Home recipe kuchnia polska

Christmas Gingerbread with Plum Jam

Name: Christmas Gingerbread with Plum Jam
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 140 min
Cuisine: kuchnia polska
Ingredients: 100 g butter; 60 g liquid honey (3 tablespoons; can be 40 g, which is 2 tablespoons); 2 tbsp gingerbread spice (about 20 g); 2 tbsp cocoa; 250 ml milk; 3 pcs eggs (size M); 200 g wheat flour (type 450 or 500); 200 g sugar; 1⅓ tsp baking soda; ¾ tsp baking powder; 250 g plum jam (or blackcurrant jam); 100 g semi-sweet or dark chocolate; 50 g butter (or 80–100 ml of 30% cream); walnuts or pecans, dried plums, almond flakes (optional)

A quick gingerbread made in a 20×30 cm pan with honey, cocoa, and gingerbread spice, layered with plum jam and covered in chocolate. Learn how to avoid drying out the cake, what to substitute for gingerbread spice abroad, and how to bake traditional aging gingerbread.

Servings: 16 kawałków
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 2 h 20 min
Difficulty: Easy

Stos kostek piernika z polewą czekoladową i całymi migdałami

The story behind the recipe

The name gingerbread comes from the old Polish word "pierny," meaning peppery. Wikipedia describes it as a sweet-spicy cake made from flour, honey, fat, and eggs, with strong spices: cinnamon, ginger, cloves, coriander, cardamom, nutmeg, anise, allspice, and pepper. According to Wikipedia, the oldest Polish mention is a document from Świdnica dated February 7, 1293, which mentions "Piperatas Tortas Facientes," the makers of pepper cakes. In the 17th century, gingerbread was sold in pharmacies as a remedy. It was a sign of wealth, and by the 19th century, it reached peasant homes. When honey was scarce, it was replaced with sugar beet syrup, dandelion syrup, or carrot.

The most famous are Toruń gingerbreads, first mentioned in 1380. Their predecessor was honey cake: honey came from hives around Toruń, flour from the Chełmno region, and spices arrived through Gdańsk. An old saying goes: "There are four best things in Poland: Toruń gingerbread, Gdańsk vodka, Warsaw tripe, and Kraków maiden." Toruń gingerbreads are not registered in the European Union as a protected name or geographical indication. However, there is a trademark "Toruńskie pierniki" belonging to the Confectionery Factory "Kopernik," the successor of the former factory of Gustav Weese.

In homes, two types of gingerbread are baked. The traditional one is made from dough that matures for several weeks in a cool place; according to Wikipedia, the dough for homemade Christmas gingerbread was traditionally prepared after St. Andrew's Day, a month before the holidays. This recipe is for a quick gingerbread: a soft dough made with milk and baking soda, baked the same day, layered with jam and covered in chocolate.

Ingredients

Dough (20×30 cm pan)

100 g butter
Abroad: unsalted butter
60 g liquid honey (3 tablespoons; can be 40 g, which is 2 tablespoons)
2 tbsp gingerbread spice (about 20 g)
Abroad: Germany: Lebkuchengewürz; UK, Australia: mixed spice; USA, Canada: pumpkin pie spice with a pinch of cloves and pepper
2 tbsp (about 11 g) cocoa
250 ml milk
3 pcs eggs (size M)
200 g wheat flour (type 450 or 500)
Abroad: Germany: Type 405; USA: all-purpose flour; UK: plain flour
200 g sugar
1⅓ tsp (about 8 g) baking soda
Abroad: baking soda; Germany: Natron
¾ tsp (about 3 g) baking powder
Abroad: baking powder; Germany: Backpulver

Filling

250 g plum jam (or blackcurrant jam)
Abroad: Germany: Pflaumenmus; Austria: Powidl; USA, Canada: plum butter or lekvar

Glaze

100 g semi-sweet or dark chocolate
Abroad: dark chocolate
50 g butter (or 80–100 ml of 30% cream)

For decoration

walnuts or pecans, dried plums, almond flakes (optional)

