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Karpatka cake is a beloved dessert in Poland, especially during holidays and family gatherings. Named after the Carpathian Mountains, this cake combines the lightness of choux pastry with the richness of a creamy filling. In this recipe, we’ll show you how to make this traditional Polish dessert step-by-step!
Named after Poland’s snowy Carpathian Mountains, this popular Polish cake is meant to look rugged and mountainous.
Karpatka and Napoleonka are easy to confuse for one another. They’re similar Polish cakes, both with a creamy vanilla custard filling, but they use different types of pastry.
Karpatka uses choux pastry, called pâte à choux in French.
Napoleonka features puff pastry or laminated dough, or pâte feuilletée in French. Napoleonka, or Papal Cream Cake, is also called Kremówka in some parts of Poland.
Kremówka is the more-refined version of this cake. On the other hand, Karpatka is more rustic with a jagged top meant to symbolize Karpaty, the Carpathian Mountain range. And of course with a generous sprinkle of powdered sugar, it looks like snowy mountains. It’s essentially a giant cream puff cake, and that’s exactly what it tastes like.
Like most traditional Polish cakes, both of these are absolutely divine.
Traditionally, Karpatka is served with coffee or tea. It really is a show-stopping cake that’s fit for just about any occasion that calls for cake, birthdays and holidays included! It’s particularly lovely as a Christmas or Easter dessert.
And if you’re a fan of Polish desserts, you don’t want to miss Pączki (Polish doughnuts) and Szarlotka (Polish apple pie)!
What is Karpatka (Polish Carpathian Cream Cake)?
Karpatka, one of the most popular Polish cakes, has two layers of choux pastry sandwiched with a decadent custardy vanilla cream filling. A sprinkle of powdered sugar on top simulates the Carpathian Mountains in Poland. It tastes like a giant cream puff cake or cream pie!
This Polish cake is made with choux pastry dough, a type of French pastry that’s also used to make cream puffs, éclairs, gougères, and French cruller doughnuts.
Choux pastry puffs up a lot when baked. This pastry is golden with a crisp texture outside. Inside, pâte à choux is airy and light. It has a slightly custardy flavor, but is quite neutral. That means this type of pastry dough is good for both sweet and savory pastries. If you like choux pastry desserts, you will love this cake!
The creamy vanilla filling in this cake is crème mousseline or German buttercream. It’s a type of French pastry cream made of crème pâtissière combined with whipped butter for a light, silky cream.
Ingredients For Polish Karpatka Cake
Breaking It Down
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
Crème Mousseline Ingredients
- Egg yolks – Egg yolks are a classic thickener in pastry cream. In addition to helping thicken the custard, egg yolks add rich color and flavor.
- Sugar – Use regular granulated white sugar here.
- Potato starch – This is the thickener in our pastry cream. If you prefer, you can use 3 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch instead.
- Whole milk – Use whole milk for a little richness here.
- Salt – A touch of salt elevates the sweet, aromatic flavor of vanilla in this creamy custard.
- Vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste – This adds flavor and aroma. If you don’t have vanilla bean paste, simply use more vanilla extract.
- Unsalted butter and sugar – We cream together room temperature butter with a little sugar, and then we whip in our pastry cream to make crème mousseline.
Choux Pastry Ingredients
- Water – I prefer water instead of milk for making Karpatka because it yields choux pastry that’s lighter and crisper than that made with milk.
- Unsalted butter – This adds rich flavor.
- Salt – To make sure the dough isn’t bland.
- Flour – This is the base of the choux pastry; flour provides the necessary structure.
- Eggs – Egg whites provide structure and egg yolks add richness.
Other Ingredients
- Butter – To grease the pans and prevent the choux pastry from sticking.
- Powdered sugar – To dust on the cake to make it resemble the snow-capped Carpathian Mountains.
How to Make Karpatka Cake with Choux Pastry
Before we jump right into making this gorgeous Polish dessert, I first want to encourage you that you can make this recipe! It’s not hard to make if you break it down. It just involves making a choux pastry for the cake, and a vanilla custard for the filling.
