Name: Orzeszki
Pronunciation: ɔˈʒɛʃci
Translation: diminutivr and plural of nut
Energy: approx. 100 kcal per nut
Ingredients: pastry: wheat flour, butter, sugar, egg yolk, vanilla; cream: butter, sugar, milk powder, cocoa.
Orzeszki are shortcrust cookies in the shape of a walnut shell. Inside there is cocoa and milk cream.
Name: Delicje szampańskie
Pronunciation: dɛˈlʲiʦ̑ʲjɛ ˈʃãmpãj̃sʲcɛ
Translation: Champagne delicacies
Producer: LU Polska
Weight: 14,7 g/0.5 oz per candy
Price: 3 PLN/$ 0.95/€ 0.75/£ 0.60 per 147 g/5.2 oz
Energy: 375 kcal/100g, 55 kcal/cake
Ingredients: glucose-fructose syrup, sugar, chocolate 15% (sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, emulsifiers: soya lecithin, E476, flavours), wheat flour, eggs, potato starch, humectant: glycerol, rapeseed oil, acidity regulators: citric acid, malic acid, trisodium citrate, ascorbic acid, concentrated orange juice and comminuted orange 0.5%, gelling agents: pectin, guar gum, concentrated multifruit juice, flavours, salt, raising agent: ammonium hydrogen carbonate, emulsifier: E471, maltodextrin, colours (mixed carotenes).
Delicje szampańskie are round soft sponge cakes with fruit jelly, topped with dark chocolate. The jelly comes in various flavours: orange (the original one), apricot, raspberry, cherry and blueberry. The have been produced since 1977 in Płońsk. Interestingly, up till May 2011, the factory had been run by Wedel, but was taken over by LU Polska. Wedel subsequently introduced his own version of the cakes called Jedyne.
Name: Murzynek
Pronunciation: muˈʒɨ̃nɛk
Translation: diminutive form of Black person
Energy: approx. 120 kcal per serving
Ingredients: butter, wheat flour, sugar, eggs, cocoa, baking powder.
Murzynek is a typical Polish dry cocoa cake. It’s ideal with a cup of tea or coffee. It might be topped with chocolate glazing or enriched with fruit (e.g. apples, cherries, raspberries).
Name: Placek drożdżowy z owocami
Pronunciation: ˈplaʦ̑ɛk drɔˈʒʤ̑ɔvɨ zɔvɔˈʦ̑amʲi
Translation: yeast cake with fruit
Energy: approx. 150 kcal per serving
Ingredients: wheat flour, fruit (plums), milk, eggs, butter, sugar, yeast.
Placek drożdżowy z owocami is a very popular Polish fruit cake. It’s a yeast cake topped with seasonal fruit (most frequently apples, pears, rhubarb, plums, strawberries, cherries, or raspberries). Ideal for afternoon tea or as second breakfast with a cup of milk.
Name: Pleśniak
Pronunciation: ˈplɛɕɲak
Translation: mould cake
Energy: approx. 130 kcal per serving
Ingredients: wheat flour, plums, butter, sugar, eggs, cocoa, baking powder, salt.
Pleśniak is a very popular shortcrust fruit cake. It consists of a bottom layer of shortcrust pastry, topped with fruit or jam (e.g. apples, pears, plums, rhubarb, berries), a layer of cocoa shortcrust, beaten egg whites and a top layer of crumble.
Name: Sernik
Pronunciation: ˈsɛrʲɲik
Translation: cheesecake
Energy: approx. 120 kcal per serving
Ingredients: cottage cheese, eggs, sugar, wheat flour, raisins, lemon rind, vanilla.
Sernik is a typical Polish dessert prepared on various occasions (Christmas, Easter, birthdays, name days) or without any particular occasion. It consists of a baked or cooked cottage (or curd, quark) cheese mass and dried fruit and/or nuts. Very popular variations include toppings such as peaches, cherries, blueberries, chocolate or jelly. It might have a bottom layer (sponge, shortcrust or biscuit). The so-called Cracow-style cheesecake (Polish: sernik krakowski) comprises a shortcrust bottom, cheese mass and a checked shorcrust top.
Name: Placek z owocami
Pronunciation: ˈplaʦ̑ɛk zɔvɔˈʦ̑amʲi
Translation: cake with fruit
Energy: approx. 100 kcal per serving
Ingredients: fruit (strawberries in my case), wheat flour, eggs, sugar, canola oil, baking powder, vanilla.
Placek z owocami is a very popular kind of cake in Polish, baked in summer (because of the availability of various fruit) very frequently. Apart from strawberries, we also use rhubarb (Polish: rabarbar), plums (śliwki), apples (jabłka), cherries/wild cherries (wiśnie/czereśnie), blueberries (jagody), raspberries (maliny), gooseberries (agrest), and whatnot. Some people tend to add yoghurt or sour cream to the pastry.
Name: Babka marmurkowa
Pronunciation: ˈbapka marmurˈkɔva
Translation: marbled cake
Energy: approx. 175 kcal per serving
Ingredients: wheat flour, eggs, sugar, butter, cocoa, baking powder.
Babka marmurkowa is a flagship cake baked to be enjoyed with a cup of tea. It is simple, soft and looks very nice with its two-colour intertwining layers.
Name: Wuzetka
Pronunciation: vu’zɛtka
Translation: acronym (WZ) with a diminutive suffix -ka, or acronym WZK (explained below)
Energy: approx. 245 kcal per serving
Ingredients: Pastry: eggs, sugar, wheat flour, vegetable oil, potato starch, cocoa.
Filling: rose petals, sugar.
Filling: cream.
Wuzetka is a cocoa sponge cake filled with a tick layer of whipped cream and a touch of rose jam. It’s served at the majority of confectioneries and cafés in Poland since the 1940s, typically with a cup of coffee. There are two theories concerning its name; the first one states that it comes from the East-West Road in Warsaw (Polish: Trasa Wschód-Zachód or W-Z). The second theory says that its original name was a cake with cream (Polish: Wypiek Z Kremem), and it got acronymised to WZK.
Name: Szarlotka
Pronunciation: ʃarˈlɔtka
Translation: —
Energy: approx. 150 kcal per serving
Ingredients: Pastry: wheat flour, butter, egg yolk, sugar.
Filling: apples, walnuts, cinnamon, cloves.
Szarlotka is definitely among most beloved Polish cakes. There are a number of variations, but a typical szarlotka consists of a shortcrust bottom, on which a thick layer of apples (or apple sauce), with cinnamon and/or other spices, is placed. On top we find another layer of shortcrust pastry, either grated or crumbled.
