Piernik (Polish gingerbread)

Name: Piernik (Polish gingerbread)
Total time: 31 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Polish
Ingredients: 140 g Unsalted Butter; 300 g Clear Honey; 100 g Brown Sugar; 375 g Self-raising Flour; 3 tsp Ground Ginger; 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon; 1/2 tsp Ground Clove; 1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg; 1/4 tsp Pepper; 3 Egg; 200 g Plum Jam; 225 ml Double Cream; 140 g Dark Chocolate; 3 tbsp Clear Honey

This Polish gingerbread cake, or piernik, is a deeply spiced cake layered with plum jam and topped with a rich chocolate glaze. The batter comes together quickly, with honey, brown sugar, and butter melted together before being combined with flour and a blend of ground ginger, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and pepper. Once baked and cooled, the cake is sliced into three layers, spread with jam, and then coated in a smooth, pourable dark chocolate glaze. While it keeps well uniced for several days, once glazed, it's best enjoyed within three days from the fridge, brought to room temperature before serving.

R

Recipes.zone

August 14, 2026

Back31 minServes 4

Cook mode

vegetarian

Method

3 steps · 31 min total

01
Prep Tin and Melt Base
Preheat your oven to 160 °C (140 °C fan/gas 3). Grease and line the base and sides of a deep 20 cm cake tin with baking parchment.
In a medium saucepan, combine the honey, sugar, and butter. Cook this mixture over medium heat until everything is fully melted and smooth. Remove it from the heat and set aside to cool. In a large bowl, whisk together the self-raising flour and all the ground spices.
02

More to cook

Side dish

Koulenje

Recipes.zone29 min

Dessert

Salted Caramel Cheescake

Mix Batter and Bake

Once the melted honey-sugar-butter mixture has cooled, whisk in the eggs. Pour these wet ingredients over the dry flour and spices, whisking them together until you have a smooth batter. Be careful not to overmix, as this can lead to a dry cake.

Pour the batter into your prepared tin and bake for 50–55 minutes, or until the cake is risen and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

03

Slice, Fill, and Glaze

Once the cake is completely cool, use a large serrated knife to carefully slice it into 3 layers. Spread the plum jam evenly across the two bottom cake layers, then reassemble the cake. Set it aside while you prepare the glaze.

In a medium pan, combine the double cream, dark chocolate, and honey. Cook this over a low-medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is fully melted and you have a smooth, pourable mixture. Place the cake on a wire rack set over a parchment-lined baking tray, then pour the glaze over the cake, ensuring it's completely covered. Use a fish slice to carefully transfer the glazed cake to a serving plate and allow the glaze to set.

If you like, dust with a little edible gold powder for decoration. Uniced, this cake will keep for up to 5 days. Once iced, store it in the fridge and enjoy within 3 days; for the best texture, remove it from the fridge and let it come to room temperature before serving.

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Nutrition

Per serving