It is a thick layer of cream and custard filling sandwiched between two squares of delicate French puff pastry, with a whiff of brandy to taste.
Taken from: polandforall.com/papal-cream-cake.html
"It was during the 1999 visit to his home town of Wadowice that Pope John Paul II summoned the memories of his younger days. What he said then had a great effect on the whole of the Polish confectionery business. The Pope reminisced about the sweet taste of the cream cake called kremowka which he and his schoolmates used to buy in a pastry shop in the market square."
I found identical cake in M&S, UK under 'cream slice' and it was perfect, just the shape was wrong :) and I know something about it, because I'm from Cracow and I was literally raised up on perfect kremówkas. ;)
It's basically a variation of this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mille-feuille
In Poland they are called 'kremówka' in some regions, 'napoleons' in others. The name "kremówka" was poularise after famous Pope's comment. Watch out in Cracow - under 'napoleons' you will most likely find a completely different cake with a kind of pink marshmallowish cream.
A proper Polish kremówka should consist of two layers of puff pastry, preferably made with butter (it really affects the taste). The cream should be vanilla custard cream. There is also a variation called 'kremówka wiedeńska' (Vienna-style) where you put a layer of custard cream, then a layer of whipped cream and cover it with pastry. (the layers should be visible from the side). The cake should be dusted with sugar powder on top (not iced) and cut in squares. That's what I can tell you about truly orthodox kremówkas. Stuff with other kinds of cream, like all whipped cream or suspicious yellow super stiff mass are mere imitations and are not worthy of name 'kremówka'.
Merged: Kremowka - help with Polish dessert ingredients
Hi,
If someone could tell me what the following ingredients are and if there is an "American" equivalent, I would really appreciate it. Also, there is a Polish pastry called "kremowki" which from looking at it, is 2 layers of something close to puff pastry with about 4-5 inches of some kind of cream in the middle. Can anyone tell me what kind of cream it is? I don't eat sweets but my husband loves this and I can't find a recipe in any of the Polish food mags that I have. Dzienkuje bardzo!
Smietany (best guess is US "whipping cream or heavy cream"?
Serka waniliowego hamogenizowego
Bialego poltlustego sera (and vs tlustego?)
Budyniu smietankowego ( I know that budyniu waniliowego is vanilla pudding)
Sera smietankowego
Smietanki kremowki
Twarozku smietankowego (twarozku is like farmers cheese, mostly what is used for traditional cheesecake but this I 'm not familiar with).
I still a little confused - is there a difference between:
Bialego poltlustego sera (and vs tlustego?)- mid-fat white farmers'/curd cheese (i.e. not full fat or non-fat) and twarwog?
Unfortunately, the "british english" equivalents are the same "dictionary definitions" that I got when I looked up these ingredients. I'm trying to find out what they are called here in the states.
Also, there is a Polish pastry called "kremowki" which from looking at it, is 2 layers of something close to puff pastry with about 4-5 inches of some kind of cream in the middle. Can anyone tell me what kind of cream it is?
. Google Kremowska, this is the dessert you are talking about, and there are lots of recipes for it. Twaróg cheese is also known as Quark, which i think you can get in the US. Are you trying to make a particular dessert with Polish cheese?
Well I was going thru my recipes to find something to make for Easter dessert for my hubby and wasn't able to translate the ingredients above to anything readily available outside of a Polish market.
Budyniu smietankowego - cream custard (budyn is a custard) -
i believe it's what you call custard powder of a cream flavour Smietanki kremowki- double cream (min. 30% fat) - I think the closest thing to kremowka is probably your heavy cream twarożek śmietankowy - again it is soft curd cheese of a cream flavour
I was going thru my recipes to find something to make for Easter dessert
Twaróg, as you are probably aware, is often used to make Polish cheesecake ( Sernik ). If you decide to make this, you will need to buy Twaróg mielony ( Mielony means minced ), if you are buying Twaróg in small packets.
If you don't buy the minced cheese, your cheesecake will have a gritty texture. Twaróg that comes in large tubs has already been minced ( seived ) and can be used for desserts.
We don't have twarog, either mielony or cream flavored. In general, cheese doesn't come in flavors. We have cottage cheese which is much more wet than twarog. We also don't have pudding "budyn" cream flavored - either vanilla, chocolate or various fruit flavors . So, I'll wait until we make a trip to a city with a large Polish market and just stick to the recipes that use things close to Philadelphia cheese.
Also, how is Smietanki kremowki- double cream (min. 30% fat) - different from bita smietana?
Budyniu smietankowego - cream custard (budyn is a custard) -
Budyń Śmietana, at least in the UK, comes in packets. It's a bit like custard powder. You mix it with milk and sugar, bring it to the boil, and simmer it for a couple of minutes. Make sure you keep stirring it, as it thickens very quickly, and can go lumpy. Good luck with your dessert!