Apple, Sultana & Budyń Dessert

  • This is made as a cold dessert.
  •  
  • Apple & sultana filling is the base in a Pyrex  dish.
  • Cold budyń (Polish custard) made with 500ml of milk  is poured and leveled out on top.
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM5- 190°C.
  • Kruszonka made with 125g of plain flour is crumbled on top.
  • Bake for around 50 – 60 minutes.
  • Leave to cool.
  • This dessert is best served chilled.

Kruszonka – Crumble Mix

  • Kruszonka – comes from the Polish verb kruszic – to crush.
  • Crumble – comes from the English verb to crumble –  make into small pieces.
  • Similar verbs but not from the same origin.
  • Stresusel – come from the German verb – to sprinkle.
  • These ingredients are used on top of many cakes in Poland and Germany and on the top of a sweet fruit pudding in England.
  • *
  • Until recently I always used half the amount of butter as flour to make the kruszonka – crumbs.
  • However recently I found a different proportion with a higher fat ratio and the results are wonderful – much more crunchy.
  • You have to be careful and have the oven hot to start with and cook this at GM 5 or GM 6 or the butter will all melt.

Ingredients 

  • 125g plain flour
  • 100g butter
  • 80g – 100g granulated sugar 
  • *
  • This is the ratio I have used in my recent recipes and it is super.
  • I have many older recipes with a kruszonka topping.
  • When I make these again I will try out these ‘new’ proportions.
  • I made a simple apple crumple using these proportions with 4-5 large cooking apples.
  • My mama would have called this szarlotka.

Method

  • Peel and core and part cook the apples first.
  • Leave them to cool – best if cold – you could do this much earlier.
  • Put the apples into an oven proof dish.
  • Pre-heat the oven at GM5.
  • Add the topping.
  • Bake for around 50 minutes to 1 hour.

Basrszcz Ukraiński

  • My mama only made barszcz the clear beetroot soup, which was served at Wigilia – Christmas Eve
  • This is a much more hefty, filling beetroot soup.
  • I got this recipe from one of my Polish friends.
  • With all the different vegetables I would say make this with 2 litres of stock.
  • A fatty chicken stock is good – home made is best.
  • But if you are using stock cubes add some butter to the mix.
  • Use a large stock pot or saucepan.

INGREDIENTS

  • 3-4 Beetroots – coarse grated – include the stems and leaves if you have them
  • ½ a sweetheart cabbage – finely shredded and chopped.
  • 3-4 medium starchy potatoes – peeled and chopped into small cubes
  • 2 parsnips – coarse grated or chopped into small cubes
  • 2 carrots – coarse grated or choped into small cubes
  • ¼ of a celeriac – cut into small cubes
  • 1 leeks – chopped into small circles
  • 2 litres of chicken stock
  • 4-5 grains of allspice
  • 5-6 peppercorns
  • 2-3 dried juniper berries
  • 1-2 bay leaves
  • *
  • 1 tin of white beans – cannellini or haricot beans – drained
  • ½ bottle of beetroot concentrate
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • *
  • Hard boiled eggs for serving – 1 per person – chopped or cut into quarters

METHOD

  • Bring the chicken stock to the boil and then turn down to simmer.
  • Add all the chopped vegetables and the allspice, peppercorns, juniper berries and the bay leaves.
  • Gently simmer till the vegetables are nearly soft.
  • Add the beans and simmer till they are soft.
  • Season to taste.
  • *
  • Add the beetroot concentrate and stir.
  • *
  • Serve in deep bowls and add the eggs on top to serve.

 

Royal Stafford Blossom Time – Soup plates.

Option – not tested – some people add a few tablespoons of soured cream before serving.

Plum & Budyń Tort

  • It is my 700th post and the first for 2026.
  • So a Happy New Year to everyone.
  • This is a richer take on the last post of a simple apple cake.
  • Technically to be as a tort – it should have several layers but I am not an expert at cutting the sponges into halves.
  • Here 2 sponges – from 4 eggs, butter, sugar and flour – are sandwiched together with a plum- jam mixture and budyń made with 500ml of milk.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 circles(20/21cm in diameter) of sponge cake made from 4 eggs and the equivalent weight of butter, sugar and flour and a few drops of vanilla essence.
  • Around 370g of a sharp plum or plum and apple jam.
  • Juice of 1 lemon.
  • * 
  •  Budyń made with 500ml of milk – 3 egg yolks – 3 tablespoons of potato flour, 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon of butter. 
  • *
  • All the ingredients need to be cool – even cold, so they do not run when put together.
  • *
  • Icing sugar to dust

METHOD

  • Put the jam and the juice of 1 lemon into a small saucepan and heat gently, mixing together to get a thick paste.
  • Leave to cool completly before using.
  • *
  • Spread the jam mixture  over the first round of the cake.
  • *
  • Spread the cold budyń over the jam mixture – do not take it quite to the edges.
  • *
  • Place the second round of cake over this, gently press it down.
  • Dust this with icing sugar before serving.
  • Take care when cutting into the cake.

