Polish Honey Cake

Name: Polish Honey Cake (Piernik)
Yield: Makes two 8-×-4-inch loaves; each serves about 8
Cuisine: Poland
Ingredients: ⅓ cup milk; ⅓ cup raisins; ⅔ cup chopped dates; ⅓ cup ground almonds or walnuts; 2 tablespoons grated orange zest; 3 large eggs; 1⅓ cups honey; ⅔ cup sugar; 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces; 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder; ½ cup strawberry jam or thick prune puree (for homemade version); ½ cup strawberry jam or thick prune puree (for homemade version); 1 scant teaspoon ground cloves; ⅓ cup ground almonds or walnuts; 3½ cups all-purpose flour; 2 teaspoons baking soda

Piernik

Preparation info

Makes two 8-×-4 inch loaves; each serves about
8

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Classic Home Desserts

By Richard Sax

Published 1994

About

This deep-mahogany colored cake has a melting, mellow honey flavor without being too sweet. Sometimes it’s covered with chocolate icing, but I prefer it plain. Wrapped tightly, it keeps well for several days. “In fact,” says my Polish friend Krystyna Mayer, who gave me the recipe, “the flavor will improve over time.”

Ingredients

1⅓ cups honey
⅔ cup sugar
½ cup

Europe
Poland
Dessert
Cake
Vegetarian
Eastern Europe

Method

In a large nonreactive saucepan, combine the honey, sugar, jam or prune puree, butter and cocoa over low heat. Cook, stirring, just until the sugar dissolves and the butter melts. Remove from the heat; cool to lukewarm.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F