Fruit mincemeat pies I think of these as very British – but we all love them and they have become part of our Christmas Day and New Year celebrations.
I use my mother’s recipe for the pastry – kruche ciasto – shortcrust pastry.
I like the size and proportions of little mince pies, which seem to just jump of the plate into my hand!
However they are time consuming to make so I have come up with this easier version, which I make after the holidays.
Poles would say the mincemeat is a version of bakalie and this recipe is a placek– flat cake.
Mincemeat
I always make my own mincemeat using the recipe in Delia Smith’s Christmas cookery book but without the chopped almonds (I do not like the crunch of the nuts).
When using the mincemeat I add a little extra brandy or sherry and stir it in.
Ingredients – Pastry
225g plain flour
110g butter
1 tablespoon of granulated sugar
2 egg yolks
5 tablespoons of water
*
1 tablespoon of caster sugar to sprinkle
Method – Pastry
Rub the butter into the flour to make “breadcrumbs”.
Mix in the granulated sugar.
First with a knife and then with your fingertips mix in the yolks and some of the water – until it comes together.
You are aiming to get a dough which is not wet.
Chill the pastry for around 30 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to GM 5 – 190°C.
Grease and line a shallow tray 21cm x 26cm.
Divide the pastry into two.
Roll out one piece to line the bottom of the tin.
Spread the mincemeat evenly over the pastry – not quite to the edges.
Roll the second piece of pastry out and use to cover the filling.
Press the edges down to seal.
Bake for around 30 minutes until golden.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the caster sugar.
Miód is the Polish word for honey and Miodownik is a Honey Cake which usually contains spices.
These cakes have been known in Poland since the 12th century and the spices would have come from Turkey (originally brought back by the crusaders) or India.
The main spices used are cinnamon and cloves with the addition according to different recipes of cardamon, black pepper, caraway, nutmeg, and sometimes as in this recipe – ginger and then in later recipes allspice, which is from the New World.
Honey was the original sweetener, long before sugar and there are many traditional recipes that use honey not only in cakes, but also in meat dishes.
I learnt recently that my paternal grandfather kept bees and that my dad’s sister, my godmother, helped to look after them.
I was given this recipe recently and it is similar to one I have posted before, which was my mother’s recipe. Her recipe used sunflower oil which is a more recent addition to recipes in Polish cookery whilst this one uses soured cream.
I had a large jar of Polish honey and used some for this recipe.
It is a dense squidgy cake which is lovely and moist.
Honey cakes are served over the Christmas Period in Poland.
Ingredients
300ml clear honey
225g granulated sugar
3 eggs separated
250ml soured cream
290g plain flour
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon of ground cloves
½ teaspoon of ground ginger
½ teaspoon of ground nutmeg
Method
Use a 23cm loose bottomed or springform tin
Grease and line the base or use a cake liner.
Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 4 – 180º C.
In a small saucepan bring the honey to the boil and then leave to cool.
In a separate bowl mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda and the spices.
Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar.
Whisk in the soured cream.
Whisk in the cooled honey.
Add the dry ingredients to the mixture and mix well together.
Whisk the egg whites until they are stiff and fold these cake mixture.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin.
Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for around 60- 65 minutes.
Take care as this has a tendency to burn at the top, you might need to cover it after about 45mins hour with a piece of greaseproof paper of aluminium foil.
Test to make sure it is cooked through with a fine cake tester.
Leave to cool in the tin.
Dust with icing sugar to serve.
*
This cake has a tendency to sink a little in the middle – nothing to worry about!
Tea plates – Bramble Rose by Duchess – from the 1960s
Tea cups – Harvest Pink by Queen Anne – 1959 – 1966
Note
The instructions were for a round cake – the second time I made this I used a 32 x 22cm greased and lined tin.
The timings are roughly the same.
The cake is easier to cut into portions.
It is not quite as moist or squidgy as the deeper round version.
Wrapping it in aluminium foil and put in an airtight box will make it softer over time.
*
A loose bottomed deep square tin may be better and easier to get the cake out – but I do not have one of these.
Several years ago I got an Austrian cookery book which has many similar recipes to Polish ones and I made some babeczki or buleczki – little cakes, with a yeast pastry & poppy seed filling for Wigilia from it.
I thought I would have another go at these but with some changes.
The poppy seed filling I have changed quite a bit and it is easier than my traditional one. The recipe for the dough I have changed slightly and the shaping method quite a lot.
Poppy Seed Filling
Ingredients
180ml of milk (full fat or semi)
Around 100ml of runny honey (extra may be needed)
120g of poppy seeds *
50g of raisins
Strong Earl Grey tea
Grated zest of 1 lemon
*
* You can grind the poppy seeds – I used a little electric grinder.
