Post-communist szarlotka
Polish Szarlotka: it's the dessert that unites Poles. Communism? Very bad. Szarlotka? Oh, so good! But you know what? Let’s make it even better—and way more expensive—because why not? Goodbye apples, hello sweet persimmons! You don't need the gold on top, it's a waste of gold, but it does look good.
Ingredients
Filling:
- 1.5 kg persimmons (ripe and sweet—whatever you call them: hurma, sharon, kaki—get the best!)
- 5 g cinnamon
- 3 cloves (crushed or ground)
- 1 lemon (juice)
- 65 g sugar
- 5 g pure vanilla (paste, powder, or even the expensive fresh one)
Dough:
- 200 g white flour
- 100 g rye flour (trust me, it’s all about that taste)
- 5 g salt
- 60 g sugar
- 250 g cold butter (only the fanciest organic butter for this)
- 1 egg
Optional Garnish:
- Powdered sugar
- Edible 23.5-carat gold leaf (because why stop at just delicious?)
This is how you do it!
The Filling:
- Start by washing, peeling, and chopping the persimmons into small-medium pieces. Taste it first! You need it soft and sweet; if it's too firm, you'll end up with a weird, bitter situation. Nobody wants that.
- In a large pot, mix in the persimmons, lemon juice, cinnamon, cloves, sugar, and vanilla. Bring to a simmer over medium heat with the lid on for 40 minutes. Stir occasionally until it’s thick and sweet. If it’s still too liquid, simmer for another 15 minutes without the lid. Let it cool. Smell that? That's luxury.
The Dough:
- Flour, salt, sugar. Mix it all up.
- Add cold butter cubes and mix until it looks like, well... sand. Fancy buttery sand.
- Add the egg and mix again until it forms a dough. Divide into two portions, one slightly bigger. Wrap each and pop them into the freezer for 1 hour. Yes, the freezer! We need that dough cold.
Assembling This Beauty:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F). Crumple up some parchment paper and line your baking dish.
- Take out the larger dough from the freezer, slice it up, and press it into the bottom of the pan until it forms an even layer. Make it smooth; use those muscles.
- Spread the cooled persimmon filling evenly over the dough. No shortcuts—make it perfect.
- Grab the other dough from the freezer and grate it over the filling. You want a crumbly, even topping.
Bake It:
- Into the oven for 50 minutes at 180°C. It should be golden brown and smell absolutely divine.
Make It Shine:
- Once cooled, cut into squares. It’s Szarlotka, but make it couture.
- Dust with powdered sugar, and now—the pièce de résistance—edible gold leaf. Carefully apply with tweezers and use a clean brush to flatten it out. Trust me, it’s worth the drama.