Method, step by step

If you don't have ready-made gingerbread spice, mix it from ground spices (proportions in the tips). Preheat the oven to 180°C, and line a 20×30 cm pan with baking paper.
In a pot over low heat, melt the butter with honey, cocoa, and gingerbread spice, stirring just until smooth. Do not let it boil. Remove from heat, pour in the milk, and mix to cool the mixture.
When the mixture is lukewarm, crack in the eggs and mix with a whisk.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, and baking powder. Pour in the mixture from the pot and mix on the lowest speed just until the ingredients are combined into a uniform, runny batter.
Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 25–30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. Turn off the oven and leave the gingerbread for 10 minutes with the door ajar.
Remove the gingerbread and cool completely on a rack. Once cooled, slice it horizontally into two layers.
Heat the jam in a small pot until it spreads easily; you can add a cinnamon stick and some grated orange peel. Spread the jam on the bottom layer and cover it with the top layer.
Prepare the glaze: break the chocolate and melt it with the butter over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth.
Pour the glaze over the gingerbread and spread it evenly. Before the glaze sets, decorate the gingerbread with nuts, dried plums, or almond flakes.
Set the gingerbread aside until the glaze hardens, then cut it into 16 pieces.

Tips

Dry gingerbread. The dough was baked too long. Check it with a toothpick after 25 minutes: if it comes out dry, the gingerbread is ready. Do not bake it longer "just to be sure."

Dense dough. The mixture of butter and honey boiled, or the eggs were added to a hot mixture. Melt the butter with honey only, and cool the mixture before adding the eggs and flour. Mix briefly, just until the ingredients are combined. The dough should be runny.

Glaze on warm cake. Only cover the gingerbread with chocolate when it is completely cooled.

Spice. Check the ingredients of the purchased gingerbread spice: it should not contain flour or sugar. Homemade spice is stronger, so use a little less. A simple homemade mix: 1 packet of vanilla sugar, 1.5 tablespoons of ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger, 1/3 teaspoon of grated nutmeg, and 1 teaspoon of ground cloves.

Other versions. Instead of jam, you can use blackcurrant jam or add a layer of marzipan. Instead of butter in the glaze, use 80–100 ml of 30% cream: heat it well but do not boil, remove from heat, add chopped chocolate, and stir until smooth. You can also bake muffins from the same dough, for about 25 minutes.

Traditional gingerbread. This is aging gingerbread. Honey with butter and sugar is boiled, cooled, and kneaded with flour, eggs, spice, and baking soda dissolved in milk. The dough rests in a stoneware or glass container, covered, in a cool place or refrigerator, for 2–3 to 5–6 weeks, so it should be made about a month before the holidays. The baked layers are filled with warm jam, wrapped, and left in a cool place for several days to a week to soften. Such gingerbread gets better with each passing day.

Storage. Quick gingerbread can be eaten the same day. Completely cooled, covered, in a cool place or refrigerator, it stays fresh for at least 4 days. Real honey helps it stay fresh longer.

Abroad. The closest substitute for gingerbread spice in Germany is ready-made Lebkuchengewürz. In the UK and Australia, you can buy mixed spice, and in the USA and Canada, pumpkin pie spice, but both mixes are milder and more cinnamon-flavored, lacking cardamom, coriander, and pepper, so add a pinch of ground cloves and pepper or mix the spice yourself. Plum jam: in Germany Pflaumenmus or Zwetschgenmus, in Austria Powidl, in the USA and Canada plum butter or lekvar, and in supermarkets also Solo Prune Plum Filling. In the UK and Australia, look for jam in Polish stores or use thick plum jam. Flour: in Germany Type 405, in the USA all-purpose flour, in the UK plain flour. For the glaze, use dark or semi-sweet chocolate.

Photos

Piernik przekładany pokrojony w kwadraty, z ciemną polewą czekoladową i płatkami migdałów

Kawałki wielowarstwowego piernika z polewą czekoladową i posiekanymi orzechami

Prostokątny piernik toruński odciśnięty w rzeźbionej drewnianej formie, w przezroczystym opakowaniu

Christmas Eve Cakes and desserts Polish cuisine Vegetarian Substitutes abroad

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