Nothing feels warmer than hearty foods in the holiday season. And so, here I come with the Piernik Polish Gingerbread cake recipe that will make everyone feel delighted as soon as they take a bite!
This recipe calls for some easy-to-get ingredients, and the cooking process is pretty effortless. It is an amazingly spiced moist cake that stays fresh for days and can please anyone around you! If you want to win hearts and satisfy your food lust in a breath, go for this festive cake without any doubt.
All you have to do is follow my instruction, and all will be good in the world again!
So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get started!
So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get started!
The recipe I am about to share with you has a chocolate glaze as the topping. It will give you a nice warm feeling of the authentic old Polish recipes and the kick of the innovative latest recipes, which is perfect for any holiday, including Christmas time!
Thanks to this incredible addition, your gingerbread cake will taste more delish than ever!
You will find Piernik cooking instructions by Caroline’s Cooking, Sid’s Sea Palm Cooking, Palatable Pastime, or Karen’s Kitchen stories. Yes, I’ve been inspired by their work and simplified the recipe so anyone can try it at home!
Now, let’s see what items you will need to make this fantastic thing
List of Required Equipment
- Measuring Spoon
- Kitchen Scale
- 2 large bowls
- Small Saucepan
- 2 large or 3 medium loaf pan
- Parchment paper
Ingredients You Will Need
- 1 cup Honey
- 1 cup strong coffee
- 2 sticks of unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon Cloves
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 3 teaspoons of baking powder
- 4 cups of all-purpose flour
- Orange zest
- Plum Jam
- ¾ cup of unsweetened Cocoa Powder
Direction
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 1:30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hr 50 minutes
Yield: 10-12 slices
Step One – Prepare the Equipment
First of all, preheat the oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease your loaf pans with the cooking spray or butter. Then line the baking pans with parchment paper.
Step Two – Melt and Mix
Place a saucepan on the stovetop and mix butter, brown sugar, orange zest, and place honey together. And also, add the coffee to it but not the spices yet. Make sure you are melting everything together on medium to low heat.
When the mixture is quite warm, and the butter stick has begun to melt, take the saucepan out and stir it until everything is nicely incorporated. While doing this, be careful as you can’t let the mixture boil!
Now take your mixture and set aside to cool slightly, and start working on other ingredients.
Preparing for Christmas! Mixing ingredients for gingerbread cake. 
Making dough for gingerbread cookies.
Step Three – Combine the Dry Ingredients
It is time to mix the dry ingredients. Mix flour, baking powder, soda, salt, cocoa, and the spice mixture in a large bowl, some people also add black pepper and star anise, but I will not use them in my recipe. After putting the dry items, whisk everything together and make sure there is no lump.
Step Four – Blend the Honey Mixture and Eggs
Take another large bowl and whisk the eggs. After that, get the honey sauce and transfer mixture to the eggs gradually and keep whisking until thoroughly combined. Some people also add plum butter in this stage, but I am not doing that in my recipe.
Step Five – Add the Dry Ingredients
When the egg and honey sauce is fully incorporated, slowly add flour mixture. And while pouring the dry ingredients, whisk the mixture so it gets mixed properly. But, yes, avoid over mixing; gently fold the batter a few times to avoid lumps.
You can also use a stand mixer for this part, but it will increase the chances of overdoing the batter.
Step Six – Pour the Mixture into the Pan
After making a smooth batter, pour it into the pans and the oven; they go!
Final Step – Bake It!
Now, bake the cakes for at least 1 hour and 10 minutes. To check if they are done or not, take a toothpick, insert it in the middle of your cake Piernik. If the toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, your entire cake is ready!
After taking them out of the oven, place the gingerbread cakes on the cooling rack for ten minutes in a cool place. Meanwhile, you can start working on your chocolate glaze.
Fragrant gingerbread cookies in the process of preparation. 
Uncooked gingerbread cookies arranged on baking tray. 
Taking out of the gingerbread cookies from the oven
The Chocolate Glaze Recipe – Simple Yet Delish!
To make your chocolate glaze, here are the things you’ll need.
- Dark Chocolate
- Milk chocolate
- Butter
All you have to do is take these ingredients in a small bowl and combine them in a double boiler or microwave. And your simple chocolate glaze will be ready!
Just drizzle the chocolate glaze with a spoon over the Piernik, and you are done! However, you can also add some chopped nuts to take the cake to the next level!
Expert’s Tips for Making the Perfect Piernik Recipe Every Time
Though I have shared the whole recipe with you, there is no secret between us! But yes, if you are making this thing for the first time, let me give you some pro tips for a better experience.
- While making the honey mixture, do not boil it. Just warm up the mixture to melt everything together; that’s it! You have to keep the pot on low heat and stir it with a wooden spoon to incorporate the ingredients.
- Add the honey sauce to the egg when it is cool. Don’t pour a warm mixture; otherwise, the eggs will get cooked!
- Avoid over-mixing the plain flour batter; it will ruin the texture of your cake.
- Always bake the cake on the lower rack of your oven to prevent cracking.
- Before adding the chocolate glaze, make sure that the cake is cool completely.
- Serve your honey spice cake after the glaze has hardened!
Gingerbread cake
Should We Use Baking Soda or Baking Powder to Bake the Piernik?
If you don’t have much experience with baking or are new to culinary adventures, you may ask if you should use baking soda or powder to make your cake. Don’t worry; when I got into the culinary world, I thought gingerbread cake had ginger in it!
Well, baking soda is much stronger than powder. Therefore, if you make a tiny mistake while measuring the baking soda, your cake will be ruined. So, to stay on the safe side, go for baking powder instead.
How Do I Store Piernik?
To store your Piernik, you can wrap it up in foil, place it in a freezer bag and keep it in the freezer. It will stay good for about three months, and if you want to eat it, thaw the whole thing overnight in the oven!
Wrap up
The Piernik Polish Gingerbread cake is perfect for any happy occasion. If you are tired of fruitcakes or your regular rum-spiced cake, give this recipe a try. And trust me, once you take a bite, you will keep coming for more!
If you want to keep the recipe simple, you can serve without the chocolate glaze too. But to make it look festive during Christmas eve as a substitute for gingerbread cookies or any other occasion, going the extra mile is really worth it!