Read the recipe through (twice) before starting, and measure out all your ingredients in advance. Take note because some ingredients need to be at room temperature.
1: How to Make Crème Pàtissèrie (aka Pastry Cream)
- Add the egg yolks and 1/3 cup sugar to a medium bowl. Use a handheld electric mixer to beat together until the mixture is thick and pale yellow.
- Beat in the potato starch until well-combined.
- Add the milk, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a gentle simmer. Remove the milk mixture from the heat. Gradually, starting with just a couple drops at first, whisk 1 cup of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture.
- Pour the egg yolk mixture into the pot and whisk in the vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste. Return the saucepan to the heat, and turn the heat down to low. Whisking constantly, cook until the custard thickens.
2: How to Make Crème Mousseline
I know it sounds fancy, but remember, crème mousseline is just pastry cream whipped with butter!
- Once the pastry cream is cool, add the butter and 2 tablespoons sugar to a large bowl.
- Use a handheld electric mixer to cream them together until pale and fluffy.
- Add a spoonful of vanilla custard at a time and beat until incorporated. Continue until all the custard is mixed in.
- Continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
3: How to Make Choux Pastry
- Add the water, butter, and salt to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter melts, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the flour all at once.
- Turn the heat down to low and return the pan to the heat. Cook until the dough forms a ball and leaves a residue on the bottom, about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Tip for Choux Pastry Success: Use the time given as a guideline and go by how it looks. The time given is an estimate and can vary based on several factors, including the weather. The dough is ready when it forms a ball and leaves a reside on the bottom of the pan.
- Transfer the dough to a large bowl and let it cool until it’s still quite warm, but not too hot to touch, about 5 to 10 minutes. Use a handheld electric mixer to beat in the eggs and egg yolk 1 at a time until fully incorporated.
- The resulting batter will be smooth and glossy.
4: How to Bake Choux Pastry to Make a Layer Cake
- Divide the dough between the 2 prepared pans.
- Spread the dough out to cover the bottom of each pan, and then use the back of a spoon to spread it unevenly to create divots and peaks (this is so the finished cake looks like the Carpathian Mountains).
- Bake until the choux cake is puffed and evenly golden, about 25 to 28 minutes at 380F.
- Cool for 10 minutes in the pans, then remove the cakes from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.
5: How to Assemble Karpatka
- Once the choux cakes are completely cool, put 1 of the choux cakes back into a springform pan.
- Spread the vanilla custard evenly on top.
- Place the other choux cake on top.
- Refrigerate 1 hour before serving, and then remove it from the springform pan. Right before serving, dust the top with powdered sugar.
Storage
Store this cake in the fridge for up to 3 days. The pastry will soften the longer it sits.
Tips For Success
- When you make the crème mousseline, make sure the butter and the pastry cream are the same temperature. Both should be at room temperature, about 70 to 74F.
- Don’t swap out the water for milk in the choux pastry for this recipe. Water helps result in a crisper, lighter choux pastry, and also prevents over-browning. On the other hand, milk in choux pastry acts as a tenderizer, and yields a softer pastry.
Karpatka Cake FAQs
Karpatka typically has a rich, creamy, custardy vanilla filling known as crème mousseline.
Crème mousseline is pastry cream (aka crème pàtissèrie) whipped with butter. The end result is a decadent, silky smooth vanilla cream similar to frosting that’s perfect for pastries of all kinds, including this choux pastry cake.
Crème patisserie, also known as pastry cream, is a type of custard. It’s a mixture of milk, sugar, and egg yolks. It is thickened with starch (such as cornstarch), and flavored with extracts (like vanilla). For this cake, we make crème patisserie and whip it with butter to turn it into crème mousseline.
There are quite a few different starches that you can use as thickening agents when making custard.
Cornstarch, in a 1:2 ratio with potato starch (use half as much cornstarch as potato starch).
Arrowroot starch, in a 2:3 ratio with potato starch (use 1/3 less arrowroot starch as potato starch).
