the children snacked on fresh fruits. 

I would always be envious of those Polish Mamas at the thought of them getting to eat such tasty sugary treats while we children would nibble on fresh peaches we had bought at the local farm.  Of course, the peaches would end up being delicious and extremely juicy and we would all end up outside enjoying the tastes and laughing as peach juice would run off our chins and down our arms.

My brother would always end up flinging his arms around and trying to direct the mess in my direction.

When the guests would leave, my brother and I would each get a piece of the Placek my mother had made and I would drink "coffee" (weak tea with sugar and milk).

This recipe makes 2 cakes so you can top each with different fruits or cheese.


Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose unbleached Flour
3/4 cups whole wheat Flour *
1 package active dry Yeast
3/4 cup Milk
1/3 cup Butter
1/3 cup Sugar
1/2 teaspooon Salt
2 Eggs
1 beaten Egg
3 tablespoons Half and Half (light cream or milk or evaporated milk would also work)
1 cup Sugar
2-3 cups thinly sliced Fruit (plums, peeled apples**, peaches) or
2 cups Cottage Cheese, Ricotta Cheese, or Twarog
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon or 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves, if using fruit


For Dough:

Combine 1 1/2 cups of flour and the yeast.  Set aside.

In a saucepan, heat and stir the milk, butter, 1/3 cup of sugar and salt until warm and the butter is almost melting (120 to 130 degrees).

Add warmed milk to flour mixture.  Add the two eggs.  Mix well together with spatula or wooden spoon for about a minute.  Beat with mixer on high speed for 3 minutes.  Remove from mixer and add in the remaining flour with a wooden spoon.

Divide flour in half.  Be sure to grease your fingers a little bit with oil to avoid the dough sticking to your skin.  Press each piece of dough evenly into two greased baking pans (I used two glass 8 x 11.5 x 2 pans).  Make sure to press the dough up the sides a bit.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside somewhere warm until the dough is risen to double the size (about 45 minutes to an hour).



For Topping:

Combine the Half and Half and beaten egg in a bowl.  Stir in the 1 cup of sugar and the cinnamon or cloves, if using fruit.

If using fruit, arrange on top of raised dough.  Evenly spoon cream-sugar mixure over the fruit.

Plums (3 different varieties) called Placek ze Sliwkami

If using cheese (Twarog, etc.), mix into cream-sugar mixture and spoon evenly onto dough.

Cheese topped (I tried with cinnamon this time) Placek z Serem

Bake 375 degrees for about 20 minutes.  Allow to cool a few minutes before cutting.  The cream-sugar mixture will still look very wet on top but will soak into the cake as it cools.  Serve warm. 


Smacznego!





* The proportion between the all-purpose unbleached flour and whole wheat can be changed.  I have found this one over the years to work when serving people who don't regularly eat whole wheat bread and it has worked enough to make them change their minds and try whole wheat after that.

** Apples should be peeled, cored, sliced and simmer in water for about 2 minutes covered until softened a bit.  Drain well and place on top of dough.  Be sure to use baking apples.

If you liked this recipe, consider making a donation

A Different Version of a Polish Poppyseed Roll

In my house, we love Makowiec so I decided to try this carrot version called Marchwiak (pronounced Mahr-veeahk). 

Let me tell you how I came across it, as it isn't a family recipe.  I was online looking for inspiration for what to do with the 20 lbs of carrots my husband recently bought.  I've already made a massive dent in it with my Polish twist on a stuffed carrot cupcake and a few other recipes.  This recipe I found on Milk and Pumpkin sounded interesting.

I used the recipe I had used 4 times before for the dough, which is a different version than the one Ewa from Milk and Pumpkin offers.  But I'm sure both doughs are tasty. 

I also was measuring out ingredients for the dough in the midst of dealing with my two daughters wanting snacks.  So, I accidentally measured out too little butter for my own personal taste.  I prefer 1 1/2 sticks of butter but instead used 3/4 of a stick. 

The dough was delicious, just not as buttery as I like.

I also split the filling into two rolls since I added raisins and a tablespoon of butter to the filling.  Next time, I will double the filling since my husband likes his rolls to have a more equal amount of filling to dough.

The children loved eating this and my father and husband both thought it was interesting and delicious enough to try again with the above modifications.  I will be adding this to our family recipes quite happily.



Ingredients:


Filling (per roll):

3/4 cup grated Carrots
1 handful Poppy Seeds
tablespoon of Butter
handful of Raisins, soaked in hot water or warmed rum for 10 minutes
1 Egg White


Dough (for two rolls): 

1 .25 oz packet active dry Yeast
1/4 cup warm Water
3 cups all-purpose Flour, unbleached
2 cups whole wheat Flour
1-2 tablespoon wheat germ or milled flax seed *
1 1/2 sticks Butter
2 Eggs
2 Egg Yolks
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1 cup Powdered or Regular Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoons grated Lemon Peel, if you like


Glaze:  (optional)

Powdered Sugar
just enough milk to be able to drizzle



Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Proof the yeast in the warm water and a teaspoon of sugar or flour for about 5 minutes.   You can skip this step and just add to the dough if you like as well.

Combine ingredients for filling.  Set aside.

Combine the two flours and wheat germ.

Cut the butter into the flour blend until the mixture resembles course crumbs.   Add the salt and sugar.

Mix in the yeast, eggs, egg yolks, sour cream, vanilla extract, and lemon rind.

Mix until it forms a ball of elastic dough, turn out onto a work surface and knead for 8-10 minutes (or use a stand mixer to knead for 5-8 minutes) until the dough is smooth and satiny.

Cut dough in half, roll each piece out into a rectangle, and smear with egg white (a tip from Milk and Pumpkin's recipe that I found to work well in helping to keep from having gaps between dough and filling.  My Ciocia said was something she did as well on the phone Sunday).

