Polish Chocolate Cherry Cake Recipe – Cyganka

Cherries are one of the summer fruits in Poland and are extremely popular among the young and old alike. These cherries are often eaten fresh or used in a variety of dishes including pierogi. 

This Polish chocolate cherry cake recipe however does not need fresh cherries. All you need is a jar of the pitted cherries. This means that the cake can be made all year round. The cherries have a sweet and sour flavor that compliments the darker chocolatey notes of the cake extremely well. 

One thing that you need to know about making the Polish chocolate cherry cake is that it takes a lot of effort and time to make. This is because you need to bake the cake, make the cherry jelly, the custard and the chocolate ganache before you can actually assemble the cake. Once you get the knack of doing it, you can learn to optimize your time so that you make the layers while the cake is baking in the oven. It still involves a lot of work but the rewards are so worth it because the cake is delicious!

Children in particular love the cherry layer that is sandwiched between the cake. The Polish chocolate cherry cake doesn’t just taste good, it looks good too.  

Polish Chocolate Cherry Cake Recipe – Cyganka

Make And Bake The Cake

Part I – Preheat The Oven To 355°F (180°C)

Preheating the oven is an essential step in baking a cake. It ensures that the temperature is just right when the cake is put in. Generally speaking, the oven is put on at the start. This way you don’t have to wait for it to heat after you have mixed the dough.

Part II – Beat The Eggs

Add 5 eggs into a large bowl. Add 1 cup of sugar. Now beat the eggs and sugar together till the color of the mixture becomes whitish.

Part III – Add In The Remaining Ingredients

Add in ½ cup of potato starch (flour), 1 ½ tbsp. of instant coffee, 2 tbsps. of poppy seeds, 2 tbsps. of cocoa and 1 tsp. of baking powder. Mix the ingredients together.

Part IV – Oil A Cake Pan

For this step, you will need a 9×13” cake pan. Oil the cake pan generously so that the cake does not stick to the edges. Alternatively, you can choose to use parchment paper to line the pan. Both techniques will yield the same result.

Part V – Pour The Batter Into The Pan

Gently pour the cake batter into the cake pan. Place it in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Make The Custard

Part I – Whip The Egg Yolks With Sugar And Potato Starch

Use a bowl and add in 6 egg yolks. Add in 1 cup (200 gm) of sugar and 6 tbsps. of potato starch. Beat the ingredients together till they change to a whitish color. 

Part II – Pour 2 Cups Of Milk Into The Pot

Part III – Place The Pot On The Stove

Cook the mixture slowly and keep stirring the mix. 

Part IV – Add The Egg Yolk Mixture

When the milk is close to boiling, add in the egg yolk mixture. Stir the mixture constantly. This will ensure that the custard has a smooth consistency. If you stop stirring, you will find that the custard clumps together to form lumps. It may even stick to the bottom and burn.

Keep stirring till you achieve the consistency of pudding.

Part V – Allow To Cool

Part VI – Blend The Pudding With Butter

When the pudding cools down, add in 1 cup of butter and blend it. This will give the pudding an even texture and a light buttery taste. Set the creamy custard aside when done.

Make The Cherry Layer

Part I – Dissolve The Jelly Powder

Use the cherry water from the jar for this part of the recipe. You will need about 3 ½ cups of the liquid. If you run short, don’t worry. You can just add regular water instead. Dissolve the jelly powder in this water.

Part II – Add The Cherries

Now allow the mixture to cool. Add in the cherries and mix well. Set the cherry mixture aside.

Make The Chocolate Glaze

Part I – Boil The Ingredients

Use a bowl and add in 3 tbsps. of cocoa, ½ cup of butter, 1 tbsp. of pork lard, 1 tbsp. of water and 2 tbsps. of sugar. Mix the ingredients together and place it on the stove till the mixture boils. Make sure that you don’t add the egg in at this stage.

Part II – Beat The Egg

In a separate bowl, beat the egg using a fork and set aside.

Part III – Add In The Beaten Egg

When the frosting ingredients have melted down and formed a nice mixture, turn off the heat and set aside. Add in the beaten egg and stir. Make sure that you constantly stir the mixture while you are adding in the egg.

Assemble The Cake

Part I  – Cut The Cake In Half Lengthwise

Part II – Assemble The Cake

With all the ingredients ready, it is now time to assemble the cake. Follow the following layers when you assemble the cake to make the perfect Polish chocolate cherry cake.

