Papal cream cake or kremowka is one of the best Polish desserts ever. Once you try them you will not be able to stop eating them. And btw, the other great Polish dessert is Faworki. It is definitely worth to try.
And why the name papal cream cake?
According to Wikipedia, it all started back in 1999 when the pope John Paul II talked about his more favorite dessert. The one he ate as a kid in his hometown Wadowice. Yes, you guessed it right, it was the famous cream cake. (actually, that time it was called only –
Since then Polish people started to call it the papal –
What is the papal cream cake?
It is a Polish dessert made from French puff pastry and vanilla cream filling.
Other versions of the cake are made with whipped cream, vanilla custard, meringue filling or double cream filling. The cake is usually generously sprinkled with powdered sugar and sometimes poured over with sugar icing.
I actually love the version with two layers. It is a combination of the vanilla cream spiced up with a shot of Amaretto (the almond liquor) and the whipped cream.
And if you want to make them just check the recipe below.
How to make the papal cream cake?
Papal cream cake – Polish dessert
Course: DessertCuisine: PolishDifficulty: Easy8
servings2
hours30
minutesPapal cream cake made with vanilla and whipped cream filling.
Ingredients
500ml of milk
200g of caster sugar
1 tsp of vanilla sugar
1 tbsp of butter
20-40 ml of Amaretto liquor (*optional)
6 egg yolks
4 tablespoons of potato starch (potato flour)
500ml heavy cream (at least with 36% fat)
1 tbsp of sugar – *optionally
50g of powdered sugar
2 puff pastry sheets
Directions
- Bake the puff pastry according the instructions on the package. Set aside.
- Heat up 400ml of milk and add the regular and the vanilla sugar into it. Bring to boil and then lower the heat to low.
- Meanwhile, mix the leftover 100ml milk with the Amaretto and the egg yolks. Add the potato starch one tablespoon at the time and mix well.
- Pour the egg mixture into the hot milk and stir constantly. After a while, the cream should start to thicken. Once it does, turn the heat off and set the cream aside to cool down completely. Once cooled add the butter, this step will help the cream thicken even more so it’s easier to cut later on.
- Beat the heavy cream to whipped cream. *optionally you can add 1 tbsp of sugar at the end to make it bit sweeter.
- Place 1 baked puff pastry sheet on a flat surface and pour on the vanilla cream. Then add the whipped cream on top and cover with the second puff pastry sheet.
- Place the cake into to the fridge for at least one hour.
- Dust the top with the powdered sugar and cut into squares.
Notes
- You can keep the cake in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezing the cake is not recommended.
- To bake the puff pastry I recommend to use 13 x 9 inches baking tray.
Polski 
Please read and delete … 1st paragraph, 2nd sentence, “stop them eat”. (stop eating them)
Hi Cynthia, thanks for the info. The paragraph is adjusted 🙂 And btw, how do you like the recipe?
Is it difficult to cut? I envision all the filling squeezing out.
Hello Diane. There are 3 basic rules you have to follow if you want to cut it nicely. 1. the cake must be chilled properly. 2. use a sharp knife. 3. move the knife while cutting and don’t use the pressure to push it.
Does the recipe come in the metric measurements? I am from America and would love to make this dish!
Dear Cynthia. For now, I use only European measurements in all my recipes. But I will think about the new solution which will help you to get American measurements too. Jan
Is 4 Tablespoons correct? Or is it teaspoons?
Hello Jamie. The correct amount is 4 tablespoons. I’ve adjusted the recipe accordingly. Please let me know how did you like it 🙂 Jan
Fun recipe and quite appetizing. Is there a reason why the dimensions of this cake are not provided? It would help with rolling out the puff pastry and to ensure the right thickness of the two cream layers.
Hello MK. Thanks for the comment. To bake the puff pastry I recommend using a 13 x 9 inches baking tray. Also, I’ve added this point to the recipe for future reference. Jan
Hi Jan. Thank you for the recipe. It’s fun to make and delicious. One thing that would help is providing the dimensions of the cake, the pan and the height. This would help with rolling out the puff pastry and to ensure the right thickness of the cream layers. Many thanks.
Hello M. Thank you very much for the comment. I will adjust the pan size accordingly. Have a great day. Jan
HI, absolutely love this recipe and it’s a winner amongst all my friends and family – but I’ve never known what the butter in the ingredients list is for? It’s not mentioned in the method… I’ve always just left it out…?
Hello Rebecca. Thank you for the comment. I am super happy to hear that your family and friends love this cake 🙂 To answer your question, the butter is there to make the cream thicken a bit more. Thanks to this step it will be easier to cut once chilled. I’ve adjusted the recipe accordingly and the step is now available in the directions. Can you share some photos with me from your papal cake? I would love to see it 🙂 you can find the Taste Is Yours pages on Instagram or Facebook. Thank you and take care. Jan
Should I leave this out of the fridge before serving it?
If so, for how long? I’ve had it in the fridge overnight.
Hi Anne. To achieve the best results I would recommend cutting the cake after a few hours in the fridge. Then you can place it back to cool again. For the serving, I would take the cut cakes out of the fridge approximately for 10 minutes before serving. Jan
Hello, I was wondering when to put the salt in. Does it go in the egg yolk mixture? And does it make a difference if I leave it out? Thanks!
Dear Candie. Thank you very much for the comment. After reviewing the recipe I have decided to take out the salt. It actually did not made any significant difference. Take care. Jan
Does it need the amaretto liquor? Does it taste ok without it?
Hi Natalie. The amaretto gives it a nice almond flavour. But if you decide to skip it just add 1 drop of almond extract instead. Jan
can you add usa quantities also. substitution for potato flour also
Hi Nina, Thank you for your comment, we are currently working on technical solution that will allow us to show metric and US currencies. Please stay tuned to find out more soon 🙂 Regards the potato flour, I guess you can also use potato starch. There is no other substitution for that. Jan