AI-generated image
Pańska skórka
Pańska skórka: chewy pink-and-white Warsaw candy sold at cemeteries on All Saints' Day
On 1 November the paths outside Powązki cemetery in Warsaw are lined with sellers in white coats breaking off chunks of pańska skórka from big pink-and-white blocks. The name means ‘lord's skin’, and the candy is chewy, sticky and pull-apart, like a firm marshmallow crossed with nougat, smelling of vanilla and a little lemon. It is made by whipping a hot sugar syrup into egg whites, so the whites cook as you go; pasteurised whites make it safer still. The usual slip is under-cooking the syrup, which leaves a mass that never sets. For the pink half, use a plant-based colouring such as beetroot powder, not carmine, which is not vegetarian. Chef's tip: use a sugar thermometer; 125 °C is the number that matters.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
- 14 oz sugar
- ½ cup water
- 3 ½ oz glucose syrup
- 2 egg whitespasteurised if possible
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp neutral oilfor the tin
- 2 tbsp potato starchfor dusting
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (2)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Brush a 20 × 20 cm tin with 1 tsp neutral oil, line with baking paper and dust with half the 1 tbsp potato starch.
3 minStep 2: Put 14 oz sugar, ½ cup water and 3 ½ oz glucose syrup in a heavy pan over a medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Then stop stirring and boil until a thermometer reads 250°F, about 12–15 minutes.
15 minStep 3: When the syrup reaches about 250°F, start whisking 2 egg whites with 1 pinch salt in a stand mixer until they hold stiff peaks.
4 minStep 4: With the mixer running, pour the hot syrup in a thin stream down the side of the bowl. Keep whisking for 6–8 minutes, until the mass is thick, glossy and only just warm, and pulls in long ropes.
8 minStep 5: Beat in 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1 tsp lemon juice. Spread half into the tin. Quickly mix ½ tsp beetroot powder or plant-based pink food colouring into the rest until evenly pink and spread it on top.
4 minStep 6: Dust with the rest of the 1 tbsp potato starch and leave uncovered at room temperature for 6 hours or overnight, until firm and no longer sticky on top.
1 minStep 7: Turn out and cut or break into pieces with an oiled knife. Keep in an airtight tin for up to a week.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 170 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 43 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pańska skórka take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 25 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.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of vanilla extract?
- Vanilla bean paste, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Baklava
The famous layered pastry: crisp sheets of buttered fillo sandwich a filling of almonds, pistachios and cashews spiced with cinnamon, cardamom and saffron. After baking, the hot baklava is soaked in a syrup of sugar, honey, lemon, rose and cardamom and decorated with almond and pistachio flakes. Cut into 40 diamonds; serve with fresh cream or ice cream.
Undu walalu
Walalu means bangles, and these dark, sticky rings of fried urad dal soaked in kithul treacle are a sweet that Sinhala families bring out for Avurudu and for special almsgivings, often made in large batches by an aunt known for her steady hand. A thick, fluffy paste of ground black gram is piped into loops and fried until crisp, then plunged straight into warm treacle, so the rings stay crunchy on the outside while drinking up the syrup. They taste a little like a darker, smokier jalebi, with a toffee finish from the palm treacle. Watery batter is what ruins them; it spreads into flat blobs, so grind the soaked dal with as little water as possible and beat it until light. This recipe uses no asafoetida, so it is naturally gluten free. Chef's tip: pipe the rings onto small squares of baking paper and lower them into the oil paper and all; the paper peels away in seconds.
Sri Lankan
Marquesitas
Evening in Mérida's Plaza Grande means the smell of marquesitas: thin batter pressed in hot hinged irons until crisp, then rolled like a cigar around grated Edam cheese and a sweet filling such as cajeta, chocolate-hazelnut spread or jam. Edam came to the Yucatán through the port trade with the Netherlands and became part of the local cooking, and the salty-sweet combination is the whole point. At home you can cook them in a thin, wide frying pan. Edam is usually made with animal rennet, so check the label or use a vegetarian Gouda-style cheese. Chef's tip: roll while the crêpe is still in the pan and hot; within seconds it hardens and will crack.
Mexican