Coming from a Polish background, many of the foods I ate as a child were of Polish or Russian origin. And since Easter is the highest holiday in the Christian calendar, we would always have traditional foods around Eastertime. In addition to hard-boiled eggs dyed a rainbow of colors, poppyseed cake, chruschiki, babka, and Kowalski kielbasa that my mother would drive to the next town to get, we’d have a homemade treat, mazurek.
Lent is a time of fasting, self-denial and meditation for devout Christians, and this includes starting the season with ridding the pantry of all the “fun” ingredients – sugar, butter, cream. But with Easter, the fasting ends and once again we could enjoy decadent treats, if only for one day. Mazurek is hard to describe – it’s basically a flat shortbread cake topped with almond paste, jams, nuts, fruit and anything else you want to put on it. It’s not hard to make, either. It takes under two hours and requires only a few ingredients. Try this once and it’ll be part of your Easter brunch or dinner every year.
Mazurek
I officially credit this recipe to my Godmother, Maxine Clapper, although my mother, Bonny Maynard, usually made it, and I’m sure had influence over what went into it. You can bake it in the pie plate specified below, or just on a sheet pan shaped into a circle (despite the butter content, the dough will hold its shape as it bakes).
Ingredients
- 1 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 7- or 8-ounce package almond paste (not almond pie filling)
- 1/3 cup milk or half-and-half, more or less
- Jams, dried fruit, nuts as desired for topping
- Butter or shortening for greasing the pan
Method
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch pie pan. (See note)
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter and sugar on low until combined, then on medium for two or three minutes until creamy.
While the butter and sugar are creaming, beat the egg with the heavy cream in a small bowl until well combined, then mix in the vanilla. Also, in a separate bowl, sift the flour and salt together.
With the mixer on low, add the egg and cream mixture and mix until well combined, then mix on medium for another minute or so.
Set the mixer to low and slowly add the flour mixture one-fourth at a time, waiting for the flour to be mixed in between each addition.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured board, and pull it together to form a mass. Place the dough in the prepared pie pan and press with your fingers until it’s uniform in thickness with a slightly raised edge. Bake the crust for 30 minutes at 375 F.
While the crust is baking, combine the almond paste and one-quarter cup of the milk in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment (you can use a mini-prep food processor for this step). Pulse a few times until a smooth mixture forms. The almond paste mixture should be spreadable but not runny. If it’s too thick add more milk, a tablespoonful at a time, until it’s the right consistency. (You can also mix the almond paste and milk in a bowl using a pastry blender or a fork if you don’t want to dirty up your food processor, but it’s more work.)
When the crust has been baking for a half-hour, take it from the oven, spread the almond paste mixture over the crust out to about 3/8 inch from the edge (10 mm), then bake for another 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and add your decorations. I use raspberry and apricot jam (as in the picture), but you can use any flavor jam, or dried fruit, or slivered almonds, pecans, walnuts – really anything you like. Return to the oven for another 10 minutes to set the toppings.
Let the mazurek cool completely on a wire rack, then carefully cover. It’ll keep for several days, if it lasts that long.
Note: Instead of using a pie pan, you can roll or pat the dough into a circle on the board. The dough should be 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick (8-10 mm). Carefully transfer the dough round to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper (no greasing necessary). Bake as directed. The dough can be divided in half to make two smaller mazurka, or into six or eight portions to make individual cakes.