Method
Make some strong Earl Grey tea.
Put the raisins in a small bowl and cover them with the hot tea and leave till they go cold.
Into a small saucepan put the poppy seeds and the milk.
Bring to the boil then lower the heat.
Simmer gently for around 20 minutes, stirring constantly.
Take care not to let the mixture burn.
Add the honey and continue heating and stirring.
Drain the raisins and add them to the mixture and mix them in.
Keep stirring and try and drive off any liquid left.
Taste for sweetness – you may want to add more honey.
Leave to go completely cold before using.
Add the grated lemon rind.
*
If this is too much filling – you can always freeze some.
Yeast Dough
Ingredients
1/2 tablespoon of dried yeast
4-5 tablespoons of milk (full fat or semi)
250g of strong flour
Pinch of salt
120g of butter
20g of caster sugar
1 egg yolk
1 egg white for glazing (I always use just egg white now – it does not burn as easily as whole egg)
Method
Warm 3-4 tablespoons of the milk to hand heat.
Add the yeast and leave it to froth up.
Place the flour into a large bowl and add the salt.
Cut in the butter with a knife and then make breadcrumbs with your fingers.
Stir in the sugar.
Make a well in the centre.
Add the egg yolk and the yeast mixture.
Use a knife at first to bring the dough together.
You may need some of the extra milk.
Use your fingers to gather all the ingredients into a ball.
Knead the dough for around 5 minutes till you have a smooth dough.
Leave the dough to rest for at least 45 minutes – covered with a tea cloth.
******
Grease and line several baking trays.
Cut the dough into 3 or 4 portions.
Roll the dough out thinly.
Use a 6cm cutter to cut out circles.
Place a small teaspoon of filling on half of the circles.
Place a second pastry circle on top.
Use a pastry fork to crimp the edges together making sure they are sealed.
Glaze with beaten egg white.
Pre-heat the oven to GM4 – 180°C (quite low for a yeast pastry!).
Bake for 12-13 minutes.
Dust with icing sugar whilst still warm.
Leave to cool.
You could drizzle with runny lemon icing instead.
Served here on Duchess – tea plates – Poppies from the 1960s.
Two months to Christmas and I am posting this recipe so you have time to prepare for then.
I have tried out several piernik – honey spice cake recipes & many of them have been dreadful!
But at last I have found one that I am happy to share – I would describe it as a sort of soft biscuit.
This is piernik staropolski (in the old Polish style) and is a recipe which takes time to make, as the mixture is left for several weeks before it is baked – (10 days is the absolute minimum). This maturing enhances the flavour of the spices.
I have been reading that some people make their dough even earlier say in September before they bake it
This piernik is baked for Święty Mikołaj – St Nicholas Day – December 6th and for Wigilia – Christmas Eve – December 24th.
The science for this will be really interesting – I presume it is a slow fermentation that is taking place & the high honey/sugar content, low temperature & access to air prevents the dough from spoiling.
Ingredients
250ml runny honey
125g Trex™ **
230g granulated sugar
2 eggs – lightly beaten
550g plain flour (may need more)
2 teaspoons of mixed spices or piernik mix (ground cinnamon, cloves, cardamom in equal parts)
large pinch of salt
1 & 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
70 ml of warm milk
250g mixed dried fruit (raisins, peel, chopped dates and figs)
** The original recipe uses lard (pork fat) – I used Trex™ – a white solid vegetable fat.
Method
Put the honey, sugar and Trex in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring the mixture till all the Trex is melted and the sugar dissolved.
Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool.
Mix the flour, salt & spices together.
Add this to the honey mixture and mix together first with a wooden spoon.
Add the beaten eggs to the mixture.
Dissolve the baking soda in the milk and add this to the dough and mix till you have a thick dough.
Knead this dough lightly for around 5 minutes (add more flour if the mixture is too wet).
Add in the dried fruits and knead them in lightly.
Form the dough into a ball.
Place the dough in a glass or ceramic bowl – not a metal one.
Cover with a linen or cotton cloth – tie the string around it to keep it covered.
Do not use cling film – as air needs to circulate.
You could use foil but you would need to prick in some air holes.
Place in a cool place (mine was put into my cool cellar) for a minimum of 10 days and up to 4 weeks.
I left mine for 2 weeks.
Ensure that the dough will not pick up any unwanted flavours such as onions or garlic by carefully choosing the place you store it.
After resting
Pre-heat the oven to GM2 – 150°C
Grease and line a 2 baking tins – 22 x 33 cm.
Take the ball of dough out of the bowl and cut it into two.
Flatten each piece lightly and make into a rough rectangular shape – can use a rolling pin.
