Six years of pitching

Bon Appétit test kitchen editor Jesse Szewczyk had been trying to get a karpatka recipe published since before he had ever made one start to finish.

Components, not recipes

He had made every part before, just never assembled in this order. That is the whole Bake Club argument: learn building blocks and new bakes stop being new.

“I just haven't arranged the puzzle pieces in this fashion.”

Why drag queen

Karpatka is a Polish cake of two wildly puffed choux discs sandwiching cream. Jesse calls it big, boisterous and silly, and the copy desk let him keep the phrase.

“the drag queen of Polish desserts”

Choux, baked in a pan

Bake Club already did a Paris-Brest, choux piped freeform on a sheet tray. This bakes the same paste in two cake pans, where it climbs into wonky domes.

Two roots, one cake

The filling is a no-bake cheesecake, an American move. The plum compote nods to Jesse's Polish side. Traditionally karpatka is an Easter and Christmas bake.

Start with the plums

Cook plums with sugar and salt until thick, then finish with lemon zest, juice and vanilla. Red plums throw a stain-your-hands color that reads dramatic in the slice.

Plums are the Polish apple

Americans have a saying about apples for everything. In Poland the sayings are about plums, and plums land right in that gap between peak summer and cold weather.

Cook the jam dry

Reduce until a spatula dragged through holds its streak for a second. Too loose and it weeps into the filling when you slice.

“You're not making caramel, but it needs to have body.”

Beat the hell out of it

The breakthrough: after the eggs go in, run the mixer on high for five full minutes. The batter visibly aerates and bakes up twice as tall.

“It was like a little gnome hat.”

Know when to stop cooking

A thin film forming on the pan bottom means the starches have gelatinized and the paste is done. Overcooking it is nearly impossible; it would burn first.

Never grease the sides

Choux needs to grip the wall to climb, like a souffle. Greased or non-stick pans make it slip and stay flat. Parchment on the bottom only.

Glue the parchment down

Wet choux slides on loose parchment. Dab a few blobs of the paste under the round as goo dots, then smear the rest on top. Uneven is fine, it adds to the whimsy.

Cream cheese beats pastry cream

The traditional mousseline filling died fast and wept. Deputy food editor Hannah suggested cream cheese, and Jesse pushed it all the way to cheesecake.

“It proved perhaps too ephemeral.”

Gelatin buys you days

A little bloomed gelatin turns a sad slump into a clean slice that survives hours on a counter. Bloom in cold water, dissolve fully in warm cream, or you get rubbery specks.

Swirl with restraint

Build in layers inside a parchment collar, dollop the jam, barely drag it. Whatever looks right going in will look overswirled once it sets and you cut.

Bend a spoon into an L

A junk spoon bent to 90 degrees reaches into a tall collar and places filling where you want it. Useful on any layer cake.

“It's a work spoon. I'm not paying for it.”

Flip it with your hand

After eight hours, peel the collar, put a hand on top and flip in one motion. It is hefty and set. Nothing happens.

“It's going to feel scary taking it out, but it's hefty.”

The swipe that sells it

Before dusting with powdered sugar, run an offset or bench scraper around the sides. It smooths the cake and bleeds red into white like a painting.

“You don't have to do this, but you should.”

Bake it darker than you think

A gummy center means underbaked. Take the discs to a medium wood shade, past golden, so they hold up to a wet filling and a night in the fridge.

Ruby Bhogal's 80 cakes

The Bake Off season nine finalist stopped by to talk about three years spent chasing cake histories worldwide. Her karpatka riff is peanut butter and jelly.

“People get really upset if you don't make it how their nan has made it.”