Place on baking sheet.

Add filling, allowing about a half inch to inch border around so that the dough is easy to seal.

Roll dough, seal well, place in a warm place covered with a moist clean kitchen towel and allow to rise for about 1 1/2 hours.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, until the exterior is golden brown. Allow to cool.  You can either serve as is or add a glaze.

Smacznego!



Notes:

Butter, Eggs, Egg Yolks, Sour Cream and all other ingredients should be at room temperature to help the yeast roll to rise better.

*I have returned to adding a tablespoon or two of either wheat germ or milled or whole flax seeds to all my dough recipes or to fillings. 
The reasons are because of the many added health benefits:  added fiber, protein, iron, vitamin E, folic acid, calcium, Lignans, Alpha-linolenic acid (Omega-3 fatty acid).  
Because the benefits are so many and it's so simple to add just a tiny bit and make a positive impact on our health, this Polish Mama would recommend this simple step to anyone. 
While these ingredients may seem expensive, you only need to add a very small amount and the benefits will make a large impact on you and your children's health for a long time. 



Other Recipes You Might Like:

Carrots in Cream Sauce

Cold Carrot Salad


Also, if you enjoy my recipes (and perhaps the stories, photos and other topics on my blog) it would be really appreciated if you donated whatever you felt comfortable with using the Donate using the PayPal button on my sidebar.  Every little bit helps.  Thank you.

My First Plum Cake Ever

I have always wanted to bake a delicious Plum Cake but never had a recipe for it. 

I recently found a Polish Plum Cake Recipe (Placek z Sliwkami) recipe by Barbara Rolek.

I changed the recipe a bit since I was short on some ingredients.

I used whole wheat flour instead of unbleached flour like I would typically use in a cake recipe.  I also only had 4 plums and a handful of blueberries.

Before baking...

Did you spot my mistakes yet?  I pushed the fruits too deep into the dough, used a much too small pan (a 11/5 by 8 inch pan), and did not have enough anywhere near the needed amount of plums (I used 5 instead of 40, big difference).

Probably because there was a significantly insufficient amount of plums in the recipe, the ground clove came across too strong and gave the cake almost a soapy flavor.  I plan to use just a tiny pinch less next time.

I also ended up baking it for much longer than the recipe called for since the toothpick I kept putting in was coming own with uncooked dough on it.  Which I am thinking perhaps having more plums in next time and having a larger pan might actually fix that next time.

Perhaps using the whole wheat flour isn't such a big deal, I'm not exactly sure.  I think that next time I will mix 1/2 and 1/2 with unbleached flour.

After baking...

And the slice I attempted to photograph while little hands kept grabbing it.

I cannot say the cake was not delicious.  The children kept eating it over the next 24 hours.  Actually, they decimated it.  Destroyed it.  Inhaled it.  Get the picture?  They loved it!

My husband, my Tato (Father) and myself?  We all enjoyed it as well.  But...

It was not the cake I remember my Babcia making.  Nor is it the plum version of the apple cake my cousin made for everyone the last time we were in Poland.  Perhaps with a bit of personal tweaking and my better following of the recipe, it will be.

Perhaps I will be lucky enough that my Babcia will remember long enough to mail me a copy of her recipe.

Smacznego!

Polish Strawberry Bread or Chlebek Truskawkowy

I love picking strawberries.  As long as I remember, my mother, brother,and I would go to a local farm and pick strawberries for hours.  We would go home and she would make strawberry compote, jams, breads, and all sorts of other delicious treats with the strawberries we would pick.

My children from only a few months of age would sit in strawberries fields with Mama as I would pick the ruby red jewels from between dusty green leaves, rinse them with a bottle of water I would bring and give them to my children to eat.  The berries would still be warm and sweet from the sun and we would always leave the fields with my children's faces painted red and smiling, sleepy from the sun.

We recently went berry picking for our first time here in the Midwest and I baked a favorite.  Chlebek Truskawkowy or Polish Strawberry Bread.

I baked two loaves and 20 muffins with this recipe (all 20 muffins disappeared in a day and a half).

They can be eaten plain, or with strawberry jam, butter, cream cheese, or my personal favorite, sour cream with a sprinkle of sugar on top.



Ingredients:

1 cup Butter
1 1/2 cups Sugar
5 Eggs
4 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Cinnamon, if you like (Vanilla Extract, Lemon Zest or even a berry Brandy or Rum could be also used for flavor)
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 cup Sour Cream
3/4 cup Walnuts, chopped (traditionally, this bread is made with hazelnuts or walnuts or plain)
1 pound of Strawberries, washed, trimmed of their caps


Preheat oven 350 degrees.  Grease and lightly dust with flour two bread pans and muffin tray (or use cupcake liners for muffin tray instead).

Place walnuts in a dry frying pan and roast on the stove for a few minutes to bring out their flavor.

Cream the butter in a mixer.  Add sugar and cream more.  Add eggs, one at a time until well combined.

In a large bowl, combine thoroughly flour, cinnamon (if using a wet flavoring, add into the butter mixture instead), salt, baking powder, baking soda.

Add the flour to the butter mixture, a bit at a time to avoid making a floury mess across your kitchen.

Add sour cream.

The strawberries can either be added gently whole or, can be mashed with a couple of tablespoons of sugar and then added gently in. 

Add the walnuts in gently.

Pour batter into pans and bake for approximately an hour.  Cool on wire rack.

Smacznego!

Polish Taco

My husband treated me to several "goodies" from our local Polish store this past Friday.  The owner called this a "Polish Taco".

The "taco shell" was like a large soft Nilla wafer, the filling was homemade whipped cream and slices of peach garnished with grapes.  I ate every.single.bite.