This is a delicious cake that's simple to make. The cake is made from choux pastry baked as a single solid layer, and the filling is a pastry cream enriched with butter. In essence, the whole cake is one giant éclair with cream — or in other words, a choux pastry. The cake gets its name from the way the layer rises in waves during baking — or rather, in mountains. The cake originated in Poland and is named after the Carpathian Mountains — hence "Karpátka." My husband's birthday was recently, and when I asked him the day before what kind of cake he wanted, he said he wanted to go to the mountains for his birthday! That instantly gave me the idea for which cake to make. He didn't end up going to the mountains, of course, but he was more than happy to enjoy this cake! P. S. Also check out similar recipes from my site — Choux Pastries (Éclairs), Choux Rings with Cottage Cheese Cream, and Choux Cake with Cream and Strawberries.
Ingredients:
- Dough:
- 200 g water
- 100 g butter
- 150 g flour
- a pinch of salt
- 4-5 eggs
- Cream:
- 600 g milk
- 180 g sugar
- 2 eggs
- 60 g cornstarch
- 10 g vanilla sugar
- 200 g butter
- Also:
- powdered sugar for dusting
How to cook Karpátka choux cake
Once the dough comes together into a ball, continue stirring for another couple of minutes so the flour is fully cooked. Then let it cool for 5–10 minutes.
Lightly beat the eggs in a separate bowl. Gradually add the eggs to the dough in small portions, beating well after each addition until smooth. The result should be a smooth, pliable dough.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, spread the dough onto the sheet, and smooth it out evenly.
Make the cream. In a bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla sugar, starch, and about 100 ml of the milk. Whisk thoroughly until smooth.
Pour everything back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring, until fully thickened. The mixture will be very thick.
Beat the butter thoroughly until it lightens in color. The butter should be at room temperature (take it out of the refrigerator ahead of time).
Then gradually add the pastry cream to the butter one spoonful at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. The butter and the cream should be at the same temperature.
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