Tag: Spiced Honey Cakes

Gdańskie brukowce

  • Gdańskie brukowce – means cobblestones from Gdańsk.
  • These are a form or pierniki  – honey spice cakes – that I have not come across before.
  • There are soft bits and crunchy bits.
  • They have been baked by the Pellowski bakery, established in 1922, to a secret recipe but the ingredients are stated on the packaging – including:
  • rye flour
  • sugar
  • golden syrup
  • vegetable fats
  • Polish plum jam
  • cocoa
  • spices – (inc – cinnamon and cloves) 
  • lemon juice.

They are rather like piernik – chopped up, mixed with cocoa or chocolate and Polish plum jam – powidło – and coated with a sugar glaze.

If you get the chance to try them do so – they are delicious.

I do not think I can recreate this recipe but  here below are links to my previous piernik recipes.

They were originally baked for the St Dominic’s fair – Jarmark Dominika – which takes place at the end of July and the beginning of August.

Pierniczki

Piernik is Polish honey spice cake – pierniczki are little honey spice cakes

My Polish friend in Leeds was in Poland in November and bought some new bombki *(Christmas Tree ornaments).  These have wycinanki – Polish paper-cut designs(folk art popular since the mid 1800s) as their inspiration.

*Bombki – Glass baubles – in the past these were often blown eggs decorated with glitter. There are also many straw decorations – angels or stars.

Glass baubles originated in Germany in the 19th century  but they were soon being made in Poland with their large glass blowing industry.  Many are made in small family run workshops, some now specialise in individual and unusual designs.

She has included these and some angels in decorating a window in a chapel in Lancashire.

 

 

She also sent me a recipe for pierniczki – made with wheat and rye flour.

I tried them out – yummy – easy to make & cut out!

Ingredients

  • 100g butter
  • 100g runny honey
  • 300g plain flour
  • 100g rye flour
  • 130g icing sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of mixed spice (or 1 teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, cloves & cardamon)
  • 1 tablespoon of cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 2 large eggs – beaten
  • Icing made with water or lemon juice to decorate

Method

  • Put the butter and honey into a small saucepan and heat gently to melt.
  • Leave to cool.
  • Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
  • Add the beaten eggs and the butter & honey mixture.
  • Mix together to make a soft dough.
  • The dough will be slightly sticky – do not add extra flour.
  •  Pre-heat the oven to GM 4 – 180°C.
  • Line baking sheets with greaseproof paper.
  • Divide the dough into four.
  • Use rye flour to flour the pastry board.
  • Roll out the dough to around 4mm thickness (no less).
  • Use cutters to cut out shapes.
  • Place them on the baking sheets with a little room between.
  • Bake for 9 -11 minutes.
  • Leave to cool on a baking rack.
  • *
  • These piernicki should be soft.
  • They are only semi-sweet.
  • You can have decorating them with icing – I just did a bit of drizzling.