The Makowiec is a roll with a filling based on poppy seeds (mak), sugar, and orange zest, popular in Central Europe and some parts of Eastern Europe, where it is commonly consumed during Christmas and Easter.
▶Other names for this Polish cake are: makowiec strudla, strucla, makownik or placka.
▶It resembles the Swiss Roll (in Polish rolada Orzechowa), but the makowiec recipe uses a yeast-based dough, instead of sponge cake.
▶According to legend, poppy seeds grew where Jesus’ blood fell during the crucifixion.
Thus, eating makowiec with poppy seeds at Easter and Christmas became a symbol of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
On the blog, you can also find a Romanian Christmas dessert recipe, also with a poppy seed filling:
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 15 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 8 people
- Cooking methods: Stove, Oven
- Cuisine: Polish
- Seasonality: Christmas
Ingredients
- 4 oz butter
- 2/3 cup milk
- 5 cups flour
- 4 egg yolks (+ 1 egg for brushing)
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 10.5 oz poppy seeds
- 7/8 cup milk
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 orange (zest only)
- 1 cup sugar
Steps
For the dough:
mix the butter into the warm milk, add the flour, yolks, sugar, baking powder, and a pinch of salt.
Work the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes.
Prepare the filling:
cook the poppy seeds in milk, drain and grind them twice. Combine the butter, orange zest, sugar, and, if desired, some honey.
Roll out the dough, fill with the poppy seed mixture, gently roll it up, brush with the beaten egg, and bake in the oven at 350°F for 35 minutes.
Dust with powdered sugar.
Sniadanie, the Polish breakfast
Sniadanie, the Polish breakfast
Sniadanie, the Polish breakfast
🌟In 2017, I spent a wonderful New Year’s Eve in Krakow, a city that literally stole my heart.
We stayed at a Hilton, and the breakfast was international.
Today, I virtually return there, for a traditional Polish SNIADANIE with a Christmas theme consisting of Makowiec and….
▪️Jajecznica na skwarkach (scrambled eggs with bacon) and boiled egg
▪️Twarog (cheese similar to quark)
▪️Smoked kielbasa (Polish sausage)
▪️Ham (cooked ham) and sliced tomato
▪️Placki (potato pancakes), very similar to rösti
▪️Bread with butter
▪️Nalesniki (Polish crepes) that I prepared with my crepe pan.
▪️Milk and cereals
and the king of the table… MAKOWIEC
In a traditional Polish breakfast, you cannot miss the kutia and porridge.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Who invented makowiec?
No one knows for sure who invented the makowiec.
Legend has it that the baker of the Polish king Jan III Sobieski once made a
makowiec decorated with a replica of the queen in the 17th century.
