If you grew up in a Polish home, you know dessert was never optional. There was always something on the table — a szarlotka cooling by the window, kolaczki disappearing from the holiday tray, or sernik waiting in the fridge for Sunday.
The most beloved Polish desserts are sernik (farmer’s cheese cheesecake), szarlotka (apple pie), pączki (filled doughnuts), makowiec (poppy seed roll), and faworki (angel wings) — and what makes them special is that none of them are overly sweet. Polish baking is about butter, fruit, cheese, and poppy seeds, not sugar overload.
We’ve been baking these in our house for as long as I can remember, the way Babcia taught us. Every single recipe below is one of ours, tested until it tastes like home. Here are the 40 Polish desserts worth your butter — save this list, you’ll come back to it.
Classic Polish Cakes & Cheesecakes
From sernik to szarlotka, these are the cakes on every Polish celebration table. Most of them, you’ll notice, aren’t overly sweet — that’s the Polish way.
1. Sernik (Polish Cheesecake)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 8 reviews
Poland’s most beloved cheesecake, made with creamy farmer’s cheese instead of cream cheese. It’s rich yet light, never overly sweet — just how Grandma made it. If you bake one thing from this list, make it this.
2. Szarlotka (Polish Apple Pie)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 7 reviews
Buttery shortcrust, soft cinnamon apples, and a crisp grated topping. It isn’t overly sweet, and honestly, I think it tastes even better the next day.
3. Karpatka (Carpathian Cream Cake)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 2 reviews
Two golden layers of choux pastry with smooth vanilla cream between them. The little peaks look just like the snowy Carpathian Mountains it’s named for. My grandmother always made it the day before a party — it’s better chilled overnight.
4. Kremówka (Papal Cream Cake)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 1 review
Crisp puff pastry holding a thick cloud of vanilla cream. It was the Pope’s favorite from Wadowice, and honestly, one slice is never enough.
5. Makowiec (Poppy Seed Roll)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 3 reviews
No Polish Christmas without it. Sweet dough rolled around homemade poppy seed filling with nuts and honey. Babcia always baked two — one vanished instantly.
6. Sernik Królewski (King’s Cheesecake)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 4 reviews
Creamy twaróg filling between cocoa crumb layers. It’s the cheesecake my family asks for by name. Rich, but never heavy.
7. Piernik (Honey Gingerbread Cake)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 3 reviews
Spiced honey gingerbread layered with plum jam. It gets better as it sits, so I bake it days ahead. The house smells incredible.
8. Miodownik (Honey Cake)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 2 reviews
Honey cake layers with creamy pudding filling, caramel, and walnuts. It looks like a showstopper, but it isn’t cloying. My family requests it every winter.
9. Wuzetka (Warsaw Chocolate Cream Cake)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 1 review
Chocolate sponge, a cloud of whipped cream, and a shiny cocoa glaze — the little cake named after a Warsaw street and loved everywhere.
10. Murzynek (Polish Chocolate Cake)
The chocolate cake every Polish kid grew up on. Moist, cocoa-rich, one bowl. I still pour the glaze while it’s warm, like Mama did.
11. Easter Babka
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 3 reviews
Tall, golden, and glazed. Our Easter table isn’t complete without it. The crumb stays soft for days, though it honestly never lasts that long.
12. Mazurek (Easter Caramel Cake)
Flat shortcrust cake topped with caramel and decorations. It’s sweet, sticky, and sits on every Polish Wielkanoc table. The kids always decorate ours.
13. Sernik Krakowski (Kraków Cheesecake)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 2 reviews
Baked the Kraków way, with sultanas and a lattice on top. It’s lighter than American cheesecake, and honestly, I think that’s the point.
14. Keks (Polish Christmas Fruit Cake)
A buttery loaf packed with dried fruit and nuts. Our Christmas keks isn’t like heavy fruitcake — it’s lighter, and it actually gets eaten.