Place this into the tim and with fingers push and press it into all the sides of the tin.
You can use the blunt end of a rolling pin.
Repeat for the other
Bake for around 55 -65 minutes – checking after 40 minutes and covering with greaseproof paper if it is starting to burn.
Leave the piernik to cool in the tin.
When it is cold, wrap it loosely in greaseproof paper and then a clean linen tea towel and leave in a cool place for 2 -3 days.
To serve
Cut each cake into two or three rectangles.
Remove the crusts – optional.
Dust with icing sugar or coat in chocolate melted with butter (40g butter : 100g dark chocolate).
You can use a thin white icing semi glaze instead of the chocolate.
You can store the piernik in an airtight tin – I think the chocolate coating helps to keep it longer.
I think of these as very British – but we all love them and they have become part of our Christmas Day celebrations. Originally the pies were made with meat and this idea of meat and spices came from the Middle East and it is thought to have been the brought back by the Crusaders.
I make these with the pastry that I learnt from my mother – a variation on kruche & półkruche, pastry (a richer shortcrust pastry). Using the proportion of 2 parts flour to 1 part butter.
Ingredients
Pastry
200g plain flour
100g butter or block margarine
1-2 tablespoons of icing sugar
1 egg yolk
Juice of 1 lemon (and maybe 1 tablespoon of cold water)
Glaze
Lightly beaten egg white
Caster sugar
Mincemeat
I always make my own mincemeat using the recipe in Delia Smith’s Christmas cookery book but without the chopped almonds (I do not like the crunch of the nuts).
When making the pies I add a little extra brandy or sherry to the mincemeat and stir it in.
My tins are anodised aluminium and have a gentle rounded shape, this I think make for the perfect balance between the pastry and the filling.
I put “tops” on my mince pies – but not fully covered ones.
The tops are brushed with beaten egg white and sprinkled with caster sugar.
Method for pastry
Rub the butter into the flour to make “breadcrumbs”.
Mix in the icing sugar.
First with a knife and then with your fingertips mix in the yolk & lemon juice (and maybe a tablespoon of cold water.)
You are aiming to get a dough which is not wet.
Rest for about 10 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to GM6 – 200°C
You need to grease the tins well in order to get the pies out successfully.
I often use the pastry in two halves.
2 sizes of cutters are needed – 1 – 7cm diameter, plain, for the base, 1 – 6cm diameter, crinkle edge for the top.
Cut out the bases and place them in the tins
Place around a tablespoonful of mincemeat on the pastry.
Place the smaller tops on.
Lightly beat the egg white and brush this on the tops
Sprinkle caster sugar over the egg white.
Bake for around 15 minutes – keeping an eye on them – so they do not burn.
Leave to cool slightly in the tins & carefully remove them onto a rack to fully cool.
Tea-plate is Stardust by Colclough from the 1960s.
Piernik is a cake which has been known in Poland since the 12th century.
The very first recipes used just honey, wheat or rye flour and spices (see notes in previous piernik post for spices)
I have tried a recipe which did just use honey, rye flour and spices – I did not like the result at all, so will not be including that one!
I also tried one which used wheat and potato flour which also did not turn out well.
I then went on to make the recipe below which also uses wheat flour, egg yolks and icing sugar.
I tried this out twice as the first time it did not rise very much, so I doubled the amount of bicarbonate of soda and was pleased with the result.
Piernik with rye & wheat flour
Ingredients
110g rye flour
160g plain flour
160g runny honey
2 egg yolks
100g icing sugar
1 teaspoon of piernik spices (cinnamon : cloves : cardamom – in equal parts)
1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
2 tablespoons of cold water.
Method
Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 3 – 160°C
Line the tin with aluminium foil, grease the foil and then coat with dried breadcrumbs.
Or
Grease & line a 2 lb loaf tin or use a paper liner
In a large bowl mix together the rye flour, plain flour and the spices.
In a small saucepan heat the honey to boiling point & turn it off the heat & allow to cool slightly.
Pour the hot honey over the flour and mix well.
Beat the yolks with the icing sugar until they are pale and fluffy.
Add this to the flour and honey mixture.
Mix the bicarbonate of soda with the water and mix this in.
Put the mixture into the prepared tin & smooth the top.
Brush the top with cold water.
Bake for around 40 minutes in the long tin & 1 hour in the loaf tin. Check earlier and cover with greaseproof paper to stop burning if necessary.
This piernik is not very sweet and could be split in half and sandwiched back together with powidła – Polish plum spread (see notes in previous piernik post) and covered in a chocolate coating made from melted butter & dark chocolate.
I just had it sliced and spread with powidła (Polish plum spread) or sour cherry or raspberry jam.
