Karpatka is a traditional Polishcream pie with some sort of vanillabuttercream filling – aerated butter mixed with eggs beaten and steamed with sugar (krem russel)[1][2], aerated butter mixed withcrème pâtissière (according to Polish gastronomy textbooks made from whole eggs)[2] or just thickmilk kissel enriched with melted butter.[3][note 1] Professionally it is made of one sheet ofshort pastry covered with a layer ofchoux pastry with a thin layer ofmarmalade and a thick layer of cream in between.[1][2][4][5] Nevertheless, the version with two layers of choux pastry is popular.[5][6] The cake is cut into squares or rectangles and dusted with icing sugar.[1][2]
The dessert takes its name from the mountain-like pleated shape of the powdered choux pastry, which resembles the snowy peaks of theCarpathian Mountains –Karpaty in Polish.[7]
The origins of the desert are unclear; it most likely emerged at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s, but its popularity only became widespread in the 1970s and 1980s.[5] The official name "karpatka" was first coined or recorded in 1972 by a group of philology students.[5][8] Traditionally, one large slice of the pie was served with coffee or tea.
There are "karpatka"baking mixes available in shops across Poland. In 1995, "Karpatka" became a trademark registered for a company called Delecta for the determination of cream powder in thePolish Patent Office.[5][9][10]
^For the purposes of this article, it is assumed that any boiled cream made ofmilk kissel enriched with egg yolks (or whole eggs) qualifies ascrème pâtissière
^abcdKonarzewska, Małgorzata (2011). "3.8 „Ciasta parzone (ptysiowe)"".Technologia gastronomiczna z towaroznawstwem: podręcznik do nauki zawodu kucharz w technikum i szkole policealnej. Vol. 2.Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne. p. 116.ISBN978-83-7141-980-5.
^abcdeFlis, Krystyna; Procner, Aleksandra (2009). "„Wyroby z ciasta parzonego" (page 159), „Wyroby z ciasta francuskiego" (page 181)".Technologia gastronomiczna z towaroznawstwem: podręcznik dla technikum. Część 2 (XVIII ed.).Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne.ISBN978-83-02-02862-5 (część 2),ISBN978-83-02-03170-0 (całość). Note: the theory part (page 159) mentionskrem russel andkrem półtłusty śmietankowy.Krem półtłusty is a cream made of areated (whipped) butter mixed withkrem śmietankowy (fr.crème pâtissière). A recipe for thekrem śmietankowy can be found in the chapter „Wyroby z ciasta francuskiego” in the „Napoleonki” recipe (page 181) – it doesn't contain cream as the name may suggest, it is a boiled cream made from milk, sugar, wheat flour, eggs and vanilla or vanilla essence.
^abS.A, Wirtualna Polska Media (October 28, 2019)."Karpatka".kuchnia.wp.pl.
^abTomasz Ciechoński. "Delecta kontra Dr. Oetker: Wojna dwunastoletnia o karpatkę".Gazeta Wyborcza.37 (wydanie z dnia 15/02/2011 Mój biznes, s. 26). Agora SA.
