Piernik

Description

Although it is known as a gingerbread, piernik is better described as a traditional Polish honey-spice cake that is mainly enjoyed as a popular Christmas treat. It appears in numerous varieties, but it usually consists of wheat or rye flour, honey, and hefty amounts of spices, such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, and pepper. Traditionally baked in loaf pans, it is occasionally enriched with dry fruits and nuts or served layered with thick plum jam. Piernik is always prepared well in advance, leaving the dough to mature, and the cake to release all the pleasant, pronounced flavors. It is usually associated with Toruń, a city with the centuries-long ginger-making tradition.