Tapioca starch, in a 2:1 ratio with potato starch (use twice as much tapioca starch as potato starch).
Choux is a doughy batter made of butter, water and/or milk, flour, and eggs. Instead of a leavening agent, the high moisture content in choux pastry creates steam and causes it to puff when cooked.
The end result is a delicate, light pastry that’s crisp and golden outside, and airy inside. Because they’re hollow, pastries made from pâte à choux are perfect for filling.
Yes! But your dessert will be closer to the classic Polish cake called Napoleonka (also called Kremówka and Papal Cream Cake).
Choux pastry is done baking when it’s puffed and evenly golden.
Yes! This cake keeps for up to 3 days wrapped well and stored in the fridge. Note that the choux pastry will soften over time as it absorbs the moisture from the filling. After chilling, I like to let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving so the filling can soften.
More Delicious Cake Recipes to Try
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Karpatka (Polish Carpathian Cream Cake Recipe)
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Equipment
- 2 9-inch Round Springform Pan see Notes
Ingredients
Crème Mousseline:
- 5 large egg yolks
- 2/3 cup granulated white sugar divided into 1/3 cup + 1/3 cup
- 7 tablespoons potato starch
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or more vanilla extract
- 200 grams unsalted butter at room temperature (this is about 14 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon of butter)
- 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
Choux Pastry:
- 3/4 cup water
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
Other:
- Butter to grease the pans
- Powdered sugar for dusting on top
Instructions
Start the Crème Mousseline (aka Make the Crème Pàtissèrie):
- Add the egg yolks and 1/3 cup sugar to a medium bowl. Use a handheld electric mixer to beat together until the mixture is thick and pale yellow. Beat in the potato starch until well-combined.
- Add the milk, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a gentle simmer.
- Remove the milk mixture from the heat. Gradually, starting with just a couple drops at first, whisk 1 cup of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the pot and whisk in the vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste.
- Return the saucepan to the heat, and turn the heat down to low. Whisking constantly, cook until the custard is thickened. This should take less than a minute.
- Once thickened, transfer the custard to a bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top. Cool to room temperature.
For the Choux Pastry:
- Preheat the oven to 380F. Line the bottom of 2 (8 or 9-inch) springform pans with parchment paper that’s trimmed to fit inside. Grease the sides with butter.
- Add the water, butter, and salt to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the flour all at once. Turn the heat down to low and return the pan to the heat. Cook until the dough forms a ball and leaves a residue on the bottom, about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Transfer the dough to a large bowl and let it cool until it’s still quite warm, but not too hot to touch, about 5 to 10 minutes. Use a handheld electric mixer to beat in the eggs and egg yolk 1 at a time until fully incorporated. The resulting batter will be smooth and glossy.
- Divide the dough between the 2 prepared pans. Spread the dough out to cover the bottom of each pan, and then use the back of a spoon to spread it unevenly to create divots and peaks (this is so the finished cake looks like the Carpathian Mountains).
- Bake until the choux cake is puffed and evenly golden, about 25 to 28 minutes.
- Cool for 10 minutes in the pans, then remove the cakes from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.
Finish the Crème Mousseline (aka Turn the Crème Pàtissèrie Into Crème Mousseline):
- Once the custard is cool, use a handheld electric mixer to cream together the butter and 2 tablespoons sugar in a large bowl until pale and fluffy.
- Add a spoonful of vanilla custard at a time and beat until incorporated, continuing until all the custard is mixed in. Continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the crème mousseline if the cakes aren’t completely cool yet.
To Assemble:
- Once the choux cakes are completely cool, put 1 of the choux cakes back into a springform pan. Spread the vanilla custard evenly on top. Place the other choux cake on top.
- Refrigerate 1 hour before serving, and then remove it from the springform pan. Right before serving, dust the top with powdered sugar.
Notes
- Vanilla Bean Paste Substitute: If you don’t have this on hand, simply use more vanilla instead.
