There are quite a few versions of ‘moczka’ in Silesia, and each housewife prepares it in her own way – they differ in the ingredients, but the basis is always gingerbread.
‘Moczka’ is a Silesian Christmas Eve dish based on soaked gingerbread. As with traditional recipes, it looks a little different in every home. It can be prepared in many different ways with a mixture of fruit compotes, or even with a dark beer.
There is no equivalent for it, even in the Polish language. The name comes from the process of soaking (Polish: moczenie) gingerbread in beer. Even though ‘moczka’ might not look appetizing, it tastes delicious. It is made from gingerbread which has to soak in lager. Then, sweet, canned pears and plums, strawberry compote and almonds are added. The preparation is quite easy but takes time. After the solemn Christmas dinner, ‘moczka’ is served for dessert.
Ingredients:
– 1 kg / 35.3 oz of gingerbread (if you prefer thicker consistency of moczka, you can add more gingerbread),
– 2 tablespoons of sugar,
– 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar,
– 25 dag / 88 oz sultana raisins,
– 25 dag / 88 oz almonds finely chopped,
– 2 strawberry compotes (approximately 2 litres / 68 fl oz),
– 2 plum compotes without stones (approximately 2 litres / 68 fl oz),
– 2 pear compotes (approximately 2 litres / 68 fl oz),
– 2 tablespoons butter,
– 4 bottles of lager (approximately 2 litres / 68 fl oz).
Preparation:
1. Soak the gingerbread in lager, until it softens.
2. When softened, rub it precisely through a sieve.
3. Cut the pears from the compote into stripes.
4. Place the gingerbread in a big pot and add compotes to this.
5. Stir everything and add fruit from the compotes.
6. Boil the raisins in water.
7. Add the stock from raisins to gingerbread with fruit and compote.
8. Stir everything thoroughly.
9. In the meantime, cook the finely chopped almonds until soft.
10. Drain them and add them to the almost done ‘moczka.’
11. Heat everything gently until it comes to a gentle boil.
12. Melt the butter in a small pot.
12. Finally, add vanilla sugar, sugar, and melted butter to ‘moczka.’
Serve chilled and enjoy this amazing taste 😋