No-bake Karpatka
Recipe for quick no-bake Karpatka with choux pastry puffs
No-bake Karpatka cake with custard cream and strawberries is a dessert with a delicate flavor that is easy to prepare. This express Karpatka made with ready-made choux pastry puffs has recently taken over the entire internet, and I’m not surprised :) Incredibly simple and quick to prepare, Karpatka tastes excellent, and anyone can handle making it. I added strawberries for a more spring-like taste, and I must admit, it was a bullseye! You absolutely must try this version!
Table of contents
Quick No-Bake Karpatka Recipe with Video and Step-by-Step Photos
If you’re craving something sweet but don’t have much time to bake choux pastry for a traditional karpatka, try this quick version instead. Karpatka made with cream puff pastry balls is much faster and easier to prepare than the classic baked karpatka.
No-bake Karpatka recipe
Wyposażenie
- Springform pan with a diameter of about 22 cm.
Składniki
ingredients for no-bake Karpatka
- approx 160 g choux pastry puffs
- 500 ml milk (- I use 1.5%)
- 2 packages vanilla pudding (or cream-flavored – each for half a liter of milk)
- 100 g sugar (- half a glass)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
- 100 g butter (- soft – at room temperature)
ingredients for strawberries for Karpatka
- approx 150 g strawberries (- can also be frozen)
- approx 30 g sugar (- 2 tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon potato starch
- approx 60 ml water
Instrukcja
How to make no-bake Karpatka
- Start by making the pudding, as it needs to cool down to room temperature.
- Pour off about half a glass of milk and mix the two puddings in it.500 ml milk, 2 packages vanilla pudding
- Heat the rest of the milk together with sugar and vanilla sugar.100 g sugar, 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
- Add the mixed pudding to the milk and cook, stirring constantly, until the pudding thickens.
- Cover the top of the pudding with plastic wrap and let it cool (to room temperature!).
- Beat the soft butter on high speed with a mixer until it’s very light – I beat it for up to 10 minutes.100 g butter
- Scrape down the butter stuck to the sides of the bowl with a spatula and start adding the pudding one tablespoon at a time.
- Mix until combined into a smooth cream.
- Line the mold with baking paper and spread the choux pastry puffs on the bottom, covering the entire base.approx 160 g choux pastry puffs
- Spread the pudding cream over the choux pastry puffs and level the surface.
- If you are adding strawberries to the Karpatka, layer them now on top of the cream (you’ll find instructions on how to prepare them below).
- Sprinkle choux pastry puffs on top of the Karpatka and gently press down.
- Refrigerate the cake for several hours so that the choux pastry puffs soften slightly from the cream.
How to make strawberries for Karpatka
- Cut the strawberries into smaller pieces and transfer them to a saucepan (if they are frozen, you don’t need to thaw them beforehand), add sugar and water.approx 150 g strawberries, approx 30 g sugar , approx 60 ml water
- Cook until the fruit releases some juice and softens slightly.
- Mix the potato starch with a little water and add to the strawberries – stir constantly while cooking until they thicken.1 teaspoon potato starch
- Cool the strawberries before adding them to the pudding cream.
Film
Wartości Odżywcze
Karpatka with Cream Puff Pastry Balls – Tips
It has to be said that karpatka is one of those cakes that Poles absolutely love. This choux pastry cake with custard cream and its characteristic “mountain-like” shape has many fans, and I am one of them as well. On the blog you will find a recipe for traditional karpatka made with choux pastry, as well as a recipe for karpatka with Bavarian cream. Today, this quick karpatka with cream puff pastry balls joins those recipes. Instead of baking two layers of choux pastry, we use ready-made cream puff pastry balls.
What kind of choux pastry puffs for Karpatka?
You can use any puffs here, but a nicer one has balls about 1 cm in diameter (mine was from Putki). I moderately recommend against Lidl’s choux pastry puffs, as they are small and quite greasy. I think you could also use choux pastry sticks here – arrange them in an even layer on the bottom of the mold and then on top of the Karpatka.
How to make cream for Karpatka?
Here, I opted for a simple custard cream. Such a cream is a thick pudding – usually vanilla or cream-flavored – mixed with soft butter. For this custard cream to turn out well, both the butter and the pudding must be at room temperature. Therefore, take the butter out of the fridge beforehand to warm up and soften. Also, make the pudding in advance and leave it on the counter to cool. To prevent a hardened layer from forming on the pudding, it’s worth covering it with cling film or a plastic bag immediately after preparation. Place the film so that it touches the surface of the pudding.
How many calories does no-bake Karpatka have?
My Karpatka, prepared with two packages of choux pastry puffs, custard cream, and strawberries, had less than 230 kcal per 100 g. Quite pleasant, so I ate it with relish :) I am, of course, providing the calorie count based on the products I used. Yours may have a little less or more calories, depending on the products used.
I hope this recipe for quick no-bake Karpatka will appeal to you and that you will enjoy using it.
Let me know in the comments if you’ve already made such a Karpatka and how you liked it :)
P.S.
By the way, I recommend my book “Beata’s Best Bakes” where you will find 100 fantastic and simple recipes for sweet baked goods, perfect for various occasions. You can purchase the book, among other places, in my store – I warmly invite you :)
Recommended no-bake cake recipes
If you like no-bake cakes, or you don’t have access to a working oven, but you love homemade cakes, then be sure to check out my other recipes for no-bake cakes. You will surely find something for yourself here. And I recommend, among others, the following cakes:
Popularne Przepisy
Polecane przepisy
Quick No-Bake Karpatka Recipe
Make a super quick and easy no-bake Karpatka (Polish Carpathian Mountain Cream Cake) with me today!
Yes, you read that right—this Karpatka is made completely without baking or even turning on your oven. The secret? Using store-bought mini cream puff shells (groszek ptysiowy). Because you don't have to make choux pastry from scratch and wait for it to bake, you save a ton of time! If you make the vanilla pudding base for the pastry cream ahead of time, assembling the entire no-bake Karpatka will take you less than 30 minutes! It is officially the fastest Karpatka on the internet. You absolutely have to try it and see for yourself.
