Originated from the North Central Poland region of Mazovia, Mazurek is an Easter delicacy traditionally eaten after 40 days of the Lent fast. There are many different iterations of this cake, and one thing is common among them – they are all delicious!
Apart from being tasty, Mazurek Polish Easter cake is also a treat to the eye. They are traditionally served after decorating with a lot of dried fruits and nuts.
If you are interested in serving this Polish Easter cake at your table, find two different iterations of our Mazurek recipe below!
What Is Mazurek?
Mazurek is a dessert served primarily during Easter in Poland. The word Mazurek refers to Polish folk dance and people from the Mazovia area.
This flat polish cake constitutes three basic layers – a fluffy and crunchy pastry base, one or more filling, and a heavily decorated top.
The fillings of a Mazurek polish easter cake vary widely depending on who is making it or where it is being made. They can be made of jams, marzipan, creams, nut butter, chocolate, meringue, etc.
As for the toppings, the traditional recipe uses dried fruits and nuts, preserves, almond paste, sliced almonds, confectioner’s sugar, cherries, etc.
A common variant called the Royal Mazurek is made with diamond shapes filled with fruit jams on top. Another famous variation uses a chocolate filling. Today, I will give you directions for both – so you can make whichever kind you like!
How to Make Mazurek: Traditional Polish Recipes
Things You Will Need
Here are the things you will need to make Mazurek polish easter cake –
The Base
- Egg – 1
- Hard boiled egg yolks- 2
- Unsalted butter – 1.5 cups and 2 tbsp
- Lemon zest – 1/2 teaspoon (Avoid the white bitter pith)
- Granulated sugar – 4 tbsp
- Powdered sugar – as required
- Salt – as required
- Almonds – 2 oz (ground as finely as corn meal)
- All purpose flour – 2.5 cups
- Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
The Filling
As we will be showing you two popular recipes of Mazurek – the fillings will vary.
Royal Mazurek Filling
- Unflavored gelatin – 3 tbsp
- Water – 1/4 cups
- Apricot fruit spread – 1/2 cup
- Cherry fruit spread – 1/2 cup
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Filling
- Unsweetened peanut butter – 2-3 tbsp
- Dark chocolate – 1 cup and 2 tbsp
- Heavy cream – 1/2 cup and 2 tbsp
The Shiny Glaze
Though not all of them, some types of Mazurek will have a shiny glaze on top. On top of the glaze, Polish words such as ‘Wesołego Alleluja’ are usually written. This translates to ‘happy easter.’
Royal Mazurek does not contain such a glaze. We include this for the chocolate Mazurek.
- 70% dark chocolate – 1/3 cups
- Heavy cream – 1/3 cups (or as much as the volume of chocolate you are using)
- Unsalted butter – 3.5 tsp
The Decorations
To decorate, you have full freedom to choose whatever you like. Below are the most common suggestions –
- Sliced almonds
- Powdered sugar
- Whole peeled almonds
- Candied cherry
- Dried apricots and peaches
Steps to Make Mazurek
Step 1: Dry Mixing
In a bowl, mix the measured flour, powdered sugar, almond meal, and a pinch of salt until homogenous.
In a medium saucepan, place eggs and cover with water. Please bring it to a boil; once boiling, remove the pan from the stove and leave it to continue cooking the eggs. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and cool completely. Save egg whites for a snack.
Press the cooled yolks through a sieve to make them evenly crumbly. Stir yolks delicately into the flour mixture.
Step 2: Creaming
In another bowl, add the butter and sugar. Beat together with an electric mixer or inside a food processor until creamed and fluffy. Then, add vanilla and almond extract and mix again.
Step 3: Mixing and Chilling
In the butter bowl, add sugar almond mixture and mix with your hands lightly until a dough forms. You have to work it a bit so that the dough stays tender.
If you are not up for the arm workout, use a food processor for this step. Then, cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for 1-2 hours.
Step 4: Rolling and Lining
Take some parchment paper and sprinkle lightly with flour. Roll out the chilled dough on the floured parchment paper until it is 0.5 centimeters thick.
Use more than half of the dough to line your baking pan of choice. You can use even more dough if you are making the chocolate one.
For Royal Mazurek, take slightly less than half of the dough and roll out. Cut dough into ¼ inch strips. Arrange strips to create diamond shapes on top of the pan. Use a metal spatula or ruler underneath in order to transfer strips easily.
You can use the remaining dough to make braids around the edges.
Step 5: Baking
Preheat the oven to 375 – 400 degrees F. Bake the base inside the preheated oven for 20 – 25 minutes until it is light golden brown. Once it is ready, cool it.
Step 6: Filling
For the chocolate version, fill the base with a thin layer of peanut butter and refrigerate. Make a ganache by pouring hot cream (scalded, not boiled) over the chopped chocolate and letting it sit for 2 – 3 minutes. Then, whisk until it’s smooth; pour this ganache on top of the set peanut butter.
And for the royal version, bloom the gelatin in the water. Sprinkle the powder in water and let it sit. Then, heat the gelatin mixture until it dissolves.
Next, heat the fruit preserves and strain the liquid through a sieve. Then add half of the gelatin to each preserve. Fill each diamond shape with the fruit preserves, alternating colors.
Step 7: Decoration Directions
For the chocolate version, make the shiny glaze following the same directions for the ganache, adding butter this time. Then, pour it over the cake and smoothen it. Now it is ready for decoration.
Use sliced almonds, red and green cherries, dried apricots, raisins, etc., to decorate the top. You can look up Mazurek pictures online for inspiration. Cover generously with confectioner’s sugar. Or, you can also finish with a light dusting.
Finals Words
Following this Mazurek recipe, you can create two delicious cakes to serve the next Easter. But you are not limited to this! Mazureks can be made in countless different ways. So, if you are feeling creative, mix up flavors to create your very own version. Hope you enjoy