Served on La prune by Jet for Ter Steege in The Netherlands.
In Medieval times in Britain on Christmas Eve a porridge made with oats, to which was added dried fruits, spices and honey was eaten. This was the origin of Christmas Pudding.
The spices used were a reminder of the Wise Men – the 3 Kings that came from the East.
By the 16th Century as ovens became more in use, butter and eggs were added and wheat flour replaced the oats and this became the Christmas cake.
We never had this cake at home until sometime in the late 1970s when my mother tried out this recipe from a magazine.
It is a very moist cake and reminiscent of Christmas pudding.
Because it is so moist it will only keep for about 2 months but it is one that can be made really at the last minute and one year I made it just 4 days before Christmas.
However if you want to add marzipan & icing then you should make it about 2- 3 weeks in advance, to give time for this to be done.
Ingredients
900g mixture of currants, raisins & sultanas
175g chopped mixed peel (if you have a 200g tub just use it all)
175g glacé cherries cut in half (if you have a 200g tub just use it all)
Grated rind of 1 lemon & 1 orange
1 large cooking apple, peeled and coarse grated
225g fine grated carrots
1 teaspoon rum
110 ml strong cold tea (I use a scented one like Earl Grey)
**********
350g Butter or block margarine
350 g soft dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons of black treacle
6 large eggs – beaten
*************
400g plain flour – sieved
½ level teaspoon salt
6 level teaspoons mixed spice
½ level teaspoon of cinnamon
½ a grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon cocoa – yes cocoa! – sieved
1 tablespoon ground almonds (optional)
Method
Put all the fruit, rinds, carrots, rum & tea into large bowl, mix and leave for 15 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 2 – 150oC.
In another large bowl, cream the margarine and sugar, beat in the treacle and eggs.
Mix all the dry ingredients together & fold them in using a large metal spoon.
Fold in the fruit mix using a large metal spoon.
This amount will make one of the following cake sizes:
25cm square – I find this shape the best to cut up.
25 cm diameter round
20 cm diameter round plus a small loaf.
*
Grease and line the cake tin.
Put all the cake mixture into the tin to fill the shape and smooth the top.
Bake at Gas Mark 2 – 150oC for –
25 cm square – 1hr 50min – 2hours
10” round – 2 ½ hours
8” round plus a small loaf (I have never tried this – will suspect around 1 ½ hours).
The above are guides as it does depend on your oven – you need to check earlier.
Leave to cool completely in the tin.
Wrap in several layers of foil to store.
Decorating the cake
It depends on who is coming and whether there are lots of marzipan & icing lovers on how much I decorate the cake.
Sometimes I just dust the top with icing sugar.
Sometimes I just have marzipan on the top dusted with icing sugar – but lately I have had marzipan & Royal Icing lovers coming so have decorated the top & used a cake frill around the sides.
Marzipan
Marzipan is a paste made from ground almonds, honey or sugar & egg white.
It is thought that it originated in China and then came to the Middle East and from there it came to some parts of Western Europe through Spain & Portugal and to Eastern Europe from Turkey.
The old name in English is marchpane and the Polish is marcepan and the name appears to come from Italy where it was known as panis martius or marzapane which means March Bread – but why March Bread – I am notsure!
It was certainly being used in the 15th century in Europe.
Preparing the cake for marzipan
Brush the surface of the cake with warmed apricot jam.
I usually make my own marzipan but of course you can buy ready made marzipan.
If you are going to ice the cake as well then allow 1 week for the marzipan to harden so the nut oils do not discolour the icing (If you know it will be eaten quickly this is not really a problem).
Ingredients per egg white
1 egg white
75g ground almonds
40g icing sugar
40g caster sugar
1 -2 drops of almond essence
I usually do a 3 egg white amount of marzipan
Method
In a bowl mix the ground almond, icing sugar and caster sugar.
Lightly beat the egg white & add the almond essence.
Add the egg white mixture to the dry ingredients and mix together with a wooden spoon until you get a unified mass of marzipan.
You want a mixture that you can roll out – you may have to add more icing sugar to achieve this.
You need to dust a board with icing sugar to roll out the marzipan easily.
Royal Icing
This icing uses egg whites and give a firm icing good for doing fancy decorations (which I do not do!).
Using sugar to make icing was a sign of wealth & power and this became very popular in Victorian times.
It was used on Queen Victoria’s wedding cake in 1840 and so got the name Royal.
You can ice right up to the last minute but it does take around a week for the icing to fully harden.
Ingredients per egg white
1 egg white
300g icing sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon ( this is optional but I usually use it)
If just doing the top of the cake I would use 2 egg whites.