Simple Apple Sponge

  • I know that this is coming up to Wigilia & Christmas but this a a simple cake to balance all the rich ones you might be making.
  • It is a basic sponge make with 4 eggs and their equivalent weights of butter, sugar and flour and some baking powder.
  • Some drops of vanilla essence were added.
  • The two cakes were sandwiched together with a layer of apple jam & lemon juice.

METHOD

  • Make two rounds of sponge cake (the type with butter) in 20/21 cm  diameter tins.
  • Add a few drops of vanilla essence to the cake mixture.
  • *
  • Take a jar of homemade apple jam and put it into a small saucepan.
  • This will be around 370g of jam.
  • Add the juice of 1 or 2 lemons depending on size,
  • Slowly heat this up together until you have a thick mixture.
  • Leave this to go cold before using.
  • *
  • Sandwich the cake round together.
  • *
  • Dust the top with icing sugar.
  • *
  • You will have a refreshing cake to serve.

 

Apple & Sultana Tart – 2

  • In England this would be described as a pie.
  • There is no Polish word for pie.
  • This is a tart – tarta  with a lid.
  • It could be a placek if made in a rectangular tin.
  • This is made in a fluted tart tin using shortcrust pastry.
  • The filling was the Apple & Sultana mix that was in a previous post.
  • It was described as ‘gorgeous’ by one of my testers.

INGREDIENTS

  • Shortcrust pastry
  • Apple & Sultana filling
  • Egg white & sugar for the top of the pie.

METHOD

  • Butter the base and sides of a loose bottom tart tin.
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM6 – 200°C.
  • Line the base and sides of the tart tin.
  • Fill the tart with the Apple & Sultana filling.
  • Place a circle of pastry on top and seal the top with the sides.
  • Cut several slashes in the top of the pastry.
  • Brush the top with beaten egg white.
  • Sprinkle the top with granulated sugar.
  • Bake for 30 -40  minutes until the top is golden brown.

Stuffed Peppers – 2

  • Everyone liked my stuffed peppers so much I decided to try out a variation.
  • This time I used rice as one of the fillings instead of buckwheat.
  • I went to Leeds market and found that the red pepper season seemed to be over.
  • There were lots of orange peppers but they were more a medium size.
  • If you can get peppers with a flat bottom rather than a pointed one.
  • Of course, you might not have any choice – you might have to use a knife in the baking try to hold the peppers up.
  • The method is as before – but written up again for ease.

INGREDIENTS

  • 6 orange or red large peppers
  • 250-300g of minced or finely chopped chicken breast
  • 1 large onion – finely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic – finely chopped
  • 150 – 200g of mushrooms
  • 200g of cooked rice
  • Butter for frying mushrooms and onions
  • 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • 300ml of vegetable stock – I used marigold powder
  • 1 -2 tablespoons of tomato purée or ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon of dried paprika.
  • *
  • 1 tablespoon of soured cream or yoghurt – optional

METHOD

  • Fry the onions in butter until they are golden.
  • Chop the mushrooms into small pieces and add them to the onions.
  • Fry them both together.
  • Add the garlic and fry the mixture together.
  • Pre- heat the oven to GM3 – 150°C.
  • Cut the tops of the peppers and keep to one side.
  • Scoop out the seeds from the peppers.
  • Put the peppers into a roasting tray.
  • Add some of the vegetable stock to the base.
  • Cook for around 15 minutes to soften the peppers.
  • Leave to cool slightly.
  • Turn up the oven to GM4 – 180°C
  • Mix together the cooked rice with the minced chicken and the mushroom mix, add the marjoram.
  • Season to taste.
  • Fill each pepper with the filling and put on the tops.
  •  
  • *
  • Add the rest of the vegetable stock to the baking tin and the paprika and tomato purée or ketchup and stir.
  • Put the peppers to stand in the stock mixture.
  • You might need a knife laid down to help keep the peppers vertical.
  • Put back into the oven and cook for around 1 hour.
  • You might need longer so the peppers are softish.
  • Keep looking at the progress and pour some of the stock mixture over the peppers to keep them from drying out.
  • *
  • Add the soured cream to the stock mixture to make a sauce.