15. Placek ze Śliwkami (Polish Plum Cake)
A soft, buttery cake topped with juicy plums that turn jammy as they bake. It’s the cake every Polish home smells like in September.
Polish Christmas Cookies & Holiday Baking
Every December our kitchen turns into a cookie factory. These are the ones on our tray every single year — and if you want the full holiday spread, every Polish cookie lives in our Polish cookies guide, and for the full holiday spread see our Polish Christmas desserts too.
16. Faworki (Angel Wings)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 1 review
Delicate, crispy angel wings that shatter with every bite. My babcia always made a big batch before Lent, and they disappeared within hours.
17. Kolaczki (Cream Cheese Cookies)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 7 reviews
Rich cream cheese dough folded around sweet fruit filling and dusted with powdered sugar. They always disappear first from our holiday cookie tray.
18. Pierniczki Staropolskie (Old-Style Gingerbread)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 1 review
Old Toruń-style gingerbread from aged dough. We bake them weeks before Christmas so they soften up. Decorating them is honestly half the fun.
19. Ciasteczka Maślane (Butter Cookies with Jam)
Melt-in-your-mouth butter cookies with sweet jam centers. Just simple pantry ingredients. They vanish from our tray before anything else does.
20. Kokosanki (Coconut Cookies)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 1 review
Chewy coconut clouds from just egg whites, sugar, and coconut. Crisp outside, soft inside. Three ingredients, and everyone still thinks you fussed.
21. Bezy (Polish Meringues)
Light-as-air meringues that melt on your tongue. I make them with leftover egg whites, and they never survive past the afternoon here.
22. Baletki (Poppy Seed Cookies with Jam)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 1 review
Delicate poppy seed cookies sandwiched with jam. Crunchy, airy, a little old-fashioned. They remind me of Babcia’s cookie tin on the top shelf.
23. Amoniaczki (Ammonia Cookies)
Old-school amoniaczki, light and crisp thanks to baker’s ammonia. Don’t worry — the smell bakes right off. That crunch is like nothing else.
24. Rogaliki (Jam Crescent Cookies)
Flaky crescent cookies wrapped around sweet jam. Rugelach’s Polish cousins, really. I dust them with powdered sugar while they’re still a little warm.
Polish Pastries, Donuts & Sweet Buns
The bakery counter classics — drożdżówki, pączki, and the sweet yeast bakes that make Polish mornings smell like heaven.
25. Pączki (Polish Doughnuts)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 1 review
Pillowy-soft doughnuts filled with rose petal jam and glazed while still warm. In Poland, everyone eats at least one on Fat Thursday. No exceptions.
26. Oponki (Cheese Donuts)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 2 reviews
These little cheese donuts come together without any yeast, so you can have them warm and dusted with powdered sugar in about thirty minutes.
27. Racuchy (Apple Pancakes)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 3 reviews
Soft, fluffy yeast pancakes with pieces of apple inside. We ate them warm with powdered sugar as kids, and honestly, nothing has changed.
28. Jagodzianki (Blueberry Sweet Buns)
Yeast buns bursting with wild blueberries. Every Polish bakery sells them in summer, but mine taste like the ones from childhood holidays.
29. Drożdżówki z Jabłkami (Apple Sweet Buns)
Fluffy yeast buns with homemade apple filling, buttery crumble, and vanilla icing. Bakery-style, made at home. They’re best eaten slightly warm.
30. Drożdżówki z Serem (Sweet Cheese Rolls)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 2 reviews
Soft yeast rolls with creamy farmer’s cheese centers. Breakfast or dessert — we don’t judge here. They freeze beautifully, if any actually survive.
31. Chałka (Sweet Braided Bread)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 4 reviews
Soft, sweet braided bread. Toasted with butter and jam, it’s my favorite breakfast. The braiding looks much harder than it really is.
32. Rolada Orzechowa (Nut Roll)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 2 reviews
A soft, buttery roll spiraled with rich walnut filling. It’s on our table for every celebration. Slices best the next day — if it lasts.