1. Cake
2. Half of the custard
3. Jelly with cherries. 
4. Half of the custard
5. Cake
6. Chocolate glaze
7. Nuts as the decoration

FAQ About Polish Chocolate Cherry Cake Recipe

Can I Make The Cake Layer For The Polish Chocolate Cherry Cake In Advance?

Some people find the whole Polish chocolate cherry cake recipe very time-intensive and tiring. One good way to make sure that you don’t exhaust yourself is by baking the cake layer the previous day. Make sure to store the cake in a nice airtight container after it cools. This way it will retain its moisture.

My Custard Has Become Lumpy. What Can I Do?

The custard may become lumpy if you don’t continuously stir it when you are making it. Sometimes, despite your best efforts, you will find lumps. The good part of this Polish chocolate cherry cake recipe is that you have to blend the custard after it is made. The blending along with the added butter gives the custard a nice creamy texture.

Are There Any Other Polish Cake Recipes That I Can Try?

There are loads of great Polish cake recipes of all levels of difficulty. Many of the recipes use different types of seasonal fruits and in the winter use canned fruits. Here are some that you can try.

• Polish apple cake with meringue
• Delicjowiec – Delicious Polish Cake With Delicje Recipe
• Piernik Staropolski Recipe – Old Polish Gingerbread Cake
• Polish Rhubarb Marble Cake Recipe -Ciasto Laciate z Rabarbarem
• Layered Apple Cake Recipe

Yield: 16 servings

Polish Chocolate Cherry Cake Recipe - Cyganka

Print

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

Cake

• 5 eggs
• 1 cup of sugar
• ½ cup of potato or corn starch
• 1 ½ tbsp of instant coffee
• 2 tbsps of poppy seeds
• 2 tbsps of cocoa
• 1 tsp of baking powder

Custard

• 5 egg yolks
• 1 cup (200g) of sugar
• 6 tbsps of potato starch (flour)
• 2 cups of milk
• 1 cup (225g) of butter

Cherry layer

• 1 jar (24oz/680g) of pitted cherries
• 2 packages of cherry jelly powder

Chocolate glaze

• 3 tbsps of cocoa
• ½ cup / 100g of butter
• 1 tbsp of pork lard
• 1 tbsp of water
• 2 tbsps of sugar
• 1 egg

Other

• Nuts to decorate

Instructions

Make and bake the cake

1. Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C).
2. Beat eggs with sugar until they change the color to whitish.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and mix.
4. Oil the 9x13" cake pan or put the parchment paper inside.
5. Pour the batter onto the cake pan and bake for 30 minutes.

Make the custard

1. Whip egg yolks with sugar and potato starch until they change the color to whitish.
2. Pour 2 cups of milk into the pot.
3. Place a pot on the stove, and cook slowly, stirring all the time.
4. When it nearly boils, add the egg yolk mixture. Stir until you get the consistency of the pudding.
5. Allow to cool.
6. When the pudding is cold, blend it with butter until you get the smooth and creamy custard.

Make the cherry layer

1. Dissolve the jelly powder in the cherry water. You'll need 3 ½ cups of liquid so if you don't have enough cherry water, add water.
2. Allow to cool, then add cherries and mix.

Make the chocolate glaze

1. Boil the ingredients for the frosting, except for the egg.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the egg using a fork.
3. When all the ingredients for the frosting melted down, turn off the heat, and add a beaten egg, stirring all the time.

Assemble the cake

1. Cut the cake in half, lengthwise.
2. Assemble the cake in the following direction:
   cake
   half of the custard
   jelly with cherries
   half of the custard
   cake
   chocolate glaze
   nuts as the decoration

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Parchment Paper Roll - Papier do pieczenia
• 
  Baking Pans Non-stick - Blachy do pieczenia
• 
  Mixed Nuts unsalted - Orzechy mieszanka
• 
  Strawberry jelly mix - Galaretka truskawkowa
• 
  Strawberry Jelly Mix - Galareta Truskawkowa
• 
  Pitted Sour Cherries - Wiśnie drylowane
• 
  Milk - Mleko
• 
  Butter Unsalted - Masło
• 
  Sugar - Cukier
• 
  Eggs Organic Cage-Free
• 
  Baking Powder - Proszek do pieczenia
• 
  Whole Poppy Seed - Mak
• 
  Cacao Powder - Kakao
• 
  Potato Starch (Flour) - Mąka (skrobia) ziemniaczana
• 
  All Purpose Flour

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 228Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 147mgSodium: 130mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 1gSugar: 18gProtein: 6g

These data are indicative and calculated by Nutritionix