NOTE – 1

If you think you will have any left – before adding the soured cream put them into an ovenproof pyrex dish with a lid with some tomato stock liquid – you can reheat them the next day in a microwave and them add some soured cream.

NOTE – 2

You can use cooked pearl barley instead of rice – NOT tested.

Apple & Budyń Cake

  • I have tried out several versions of cake that has apples and budyń – Polish custard in the middle.
  • After many attemps, this is the best for baking and for cutting up afterwards.
  • It consists of 4 parts: – 
  • A shortcrust base and sides
  • Cooking apples – half cooked
  • 500ml of  budyń
  • Kruszonka topping – rich crumble mix
  • I made this in a rectangular baking tin – 26 x 21cm.

INGREDIENTS

  • Shortcrust pastry – enough to cover the base & sides of the tin.
  • 3-4 large cooking apples – peeled and cored – half cooked with sugar and a little cinnamon added.
  • Budyń made with 500ml of milk & 3 egg yolks.
  • Kruszonka – crumble mixture – made with 125g of plain flour, 100g butter and 80 – 100g of granulated sugar. (Will be doing a post on this later)

Royal Doulton, sonnet, tea plate.

METHOD

  • Chop the apples and cook them with the sugar (to taste – not too sweet).
  • Add a little cinnamon.
  • Leave to cool.
  • Make the budyń with 500ml milk, 1 tablespoon of butter, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 3 tablespoons of potato starch & 3 egg yolks.
  • Leave to cool.
  • Make the kruszonka – crumble mixture –  with 125g of plain flour, 100g butter and 80 – 100g of granulated sugar –
  • Rubbing the butter into the flour to resemble bread crumbs and stir in the sugar.
  • *
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM7 – 220°C.
  • Grease and line with one sheet of baking paper – 2 sides and the base of  the 26 x 21cm tin.
  • Roll out the shortcrust pastry to cover the base and all sides of the tin.
  • Piece carefully when needed.
  • Prick carefully with a fork the base.
  • Using baking beans – bake the pastry blind for 15 minutes.
  • Remove the baking beans and flaten the pastry gently if need be and bake for another minute.
  • Remove the tin from the oven and leave to cool a little.
  • *
  • Turn the oven down to GM5 – 190°C.
  • Cover the pastry with the apples – spreading out to cover the base.
  • Cover the apples with the budyń – spreading it out to cover the apples.
  • Sprinkle the crumble mixture over all the budyń.
  • Put back in the oven and bake for around 50 – 60 minutes until the top is golden.
  • Leave to go cold completely before serving.

Testers said they loved the different textures of the crumble against soft custard.

Apple & Sultana Tart

METHOD

  • Use melted butter to grease a 21cm fluted loose bottomed tart dish.
  • Pre- heat the oven to GM7 – 220°C.
  • Roll out the shortcrust pastry to cover the bottom and sides of the dish.
  • Bake blind – with ceramic beans for 15 minutes.
  • Remove the beans and bake for another 5 minutes.
  • Take the tin out of the oven and cool for a few minutes.
  • Lower the oven temperature to GM4 – 180°C.
  • Fill the tart with cold already prepared apple and sultana mixture.
  • Make the meringue in you usual way with 2 egg whites and 100g granulated or caster sugar or 
  • 3 whites and 150g of granulated or caster sugar.
  • Cover the filling with the meringue and bake for 30 minutes.
  • You can turn the oven down to GM1 – 140°C and bake until the meringue is dried out.
  • Leave to cool on a cake rack.
  • Serve cold.

Testers voted this delicious.

Squash & Apple Soup

  • Having a bumper crop of apples this year, I have been looking for new apple recipes.
  • I came across this one and it turned out so delicious – a lovely slightly sour taste.
  • I think you could use pumpkin instead of squash but I have not tried this out.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 butternut squash
  • 1 onion – chopped
  • 2 medium to large cooking apples
  • 1½ litres of vegetable stock (I used Marigold powder)
  • A little butter to fry the onions
  • Salt & Pepper to taste.
  • *
  • Soured cream or yoghurt – optional

METHOD

  • Slice the butternut squash into large pieces.
  • Place on a baking tray and put in an warm oven and roast till the flesh is soft.
  • Leave to cool and then remove the flesh from the skin.
  • Fry the onion in the butter till golden.
  • Peel and core the apples.
  • Chop the apples into small chunks.
  • Put everything into the vegetable stock.
  • Bring to the boil and then simmer till everything is soft.
  • Use a stick blender to make thick liquid.
  • Season to taste
  • *
  • OPTIONAL
  • Add a tablespoon of soured cream or yoghurt to each serving.
  • *
  • Good served with toasted sourdough toast.