Receta Mazurek (Polish Easter Pastry)

The word mazurek can be a dance and type of music.  It’s a surname and also one of the traditional Easter cakes in Poland – although it will seem more like a tart to American readers. Let’s take a look at Mazurek (Polish Easter Mazurek starts off with a shortbread-like crust, which may be topped with a layer or combination of layers consisting of fruit jam, dried fruit, a thick caramel, chocolate, or nuts.  Like so many foods in Poland, the tarts are beautifully decorated, in patterns, a pussy willow design (a symbol of spring and used in places of palms on Palm Sunday), or with “Wesolego Alleluja” (Happy Easter) piped in meringue or chocolate I got to sample several mazurki when we lived in Poland.  This is the first…