33. Ptysie (Polish Cream Puffs)
Airy choux puffs filled with whipped cream and dusted with sugar. Lighter than they look. My family inhales a whole tray at name-day parties.
34. Rurki z Kremem (Cream Horns)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 1 review
Crisp pastry horns filled with light mascarpone cream. Pure bakery nostalgia in every bite. They aren’t overly sweet — that’s exactly their charm.
Sweet Pierogi & Summer Desserts
Yes, dessert pierogi are real, and yes, they count as dinner in Poland. Summer fruit makes these shine.
35. Pierogi z Truskawkami (Strawberry Pierogi)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 1 review
Soft pierogi stuffed with fresh strawberries. June is their moment, when berries are sweetest. Sour cream on top isn’t optional in our house.
36. Knedle ze Śliwkami (Plum Dumplings)
Whole plums wrapped in soft potato dough, straight from old Polish cookbooks. Butter and sugar on top. Dinner and dessert in one bowl.
37. Ciasto z Rabarbarem (Rhubarb Crumb Cake)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 1 review
Tart spring rhubarb under sweet, buttery crumble. The balance is everything here. I bake it the moment rhubarb shows up at the market.
Nostalgic Polish Candies & Treats
The sweets every Polish kid remembers — no oven required for most of them.
38. Krówki (Polish Cream Fudge)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 2 reviews
Poland’s famous cream fudge with that soft caramel chew. Homemade beats the wrapped ones. We give them as Christmas gifts — the ones we don’t eat.
39. Blok Czekoladowy (Chocolate Block)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 2 reviews
No-bake chocolate bar from the PRL era, packed with crushed biscuits. Pure nostalgia. Every Polish family has a version, and this one’s ours.
40. Andruty (Wafer Bars)
Layered wafer sheets with sweet, creamy filling, sliced into bars. Crunchy, light, a childhood classic. They keep for days — in theory only.
Even More Polish Sweets to Try
Forty wasn’t enough to fit everything we bake. If you’re still hungry, these are all on the blog too:
- Placek Drożdżowy (Yeast Crumble Cake)
- Seromakowiec (Poppy Seed Cheesecake)
- Sernik Izaura (Chocolate Cheesecake)
- No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake
- Sweet Cheese Babka
- Easter Lamb Cake (Baranek)
- Thumbprint Cookies
- Spritz Cookies
- Soft Pierniczki
- Marzipan Cookies
- Blueberry Pierogi
- Strawberry Knedle
- Pampuchy (Steamed Buns)
- Kutia (Christmas Wheat Pudding)
- Kluski z Makiem (Poppy Seed Noodles)
- Ryż z Jabłkami (Rice with Apples)
- Budyń (Vanilla Custard)
- Kasza Manna (Semolina Pudding)
- Kogel Mogel
- Naleśniki z Serem (Sweet Cheese Crepes)
- Serniczki (Cheese Pancakes)
- Strawberry Pasta
- Szyszki (Caramel Rice Treats)
- Homemade Marzipan
Polish Desserts FAQ
What is the most popular Polish dessert?
Sernik — Poland’s farmer’s cheese cheesecake — with szarlotka (apple pie) and pączki close behind. All three appear on nearly every Polish celebration table.
What is the traditional cake of Poland?
Babka is the most traditional Polish cake, especially at Easter, followed by makowiec (poppy seed roll) at Christmas and sernik year-round.
What are some popular Polish sweets and candies?
Krówki (cream fudge) is Poland’s most famous candy, alongside ptasie mleczko, andruty wafer bars, and homemade blok czekoladowy.
What makes Polish desserts different?
They’re noticeably less sweet than American desserts — Polish baking leans on butter, farmer’s cheese, poppy seeds, honey, and seasonal fruit instead of heavy sugar and frosting.
Which one are you baking first? Tell me in the comments — and if this list made you hungry, save it to your Pinterest board so it’s there when the craving hits. For the savoury side of the Polish table, see our guide to traditional Polish food. Na zdrowie i smacznego!
