Piernik (Polish Gingerbread Cake)
Piernik is a traditional Polish gingerbread cake that is often baked as a Christmas dessert. The moist cake gets its deep flavor from a generous amount of honey and spices (there's no molasses at all). It's filled with layers of almond paste and Damson plum jam and glazed with a rich chocolate ganache. Finished with chopped pecans and crystallized ginger, this cake makes a spectacular addition to any holiday table.
Servings 10 slices
Equipment
Ingredients
Cake
- 113 grams (4 ounces; 1 stick) unsalted butter
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 150 grams (¾ cup) brown sugar
- 226 grams (⅔ cup) honey
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 Teaspoon ginger ground
- 2 Teaspoons cinnamon ground
- ½ Teaspoon cardamom ground
- ¼ Teaspoon cloves ground
- ¼ Teaspoon nutmeg ground
- ¼ Teaspoon black pepper finely ground
- 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
- 2 Teaspoons espresso powder
- 250 mL (1 cup) whole milk
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 180 grams (1½ cups) all purpose flour
- 90 grams (¾ cup) rye flour
- 1 Teaspoon baking soda
- 1 Teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ Teaspoon kosher salt
Fillings
- 160 grams (½ cup) plum jam
- ½ recipe (184 grams, 6.5 ounces)
almond paste (click for recipe)
Honey Chocolate Ganache
- 250 mL (1 cup) heavy cream
- 63 grams (3 Tablespoons) honey
- 140 grams (5 ounces) dark chocolate finely chopped (I used a 72% chocolate bar)
Toppings
- 40 grams (⅓ cup) pecans finely chopped
- 20 grams (2 Tablespoons) candied ginger finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
Piernik
- Line a 9 x 4 inch Pullman pan (or standard loaf pan) with parchment paper and include an overhang to allow for easy removal after baking. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit (177° Celsius, Gas mark 4). Place rack in center of oven.
- To a 3 quart (2.8 liter) saucepan, add butter, olive oil, sugar, honey, spices, cocoa powder and espresso powder Melt over low heat, whisking frequently. Do not boil. Remove from heat once butter is fully melted.113 grams (4 ounces; 1 stick) unsalted butter, 2 Tablespoons olive oil, 150 grams (¾ cup) brown sugar, 226 grams (⅔ cup) honey, 1 Tablespoon + 1 Teaspoon ginger, 2 Teaspoons cinnamon, ½ Teaspoon cardamom, ¼ Teaspoon cloves, ¼ Teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ Teaspoon black pepper, 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder, 2 Teaspoons espresso powder
- When mixture is lukewarm to the touch (not hot), add milk and vanilla. Whisk to incorporate.250 mL (1 cup) whole milk, 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add eggs and whisk to combine.2 large eggs
- Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into batter. Whisk well to fully incorporate flour. Don't worry about making the batter perfectly smooth; there may be small lumps. Just make sure there are no flour pockets remaining.180 grams (1½ cups) all purpose flour, 90 grams (¾ cup) rye flour, 1 Teaspoon baking soda , 1 Teaspoon baking powder , ¾ Teaspoon kosher salt
- Pour into prepared pan and bake for 50-55 minutes. Cake is done when it springs back to the touch and a toothpick has just a few crumbs attached, but no gooey batter. Cool on a baking rack in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan to finish cooling.
Assembly
- Once fully cooled, trim the cake. If desired, cut the rounded top off so that a brick-shaped rectangle remains. Feel free to keep it in an untrimmed loaf shape without trimming the rounded top. The trimmed rectangular shape is simply for looks. Leaving it whole means more cake and less work!
- Trim cake into 3 even layers. I like to score the outside edges with a long serrated knife and then follow the score-marks to cut through the middle of the cake.
- Roll almond paste into a rectangle shape between two sheets of parchment paper until approximately ½ inch thick. Use a knife or dough scraper to push it into the size that matches the dimensions of the trimmed cake.½ recipe (184 grams, 6.5 ounces) almond paste
- Place bottom layer of cake onto a baking rack (if glazing the cake; if not, place on serving platter.) Place the almond paste rectangle on top of first layer of cake.
- Place the second layer of cake on top of the almond paste. Spread with a generous layer of plum jam, extending it out nearly to the edges.160 grams (½ cup) plum jam
- Place the last layer of cake on top. Line up the layers so that the cake is straight. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and place into the fridge to chill briefly.
- In a microwave safe container or small (1 quart) saucepan, heat cream and honey until almost simmering. Remove from heat and add finely chopped dark chocolate. Let sit for 1 minute, and then gently and slowly whisk (to avoid incorporating bubbles) until all chocolate has melted and no lumps remain. Let cool until whisk begins to leave trails in chocolate.250 mL (1 cup) heavy cream, 63 grams (3 Tablespoons) honey, 140 grams (5 ounces) dark chocolate
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the baking rack with the cake on top of the baking sheet. Starting in the middle of the cake, pour the chocolate ganache over the cake. Move the pan as needed to to cover the entire top and sides of the cake with ganache.
- Promptly after pouring glaze, use a large metal flipper or spatula to carefully transfer the cake to a serving platter. Slide the spatula out slowly, without lifting, to avoid marring the glaze. Moving the cake promptly ensures the glaze does not harden onto the baking rack beneath it.
- While glaze is still soft, sprinkle chopped pecans onto the entire top surface. Stud the top with small bits of candied ginger.40 grams (⅓ cup) pecans, 20 grams (2 Tablespoons) candied ginger
- If being served more than a few hours later, store in refrigerator. Remove cake from refrigerator 2 hours before serving, and serve at room temperature for best flavor and texture.
Notes
- Almond paste: Most recipes for piernik mention the use of marzipan, which is almond paste with much more powdered sugar and added corn syrup. For this recipe, I prefer almond paste, which is more commonly used for cake fillings and is plenty sweet.
- If you buy almond paste, tubes commonly come in 7 ounce/198 gram tubes. Feel free to use the whole tube. (Or eat the extra - I won't tell.)
- Feel free to use a standard loaf pan instead of the Pullman pan. The only modification needed is for stacking the cakes. Trim the rounded top flat. You can leave the angled sides untrimmed. Stack the three layers starting with the widest at the base and ending with the narrowest at the top in a subtle pyramid shape. This will allow the ganache glaze to run down the sides of the cake.
- After glazing, promptly move the cake to a serving platter. Otherwise the ganache will set up and stick to the baking rack, and moving it could tear the ganache.
- Sprinkle nuts and ginger onto the top of the cake while the ganache is still soft so that they stick.