"Mazurek" - A Polish Easter Cake

We are having the most glorious spring that I can ever remember. The weather in the UK right now makes me deliriously happy all the time - that's the great thing about living in a country where you expect it to rain - it makes you appreciate every single ray of sunshine like it's your last. As usual, I am spending the Easter break down on the south coast - catching up with old friends on the beach, sunbathing in the garden and cooking with my mum. This morning we made a really popular Polish Easter cake - the mazurek - which is also the easiest cake you can ever hope to make

You start off by making some pastry

 

And some caramel - you do this by completely covering a tin of condensed milk with hot water, and boiling for two to two and a half hours. Allow it to cool before opening

 Then you spread it over the pastry... and get creative with the nuts on top

  Pastry

600g flour

250g sugar

350g butter

3 egg yolks

Pinch of salt

Mix the ingredients together and kneed to make the dough. Put it in the fringe for 1 hour before rolling out into a 1cm thickness, and placing in a backing tin with raised edges. Bake for 15min at 200 degrees, until golden. Decorate.