Note
You can buy powdered Royal icing which is icing sugar & dried egg white and you just add water or water & lemon juice. (I have used it but have used fresh egg whites as well!)
Method
Lightly beat the egg whites and then mix in the lemon juice.
Add the icing sugar a few tablespoons at a time and keep mixing until you have have the icing thick enough to work with.
Spread the icing on top of the marzipan using a small spatula & have a mug of hot water at hand to dip the spatula in.
I do not do any fancy icing – just random peaks – also achieved using a spatula.
Some new Christmas cake decorations bought recently
To understand a Polish Christmas one has to know about its historical and cultural background as these have shaped what we have today.
Poles love festivals and traditions and there seem to me to be more celebrations in Poland than in England with every possible Saint’s day or other opportunity for a gathering, with eating and drinking, taken.
Polish Recipe Books For Christmas
History & Background
In the first centuries AD, around the river Warta, between the river Odra (Oder) and the river Wisła (Vistula) was the cradle of Poland. (The Wisła runs from the Carpathian Mountains to the Baltic Sea.) This region was immense forest land but many areas along the rivers had been cleared. In the east of Poland there are still the remains of the primeval forest at Białowierza (White Tower), this is a National Park were bison and wild boar roam.
By the 5th century the “Amber Road” was the trade route from the Baltic in the North to the Mediterranean in the South.
In the 6th & 7th centuries, many different Slav tribes arrived there, and as by now more of the land had been cleared, they settled.
The People of the Fields
By the mid 10th centurythe Polanie tribe became dominant – these were the people of the fields – pole means fields in Polish.
Agriculture in General
Compared to England the summers are warmer and the winters much colder, a drier cold than in England, often up to -300 C, with lots of snow.
The fertile plains of Poland have made it an agricultural country and the people are close to the land and understand about the seasons and food production. Even now in towns people have vegetable gardens & allotments.
Main crops are wheat, rye, buckwheat, potatoes and cabbage.
Dill is a favourite herb, also flat leaf parsley and caraway.
Pork is the most popular meat.
Poultry and eggs are used extensively
Butter, milk, soured milk, smetana (soured cream), twaróg (curd cheese) feature in many recipes.
In the south in the Tatra Mountains they make smoked cheeses from sheep’s milk.
In the 16th century southern Poland was 40C warmer than it is today and grapes for wine were grown.
Food from the Forest
Mushrooms, fruits and berries are even today collected from forests, eaten, preserved or even sold at the roadside.
Fish are caught in rivers and lakes, fish farms are becoming popular.
Dried mushrooms provide a lot of flavour in the winter diet.
Food Preservation for the Winter
Drying
Fermentation with Brine
Bottling
Smoking
Marinating
Jams – using sugar
Christianity in Poland
In 966 Duke Mieszko the First, Poland’s first recorded leader converted to Christianity.
By the 13th & 14th centuries Roman Catholicism was the main religion in Poland.
In the late 14th century the marriage of the Polish Queen Jadwiga to the Duke of Lithuania was on the promise of his and his people’s conversion to Christianity and the formation of a new enlarged Poland.
In the 16th century the Reformation did come to Poland and did have followers but it mostly died out following arguments between different factions & the Catholic counter reformation.
After the middle of the 17th century the main religion was again Roman Catholicism and is still so today.
Poland was more tolerant of different religions than many of its neighbours and by the early 20th century it had more Jewish people that any other country in Europe.
Advent
St Andrew’s Day – 30 November is celebrated in Poland, and the eve on 29November has many superstitions and traditions to do with foretelling the future especially with regards to future husbands.
The nearest Sunday to 30 November is the start of Advent, this can be from 27 November to 3 December so there are always 4 Sundays before Christmas day.
Advent is a time of reflection, prayer and preparation.
In the past Advent was like Lent; a time of doing without.
In Poland Christmas is celebrated from the evening of 24 December – Wigilia (the vigil) and parties and visiting relatives and family happens from then on.
It seems very strange to the Poles to have all the Christmas parties before Christmas when is still Advent.
The Christmas days are called Gody – days of Harmony and Goodwill
6 December – St Nicholas Day
Older pictures show Swięty Mikołaj (St Nicholas) in his bishop’s robes, newer ones tend to be more like the English Santa.
Presents were to be found on the doorstep or hidden in the house or under the pillow.
Pierniki – spiced honey cakes are given to children, often in the shape of the bishop.
He returns again on Christmas Eve after the evening meal.
It used to be that presents were given on just one of these days, usually 6 December and Christmas Eve was more about the meal and carols and Church.
Nowadays you are likely to get presents on both days.