- Potato Starch Substitute: You can use 3 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch instead.
- Choux Pastry Tip: Don’t be tempted to swap out the water for milk in the choux pastry for this recipe. Water helps result in a crisper, lighter choux pastry, and also prevents over-browning. On the other hand, milk in choux pastry acts as a tenderizer, and yields a softer pastry.
- Crème Mousseline Tip: When you make the crème mousseline, make sure the butter and the pastry cream are the same temperature. Both should be at room temperature, about 70 to 74F.
- If You Don’t Have 2 Springform Pans: If you only have 1 springform pan, you can bake the choux cakes 1 at a time. Just be sure to place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the dough while the first cake bakes. Alternatively, if you don’t have any springform pans, you can line 2 large baking trays with parchment paper and draw 1 (9-inch) circles on each. Spread the batter out onto the circles you drew and bake that way.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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When I made the Choux pastry, mine did not get doughy but stayed liquid-y. Any idea what might’ve went wrong?
It still baked into cakes, but I was unfortunately unable to “sculpt” mountains and I’m not sure if it got as high as yours, most parts stayed pretty thin and the highest rise might’ve gotten to an inch. Unless they’re not supposed to puff up too much.
Other than that, all went well! Can’t wait to try with our Polish Christmas dinner!
Keara, It sounds like your dough may have needed to cook a bit longer (in step 2 of the instructions “For the Choux Pastry”) to cook out the moisture. It’s done when it forms a ball and leaves a residue on the bottom of the pan. I’m glad it still baked up well and puffed in spots. I hope you enjoy it; it sounds like it’ll be a lovely addition to your Polish Christmas dinner <3
Ah, great! Thank you!
This one’s a keeper! It’s a showstopper! This recipe works very well with the cornflour ( cornstarch,) as I couldn’t get potato starch. I took my time making the custard and there was no floury consistency that can sometimes happen with cornflour. This recipe is so clear and easy to follow, and like all your recipes, turns out perfectly.
Thank you Faith!
Absolutely fantastic and well written recipe (I really appreciated the touch with letting a person switch back and forth between imperial and metric measurement so easily) and definitely resulted in the best cake that I’ve ever tasted.
I did mix the microplaned zest of two lemons into the filling and put some of my mother’s home grown raspberries between the two choux layers just for a bit of added sparkle, but I’m sure that this would be extraordinary if made just how the author of this blog intended. ❤
This is absolutely delicious! My dinner guests were extremely complimentary. Not too rich and sweet due to the choux pastry. It’s definitely at the top of my favourite dessert pile! I didn’t rush the making, so, give yourself plenty of cooling time between stages.
I followed your recipe and my Karpatka turned out perfect. It tasted even better than it looked. My guests raved about it!
I used corn starch instead of the potato using 3 1/2 tablespoons per your notes. I did not have 2 springform pans so I used 2 9-inch cake pans. Your instructions are written clearly, and I appreciate all the tips. I will definitely make it again. Thanks for the recipe.
It was exquisite.
All the guests praised it.
A recipe to keep.
I made this and am almost embarrassed to say it was gone within 2 days! I had a little help, but I couldn’t control myself. Wow, is it good!!!
Would you using puff pastry work if I’m short on time?
Michelle, Yes! Puff pastry works well if you’re short on time.
Do you use all the milk mixture or only the 1 cup said in recipe?
Emma, In instruction 2 under “Start the Crème Mousseline (aka Make the Crème Pàtissèrie)” it tells you what to do with the milk: Add the milk, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a gentle simmer. After that, instruction 3 says: Remove the milk mixture from the heat. Gradually, starting with just a couple drops at first, whisk 1 cup of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the pot and whisk in the vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste. The reason we whisk 1 cup of hot milk into the egg yolk mixture (instead of just adding all the egg yolk mixture to the pot with the milk) is to temper the egg yolks to help prevent them from scrambling. If you’re a visual person, it may help to take a look at the photos in the post above.
If you are looking for a delicious cake that you cannot stop eating, this is the one. Soo good!