Papal cream cake or kremowka. – One of the best Polish desserts.

by Jan Vasil
Papal cream cake or kremowka. - One of the best Polish desserts.

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.

kremowka, papal cream cake, kremes

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 – kremowka).

Since then Polish people started to call it the papal – kremowka papieska.

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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

5 from 1 vote
Recipe by Jan Vasil Course: DessertCuisine: PolishDifficulty: Easy
Servings

8

servings
Prep time

2

hours 
Cooking time

30

minutes

Papal cream cake made with vanilla and whipped cream filling.

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

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.

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29 comments

Cynthia October 25, 2019 - 1:41 pm

Please read and delete … 1st paragraph, 2nd sentence, “stop them eat”. (stop eating them)

Reply
tasteisyours October 27, 2019 - 9:35 am

Hi Cynthia, thanks for the info. The paragraph is adjusted 🙂 And btw, how do you like the recipe?

Reply
Jane March 3, 2023 - 5:14 am

Cynthia- I would like to see you try to translate a recipe into a language that is obviously not your first language. Be a nice human being, please.

Reply
Diane Fallon October 26, 2019 - 1:57 pm

Is it difficult to cut? I envision all the filling squeezing out.

Reply
tasteisyours October 27, 2019 - 9:38 am

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.

Reply
Cynthia Reese October 26, 2019 - 7:33 pm

Does the recipe come in the metric measurements? I am from America and would love to make this dish!

Reply
tasteisyours October 27, 2019 - 9:45 am

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

Reply
Jamie January 20, 2020 - 10:27 pm

Is 4 Tablespoons correct? Or is it teaspoons?

Reply
tasteisyours January 21, 2020 - 9:31 pm

Hello Jamie. The correct amount is 4 tablespoons. I’ve adjusted the recipe accordingly. Please let me know how did you like it 🙂 Jan

Reply
MK February 15, 2020 - 11:15 pm

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.

Reply
tasteisyours September 1, 2020 - 10:54 am

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

Reply
M King February 15, 2020 - 11:22 pm

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.

Reply
tasteisyours February 19, 2020 - 9:48 am

Hello M. Thank you very much for the comment. I will adjust the pan size accordingly. Have a great day. Jan

Reply
Rebecca June 30, 2020 - 7:11 am

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…?

Reply
tasteisyours July 2, 2020 - 5:02 pm

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

Reply
Anne August 21, 2020 - 4:18 pm

Should I leave this out of the fridge before serving it?
If so, for how long? I’ve had it in the fridge overnight.

Reply
tasteisyours September 1, 2020 - 10:58 am

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

Reply
Candie September 25, 2020 - 6:56 pm

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!

Reply
tasteisyours September 29, 2020 - 10:55 am

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

Reply
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[…] 1 year ago 1 min read […]

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Traditional Karpatka - one of the most popular Polish desserts. - https://tasteisyours.com October 9, 2020 - 4:42 pm

[…] Polish Papal Cream Cake – kremowka […]

Reply
Natalie April 21, 2021 - 6:32 pm

Does it need the amaretto liquor? Does it taste ok without it?

Reply
tasteisyours April 22, 2021 - 12:56 pm

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

Reply
The best Polish honey cake with caramelised walnuts. - https://tasteisyours.com November 18, 2021 - 1:13 pm

[…] Papal cream cake or kremowka. – One of the best Polish desserts. […]

Reply
nina poepsel January 22, 2022 - 3:44 am

can you add usa quantities also. substitution for potato flour also

Reply
tasteisyours January 26, 2022 - 12:58 pm

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

Reply
Rebecca January 19, 2023 - 10:08 pm

Corn starch is a substitute for potato flour/starch, and easy as it is a 1:1 ratio.

Reply
tasteisyours January 25, 2023 - 2:05 pm

Hi Rebecca, thats correct. Substitute it to 1:1. Take care, Jan

Reply
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[…] When it comes to Polish desserts the most popular ones are Karpatka and Kremowka. […]

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