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Authentic Polish Birthday Cake Recipe – Tort Urodzinowy

Name: Authentic Polish Birthday Cake Recipe - Tort Urodzinowy
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 10 min
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 20
Cuisine: Polish
Ingredients: 6 eggs; 1 cup of sugar; 1 tsp of baking powder; 1 tbsp of vinegar; 1 tbsp of oil; ¾ cup of all-purpose flour; ¼ cup of potato starch; 8 egg whites; 1 cup of sugar; 1 cup of poppy seeds; 8 egg yolks; 1 ¾ cup of butter; 1 cup of sugar; ¼ cup of water; 1 cup of water; 3 tbsps of sugar; 2 tsps of lemon juice; 4 tbsps of vodka/ any liquor (optionally); 1 small jar of plum butter (powidło) or thick jam; candies, nuts, or fruits to decorate

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Let me introduce one of the most classic Polish desserts – the Authentic polish birthday cake. The moist sponge cake combined with the rich cream and the delicious decorations makes it a very special dessert.

So, if you ever visit Poland, be sure to try authentic Polish cake and taste the flavor of Polish cuisine and culture.

Authentic Polish Birthday Cake Recipe – Tort Urodzinowy

Authentic Polish Birthday Cake decorated with candies and chocolates.

The cake is always served in Poland at weddings, birthdays, christenings, and First Holly Communions. and although there are a lot of varieties of cakes, the traditional polish cake is a dessert associated with family, friends, and special occasions.

How Does The Polish Birthday Cake Look Like?

The traditional Polish cake usually consists of several layers of sponge cake, filled with cream or fruit. It is made of sponge cake layers that are soaked with syrup and then filled with cream on top of the cake. Cakes can be decorated in many ways, covered with chocolate chips, whipped cream, candies, cookies, or fruit.

How To Bake The Sponge Cake?

There are many ways of making the perfect sponge cake, however, you always use the same ingredients. And the main rule is always to use ingredients at room temperature. Visit my other article to find out more about the basic sponge cake.

Use farmer’s eggs to be sure that your eggs are fresh and of good quality.

Self-rising flour will be a good choice, but you can use plain flour too.

Make sure to stiffen the flour, this way you incorporate air into the flour, and it will help the cake raise.

In a separate bowl beat egg yolks, oil, and vinegar. Oil will add moisture to your sponge cake, and vinegar maintenance the structure of the cake.

When both yolks and whites are ready, gently mix them in, adding slowly whites into the yolks. Mix it slowly and gently with a spatula, so you don’t ruin the white foam.

Pour the batter into the 8” round pan lined with parchment paper and bake it for 35-40 minutes.

How To Bake A Poppy Seeds Sponge Cake?

Sperate egg yolks from egg whites. For this sponge cake, you will only need egg white. Just like with the previous cake, whisk the egg whites with sugar. toward the end, when the whites become stiff mix in poppy seeds. Bake it for about 30-35 minutes. Check out another recipe of traditional polish cake with poppy seeds –makowiec.

When To Bake The Sponge Cake?

Note, that you are going to cut the sponge cake horizontally. It isn’t easy to do it on a fresh cake, so ideally bake it one day before assembling it.

Keep the baked sponge cake in a cool place and covered so it doesn’t dry out. You can keep it in the fridge, but first, cover it tightly, so it wouldn’t absorb smells from the fridge.

How To Prepare The Cake Cream?

The cream I used in this cake is made of eggs, butter, and sugar. Although it is made of only three ingredients, it is not the easier one to make, but trust me, it is worth the effort.

The cream has a very stable consistency, so it is very good for making any kind of decorations.

The taste is not too sweet and it can be prepared in a variety of flavors, just by using some of the addons:

cacao
melted chocolate
raspberry puree
lemon juice
vanilla extract
coffee
or even a bit of rum, or liqueur

The Making Of Cream For Authentic Polish Birthday Cake.

It is very important to use room-temperature butter. Beat it well with an electric mixer for about 10 minutes, till it becomes white and creamy soft.

Place a pot with water over a small heat, add sugar, and let it dissolve in the water. When ready, add yolks and yolks. Beat with a hand mixer at the highest speed for about 10 minutes. The egg mass will rise significantly. It will become light and fluffy. After the butter cools down and reaches the same temperature as the batter, they are ready to be mixed in together.

While mixing, add gradually yolks to the heated batter and mix it until all ingredients are well combined. Your cream is ready.

How Do I Assemble The Cake?

It is now time to assemble the cake!

You start off by cutting the sponge cakes in half horizontally. The sponge cake needs to be moist. For that, you need to prepare a special punch to soak the sponge cake with it.

How To Make The Punch?

To prepare the punch you will need a bit of lemon juice, sugar, and some vodka. This is an adult version, if the cake is made for children, swap vodka with the same amount of boiled water.

Mix all the ingredients until the sugar completely dissolves and is ready.

The Layers Of The Cake.

Place the first layer of sponge cake on the serving plate, and soak it evenly with the punch.
Lay 1\3 of the cream onto the sponge cake and spread it with a spatula evenly.
you might use some extra filling like jam or chocolate chips to sprinkle on top of the cream
Cover it with the poppy seeds sponge cake
Lay again the same amount of cream over the poppy seeds cake
Place the last piece of sponge cake and soak it with the rest of the punch.
Cover the cake on top and sides with the cream you have left.

Your cake is now ready for decoration. Get creative, and make the cake of your dreams!

You can decorate it with candies, fruits, chocolate chips, nuts, or sprinkles. You can surely have fun creating your special cake, and you will also enjoy eating it later.

Yield: 20 slices

Authentic Polish Birthday Cake Recipe - Tort Urodzinowy

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

Sponge cake

6 eggs
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp of baking powder
1 tbsp of vinegar
1 tbsp of oil
¾ cup of all-purpose flour
¼ cup of potato starch

Poppy seed sponge cake

8 egg whites
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of poppy seeds

Custard

8 egg yolks
1 ¾ cup of butter
1 cup of sugar
¼ cup of water

Punch

1 cup of water
3 tbsps of sugar
2 tsps of lemon juice
4 tbsps of vodka/ any liquor (optionally)

Others

1 small jar of plum butter (powidło) or thick jam
candies, nuts, or fruits to decorate

Instructions

Bake The Sponge Cake

Preheat the oven to 356 °F (180°C).
Separate egg yolks from egg whites.
Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt.
Add sugar, and beat again until you get a stiff foam.
In a separate bowl, mix egg yolks with baking powder, vinegar, and oil.
Add egg yolk mixture to egg whites.
Add flour and potato starch and mix carefully using a spoon.
Pour the batter into the 8'' round pan lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Bake The Poppy Seed Sponge Cake

Separate egg yolks from egg whites. You will need egg whites for the poppy seed sponge cake, and egg yolks for the custard.
Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt.
Add sugar, and beat again until you get a stiff foam.
Add poppy seeds and mix.
Pour the batter into the 8'' round pan lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 30-35 minutes.