RECIPES
BasiaWhen it's Christmas, it's gingerbread time. And when it's gingerbread, it has to be Toruń gingerbread, which was already famous all over the world back in the 17th century.
I don't know if I'll manage to make a marzipan krajanka (a layered, sliced Polish Christmas cake) this year, which I'm terribly sorry about, but I still have another cake up my sleeve that I need to try.
The dough for the Toruń gingerbread is already made and has been resting for about a week now. I'm planning to start baking it after Sunday. I'll layer it much like the bajaderki krajanka, that is, with almond paste and prunes or just plums. I haven't decided yet.
This is my first time making this gingerbread, but I have a feeling it's going to be delicious. I'll report back after it's baked!
The recipe comes from "Kuchnia Polska" (Polish Cuisine), published by Reader's Digest.
Ingredients:
- 500 g all-purpose flour
- 500 g rye flour
- 100 g butter
- 1 kg honey
- 6 eggs
- 100 g blanched almonds
- 100 g candied orange peel
- 100 g figs
- 30 g gingerbread spice mix
- 20 g baking powder
- 30 g sugar
- 50 ml spirytus (high-proof rectified spirit)
Caramelize the sugar in a frying pan. Then pour 2 tbsp of water over it and let it dissolve. Chop the almonds together with the figs and the orange peel. Bring the honey to a boil, add the gingerbread spice mix and the caramel, and stir. When it has cooled to about 20°C (70°F), combine both flours, then add the baking powder, honey, butter, eggs, the chopped nuts and fruit, and the spirytus. Knead the dough and set it aside for a few days. After that time, roll the dough out to a thickness of about 1.5 cm, place it on a baking sheet, and bake for about an hour at 180°C (350°F).
