Sernik
Photo: Aw58 · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

Polish sernik (baked cheesecake) entered Polish home baking in the 19th century, using twaróg (farmer's cheese) instead of the German Quark or American cream cheese. The Krakow variant, sernik krakowski, distinguished itself by 1900 with a decorative lattice of pastry strips baked on top. The cake appeared in Maria Ochorowicz-Monatowa's 1910 cookbook as a Krakow speciality. The city's surviving counter sellers, Vanilla on Brzozowa and Noworolski in the Cloth Hall, serve the editorial Krakow version. The lattice pattern is the geographic ID; serniki from Warsaw, Poznań or Gdańsk are flat-topped.

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Warsaw

Guided tour · 3h 30m

Warsaw: Polish Food Tour

The Polish food tour is a great way to experience a must-try cuisine of this amazing country. A professional guide will teach you all there is to...

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Common allergens: Dairy, Egg, Gluten

Make it at home

Yield 12Hands-on 45 minTotal 2 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • For the pastry: 250g plain flour
  • 100g cold unsalted butter cubed
  • 60g icing sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tbsp cold water
  • pinch of salt
  • For the filling: 1kg full-fat twaróg (Polish farmer's cheese, passed twice through a fine sieve)
  • 250g unsalted butter softened
  • 250g caster sugar
  • 6 large eggs separated
  • 4 tbsp potato starch
  • zest of 2 lemons
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 100g raisins soaked in 2 tbsp rum (optional)
  • For glazing: 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp milk

Method

  1. Rub flour, butter, icing sugar, and salt together until crumb-like. Add egg yolk and water, bring together quickly, do not overwork. Wrap and chill 30 minutes.
  2. Use two-thirds of the pastry to line the base and 4cm up the sides of a 23cm springform tin. Roll the remaining third into 1cm-wide strips for the lattice; chill until needed.
  3. Beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, 4 minutes.
  4. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating between each.
  5. Beat the sieved twarog into the butter mix until completely smooth, 6 minutes; this is non-negotiable for the dense Krakow crumb.
  6. Stir in potato starch, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla, and drained raisins if using.
  7. Whisk egg whites to stiff peaks in a clean bowl. Fold gently into the cheese mix in three batches.
  8. Pour into the lined tin. Lay pastry strips in a lattice pattern across the top. Brush with egg wash.
  9. Bake at 170C for 60 to 75 minutes; the cheesecake is done when the centre wobbles only slightly when shaken. Cool in the tin to room temperature, then refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Tip from the editors. The lattice on top is what makes a sernik krakowski rather than a generic Polish sernik; double-sieved twarog and stiff egg whites are what give the distinctive dense-yet-airy crumb.

Where to eat sernik

Sernik in Kraków

Vanilla ★ 4.0

$ BakeryPolish patisserieWalk-in only

Cukiernia Vanilla in Kraków runs traditional Polish patisserie from two shops, Brzozowa 13 and Na Szaniec 14. Open daily 10:00-21:00. At ul. Brzozowa 13.

Worth the queueSernik (Polish cheesecake)

TipSernik krakowski is the city's lattice-topped cheesecake; ask for it at the counter.

Directions

Cukiernia Michałek ★ 4.3

$ BakeryPolish layered cakes and pączkiWalk-in only

Cukiernia Michałek on Kraków's Krupnicza is the family-run pastry counter west of the Planty since 1958: rose-filled pączki, kremówka, sernik.

Worth the queueRose-filled pączki

TipThe rose-filled pączki are the counter pick; Fat Thursday queue runs hours long.

Directions

Noworolski ★ 4.8

$ CaféWifi

Noworolski in the Cloth Hall on Rynek Główny has poured coffee in its Secession rooms since 1910, the White Room's polychromes painted by Henryk Uziembło.

DrinkViennese coffee

TipThe art-nouveau rooms are the photograph; the terrace on Rynek Główny is the better summer seat.

Directions

All Kraków signature dishes →

Sernik in Wrocław

Piekarnia Sąsiedzi ★ 4.6

$$ 25-45 złBrunchBakery breakfast with sourdough breads

Piekarnia Sąsiedzi in Wrocław's Grunwald student district is the neighbourhood breakfast room: sourdough loaves, cinnamon buns, daily-changing breakfast.

OrderCinnamon bun and a flat white at the counter

TipSaturdays sell out by noon. Weekday breakfast from 08:00 is the calmest version.

Directions

Piekarnia Złoto Nadodrza ★ 4.6

$ BakeryTraditional Polish breads and Wrocław doughnutsWalk-in only

Piekarnia Złoto Nadodrza in Wrocław's Nadodrze has run by the Krajewski family since 1979, one of the city's best craft bakeries. At ul. Henryka Pobożnego 20.

OrderA plum-cinnamon pączek, eaten warm out of the paper bag.

TipBuy three pączki to take across the river; they hold for the day if not refrigerated.

Directions

Karczma Lwowska ★ 4.0

$$ Modern PolishStare Miasto

Karczma Lwowska on Wrocław's Rynek cooks Eastern Borderlands food, the family roots a lot of post-1945 Wrocław inherited. Located in Stare Miasto.

OrderThe flaming meat platter for two with grilled vegetables and three sauces.

TipAsk for the szaszłyk skewers; they're cheaper than the platter and the kitchen treats them with the same care.

Directions Book

Restauracja Wrocławska ★ 4.2

$$ SilesianStare Miasto

Restauracja Wrocławska's casual side: Silesian classics, pre-war Breslau menu drawn from Marek Krajewski novels, and the city's most reliable plate of rolada.

OrderRolada śląska with potato dumplings (kluski śląskie) and red cabbage, the canonical Silesian plate.

TipThe hekele (smoked-herring spread) starter is the deep-Silesian move many visitors miss.

Directions Book

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