Before the Second World War the presents were small tokens such as mandarin oranges (a luxury – as they were imported), chocolates, and an item of new clothes or a small toy.
Christmas Tree
The old Polish Tradition was to hang from the ceiling just the tip of a spruce/fir tree (tip side down) decorated with apples and nuts which were either wrapped in silver or gold paper or painted and ribbons. Old Polish Village houses are made of wood – so it was easy to attach the tree tip.
Doorways and walls were often decorated with separate boughs of the remainder of the tree.
This custom originated in pre-Christian times and texts dating back to the 15th & 16th centuries referred to this use of the tree as a pagan rite. Unable to halt the growing trend, the church then reinterpreted the tree to be the Tree of Knowledge – the tree of good and evil.
The tradition of using the whole tree came from Germany in the late 18th century and early 19th century first into the towns and then into richer villages and by the 1920s this had taken over.
In small flats and in towns, and with small funds, people often still just decorate a branch of a fir tree.
Decorations for the tree
Apples symbolise health & beauty, strength & vitality and paradise
Nuts wrapped in Silver or Gold guarantee prosperity & vitality.
When I was young we tied wrapped sweets & chocolates on the tree.
The Tree is put up on Christmas Eve (though nowadays maybe a day or 2 before) the whole family helps.
Decorated with glass baubles – in the past these were often blown eggs decorated with glitter. There are also many straw decorations – angels and stars.
Many of the old ornaments look like the apples and nuts of before.
Some of my mother’s old nut baubles with a few newer ones
Recent Magazine Feature
Nowadays Polish Glass Factories make 2,500 glass baubles a day, some of them very elaborate and expensive.
Paper chains guarantee love within the family.
Candles and baubles guard the house from malevolent deeds.
The star on the top of the tree helps guide back absent family and friend
Bells symbolise good news
Angels are the guardians of the house.
Clip on candles holders with real candles though nowadays artificial lights are more likely to be used.
Photograph’s of my mother’s clip in candle holders.
Pierniki – spiced honey cakes with white icing were used in some areas.
Polish Cribs – szopka
Cribs are varied in Poland, mostly wooden and carved, often with the shepherds dressed in traditional Polish highland costume.
Every year In Krakow in the Grand Square (Rynek Glówny) there is a competition held on the morning of the first Thursday of December, of Christmas cribs.
Model makers come carrying their cribs and they are judged. The winners are kept in the Museum of Ethnography – the rest are sold.
I saw an exhibition of past winners when they were on tour in England in 2011 at The Lowry in Salford.
This competition began in 1937. It was intended to bring back to life a tradition which had died shortly after the First World War, that of the Crib Theatre and these cribs are portable theatres for traditional puppet Nativity plays.
These ornate cribs are very colourful and richly decorated. They are covered in coloured foils, and are inspired by the architecture of Krakow eg Wawel Cathedral and the unequal spires of The Church of the Virgin Mary – Mariatski
They can be from 15 cm high up to 2 metres high and some have clockwork mechanisms or lights.
In the past the Christmas cribs were mostly the works of Krakow masons in their idle weeks of the Polish rainy late autumn.
Nowadays it is a pastime of many Krakow dwellers of all walks of life. And the city boasts several dynasties of Christmas crib makers where two or three generations construct brand-new cribs every year.
Christmas cards
In the past these were always postcards but now folded cards are coming in to vogue.
Copies of old cards from Zakopane from the 1930s – bought in the Folk Museum there.
From an Old Christmas Card from the 1930s
Cards are only sent to family and friends that will not been seen over Christmas.
In Communist times cards depicted, branches of fir trees and baubles, nowadays many religious cards are sent.
A Polish Christmas Card
Often when Poles send cards to family abroad they include a piece opłatek. This was originally bread but now a paper thin wafer with an impression of the Nativity scene is used and is a symbol of forgiveness, unity and love.
The opłatek usually has the corner nipped off to show that this is being shared. My aunty in America always does this.
This is a very Important Meal – Poles want to be with their family on this evening.
This Christmas Eve supper became a fixed tradition in Poland in the 18th century.
It is a completely unique experience with an ordinary evening meal transformed into a celebration of family love and solidarity and it is also so strange that in a country of meat lovers this meatless meal is so important and loved.
The days before the meal were a time to thoroughly clean the house.
The day used to be a day Fasting & Abstinence as the last day of Advent – no meat on that day (abstinence) and only 1 main/large meal (fasting)
There are usually 12 dishes for the 12 apostles though some areas have an odd number of dishes either 7, 9 or 11.
I only make dishes which would have been available through food preservation in the winter or are seasonal.
Presents
If there are presents they are placed under the tree and opened at the end of the meal.
