Karpatka, is a traditional Polish cream dessert. It is composed of choux pastry slices and filled with a light and creamy layer of vanilla custard cream.
I have the habit of going through Pintrest for inspiration to create a new cake flavor. During one of my sleepless night I stumbled upon this dessert: called the Karpatka (Polish's version of vanilla slice). I remembered how Jakub keeps telling me about this famous dessert and how its his all-time favorite.
Interesting fact: Karpatka is named after a long mountain range in the southern region of Poland, called Karpaty (Carpathian Mountains). Unlike the French Mille-Feuille this is made with Choux Pastry. It is said that the choux pastry gives the slice its trademark Carpathian shapes of ridges and valleys. Reading the recipe, it sounds like a giant cream puff/eclairs to me, and thats definitely a win.
Its almost sugar free - except for the dusting on top (which you can omit if you want) and the filling is light and airy, A perfect combo to the choux pastry sheets
I wanted to try something new, and I had the night free, so I decided to experiment. I'll try to simplify the recipe
Karpatka: Polish Vanilla Custard Slice
Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 30 mins
(Printable Recipe)
The Polish recipe calls for budyn, a powdered custard which might be tricky to find outside of Poland, so I used thick pouring custard instead. I used a 32 x 25 cm tray
Ingredients
For the choux pastry:
125g unsalted butter
1 cup / 125g plain flour
1 cup / 240ml milk
5 eggs
For the vanilla custard cream:
750ml thick pouring vanilla custard (see alt in n.b)
2 eggs
2 tbsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp plain flour2 tbsp cornflour
300ml thickened cream
To serve: icing sugar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 220C (200C fan forced, 425F).
To make the choux pastry:
To bake the choux pastry:
- In a medium pot bring milk and butter to a boil.
- Add flour and mix vigorously with a spatula - eliminating the flour lumps, until the mixture comes away from the sides and forms a ball. This should only take a few seconds.
- Transfer dough to a mixing bowl, add eggs one at a time and beat with an electric mixer until glossy and smooth.
To make vanilla custard cream
- Line tray with non-stick baking sheet. (optional: grease with butter)
- Spread pastry into a rough rectangle until the dough is only a couple of centimeters thick.
- Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
- When ready, remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray.
To layer vanilla custard slice: Use a sharp knife (preferably bread knife), cut the pastry in half, the two sides will be yor top and bottom. Spread custard cream over one layer, leaving a 2cm edge around and top with another pressing down gently. Trim edges if you want to get perfect squares. Otherwise skip this step if you prefer a more rustic look.
- While the choux pastry bakes, make the vanilla custard cream:
- Place cream into a mixing bowl and whip with an electric mixer until it's fairly stiff - be careful not to over beat as it will turn into butter.
- In a medium pot, combine custard, eggs, flours and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.
- Place over low heat and cook, whisking, until the custard thickens.
- move into a bowl and cover the bowl with clingwrap - to prevent skin to form. Cool to room temperature.
- Add whipped cream to the mixture and whisk through. Refrigerate
To serve: Use a sharp knife, cut the slice into 8 even squares. Dust with a little icing sugar and serve.
Nota Bene
- store the slice in the fridge and consume within 2 days. Bring to room temperature before serving. You may need to re-dust with some icing sugar.
- Alternative for thick custard cream:
- 1/4 cup custard powder
- 2 1/2 cups (625ml) milk
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar (optional)
Recipe adapted from Wholesome-Cook
Here's the end version of the Karpatka. And it's authenticity is approved by my Polish boyfriend (Yay!). For someone who dislike tedious desserts, I have to say this was easy-peasy.
- 2:25 AM
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