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Karpatka
Custard cream choux cake
Karpatka: Polish choux-pastry 'mountain' cake filled with vanilla custard cream
PolishNamed after the Carpathians, karpatka is the cake whose crinkled, craggy top looks like a range of snowy peaks once it is dusted with icing sugar. Two thin layers of choux pastry, baked flat until they puff into hills and valleys, sandwich a deep layer of rich vanilla custard whipped with butter. It is a fixture of Polish name-day parties and café counters, and children love the cloud-like filling. The usual slip is opening the oven early, which makes the choux collapse into a flat, rubbery sheet. Chef's tip: let the custard and the butter reach the same room temperature before beating them together, or the cream splits.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the choux
- 1 cup water
- 4 ½ oz butter
- 1 pinch salt
- 5 ½ oz plain flour
- 5 eggs
For the custard cream
- 3 ¼ cups whole milk
- 5 ½ oz sugar
- 2 ⅛ oz potato starch
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 7 oz buttersoft
To finish
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 400°F (350°F fan) and draw a 24 × 30 cm rectangle on each of two sheets of baking paper.
3 minStep 2: Bring 1 cup water, 4 ½ oz butter and 1 pinch salt to the boil. Tip in 5 ½ oz plain flour and stir hard over a low heat for 2 minutes, until the dough forms a smooth ball and a film forms on the pan base. Cool for 5 minutes.
8 minStep 3: Beat in 5 eggs one at a time until the paste is glossy and falls from the spoon in a thick V-shaped ribbon.
5 minStep 4: Spread half the paste thinly over each rectangle; it doesn't need to be neat. Bake one at a time for 25 minutes without opening the oven, until puffed into peaks, golden brown and dry. Cool on racks.
50 minStep 5: For the custard, heat 600 ml of the 2 ½ cups whole milk with 5 ½ oz sugar. Whisk the rest of the ¾ cup whole milk with 3 egg yolks, 2 ⅛ oz potato starch, 2 tbsp plain flour and 2 tsp vanilla extract, pour into the hot milk and whisk over a medium heat for 3 minutes, until very thick and bubbling. Cover the surface and cool to room temperature.
30 minStep 6: Beat 7 oz butter until pale, then add the cooled custard a spoonful at a time, beating until light and smooth.
6 minStep 7: Lay the flatter choux sheet in a tin or on a board, spread with the cream and put the craggier sheet on top, peaks up. Chill for 3 hours, until set, then dust with 2 tbsp icing sugar and cut with a serrated knife.
3 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 370 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 35 g
- Fat
- 23 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does karpatka take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 50 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
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