In some areas of the West of Poland– presents today come from Gwiazdor – Starman
In the South West of Poland from an angel or baby Jesus.
In Communist times to try and remove the religious idea – many tried to favour Gwiazdor often portrayed in red robes with gold star or even to introduce the Russian Grandfather Frost on January 1st – unsuccessfully.
However Gwiazdor had links with St Nicholas (Swięty Mikołaj) as he often carries a star in front of St Nicholas.
Carols
The oldest hymn/carol in the Polish Language is Bogurodzica (Mother of God) and is known from the beginning of the 13th Century.
Carols are rich and varied with examples from many different centuries with ones originating from:
church music
to many with music from the Royal Court such as the Polonaise
to lively folk & dance music &
quiet lullabies.
Many carols feature shepherds as the Poles from the countryside felt an empathy with them.
Bóg się Rodzi – a Polonaise( Polonez )– words from the 18th Century.
Przebieżeli do Betlejem – music from the 16th Century.
Carols are sung from midnight mass till 2nd February in Church.
Carollers went from the second day of the Holiday – 26 December until 6 January – carrying:
a star,
a crib,
a stork – the New Year – new life
a baby goat – fertility
a bear – hostile forces of Nature
In some areas Carollers went from Christmas Eve – after their own meal.
They are welcome visitors however if your house is left out then this is seen as a sign of bad luck.
Food for Christmas Day
Many would say that this meal is just like a very special Sunday Dinner.
There are not as many must have dishes on Christmas Day
As with all Polish dinners there is soup to start and this would be most likely rosol – clear chicken consommé with small pasta pieces (the original chicken noodle soup)
There will be lots of MEAT with Pork Dishes mainly such as:
Tort – rich layer cake often made from hazel nuts.
Nowadays there will also there will be chocolates & these Polish dried plums with chocolate continue the tradition of dried fruits at Christmas time – I love them!
My China & Tableware – A New Tradition
Classic white china would be the norm for Christmas but over the last couple of years I have started to use china with poppies* and other red flowers at Christmas time as well as china with autumn and winter foliage from my collection of china.
*Although not a Christmas flower – these poppies are a remembrance to the Battle at Monte Cassino in May 1944 & the military song – Czerwone maki na Monte Cassino – Red poppies on Monte Cassino. As my father fought there, these are very special for me.
New Year’s Eve – Sylwestra
31 December is the feast of Saint Sylwester (Sylvester) and this is the name of the festival in Polish.
In the towns & cities the evening is often celebrated with a dance – no special traditional dishes – more of the Christmas Day type food.
Sleigh rides from house to house, with food at each, were popular in times gone by on the eve and on New Year’s Day.
The 3 Kings – 6 January – Epiphany
During the Christmas period the priest would visit all the homes of his parishioners and say prayers, bless the house and get an offering. He would also bless some chalk or blessed chalk would be obtained at the Mass on 6 January. This chalk is used on 6 January to write over the door frame in the house –
For example for next year – 2017
20+ K + M + B + 17
For the year and Kasper, Melchior and Baltazar – the traditional names of the kings.
To bless all who enter or leave in the coming year.
The end of the Christmas period
In the church – 2 February – Candlemas day – 40 days after Christmas – is the official end of Christmas and then karnawał starts – the festive time before Lent.
A few years ago on one of my visits to The Netherlands to stay with my Dutch friend, we had a super meal which included a delicious dish of red cabbage that had been cooked with apples.
I thought then that I did not remember my mother ever cooking red cabbage. When I came home I found recipes in both my Polish and English cookery books and tried out many of these.
The following recipe has been refined and altered and this one with lots of apples and spices is the one I now use all the time.
As it takes a long time to cook in a low oven or in a slow cooker, I tend to make a lot at once. It freezes and reheats well, so once made I divide it into small portions to freeze.
I think it goes well with roast pork loin and I usually make some before Christmas and serve it with roast pork loin during the holiday period.
Tip 1
Have a lemon ready after handling the chopped red cabbage as you will find your hands become stained blue/purple. Lemon juice will clear the stains away. Another reason to make this dish in advance.
Tip 2 – Also Excellent as a Salad
I have discovered that this dish is also delicious when it is cold! I now also serve this with cold meats and Polish style sausage.
Ingredients
1 head of red cabbage
3 or 4 large cooking apples
1 onion – chopped fine
1 or 2 garlic cloves – chopped fine (optional)
6 tablespoons of soft brown sugar
1 level teaspoon of ground cinnamon
¼ level teaspoon of ground cloves
Salt & ground black pepper
3 tablespoons of cider or wine vinegar
3 tablespoons of water
Method
Pre heat the oven to GM 2 or get your slow cooker ready..
You need a large oven-proof dish with a lid to make this. I either use a very large oval enamel dish or I have now started to use a slow cooker.
I mix the ingredients in a large bowl first and then put them in the cooking dish.
Mix together the sugar, spices, salt and pepper, vinegar and water.
Remove the core from the cabbage head and cut the cabbage into fine shreds and add these to the spice mixture.
Peel, core and then coarse grate the apples and then add these to the cabbage mixture. Mix the ingredients with a wooden spoon.
Put the mixture into the cooking dish (or slow cooker) and put in the oven (or switch on the slow cooker).
It should take about 3-4 hours – it may take longer in the slow cooker.
Red Cabbage Ready to ServeServing Dish is Cadiz by Meakin from the 1970s
Miód is the Polish word for honey and so Miodownik is a Honey Cake which usually contains spices. Pierna is an old Polish word for spices and so Piernik is also a Honey Spice Cake.
Some sources say the name is frompieprz – pepper or piorun – thunderbolt or devil – because of its spiciness.
These cakes have been known in Poland since the 12th century and the spices would have come from Turkey (originally brought back by the crusaders) or India.
Honey was the original sweetener, long before sugar and there are many traditional recipes that use honey not only in cakes, but also in meat dishes.
When you travel in Poland you will find many village ladies selling their own honey, the taste varies greatly depending on where the bees have found their flowers and the honey from a forest region is dark and very flavoursome.
Piernik can vary from a soft dense cake to a drier but soft biscuit.
The Polish town of Toruń is famous for its piernik and Chopin was very found of this.
Pierniki(plural) coated with chocolate are called Katarzynki – which means Katherine’s cakes – named after Katarzyna the daughter of one of the bakers.
Similar cakes are found throughout Europe including the French pain d’éspices, the Dutch peperkoek and the German lebkuchen.
Miodownik and piernik are often translated as Gingerbread but ginger is a spice rarely used in Polish cookery.
The main spices used are cinnamon and cloves with the addition according to different recipes of cardamon, black pepper, caraway, nutmeg, dried orange and/or lemon peel and then in later recipes allspice which is from the New World.
My older recipe book gives the proportions for mixing spices and there is one with black pepper which I intend to try out in the future.
Whilst looking through some of my more recent cookery books it would appear that it in Poland you can buy ready mixed spices for piernik so I would presume you can get these in Polish shops in England. I will try these out in the future as well.
I use the mixed spice mixture which is sold by Marks & Spencer which contains: dried orange peel, cassia (a variety of cinnamon), ginger, nutmeg, pimento (allspice) and caraway. I think it is the dried orange peel which makes it much nicer than other mixtures I have used.
Some recipes make a cake mixture and then leave it in a cool place for up to several weeks before baking it. I have tried one of these out many years ago and it was very good – I intend to try this again for a post in the early winter of next year.
Piernik in Poland is associated with the Christmas season and would be made for Christmas Eve and for Christmas Day, it would also be made for Święty Mikołaj – December 6th – St Nicholas Day. This a day for present giving in Poland to children and I would always get a piernik shaped and decorated to look like the bishop that was St Nicholas.
Mama’s Miodownik
This is of my mother’s recipes and it uses sunflower oil which is a more recent addition to recipes in Polish cookery. It is a dense cake which is lovely and moist and improves with keeping.
Miodownik on Greenway Hostess designed by John Russell 1960 – 1979
Ingredients
450g Clear honey
250g Icing sugar
4 Eggs separated
250ml Tepid water
4 Teaspoons cocoa
250ml Sunflower oil
450g Plain flour
Pinch of salt
1 Teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
1 Teaspoon mixed spice (M&S is the best)
100g mixed peel
Method
You can use a 25cm square tin or a 31cm x21cm rectangular tray tin.
Grease and line the tin.
Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 3 – 160º C.
In a large bowl, mix the honey and the icing sugar.
Add the water, cocoa, egg yolks, oil and then the mixed peel.
In a separate bowl mix the plain flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda and the mixed spice.
Add the dry mixture to the honey mixture and mix together to make a batter.
Whisk the egg whites until they are stiff and fold these into the honey batter.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin.
Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for around 1hour 30minutes.
Take care as this has a tendency to burn at the top, you might need to cover it after about 1 hour with a piece of greaseproof paper of aluminium foil.
Test to make sure it is cooked through with a fine cake tester.
Leave to cool in the tin.
Store in an airtight container or cover in aluminium foil
Miodownik on Greenway Hostess designed by John Russell 1960 – 1979
Addendum
I recently made this for Wigilia (Christmas Eve) around 3 weeks beforehand – it was lovely and moist by then.
Journey From A Polish Kitchen 