Sekacz

Sekacz is made by turning a wooden or metal spit over a fire or heat source and ladling a rich batter of eggs, butter, sugar and flour onto it in thin layers, letting each set before the next goes on; the batter runs and drips as it cooks, so the finished cake has irregular spikes and, when cut across, visible growth rings like a tree - hence the name, from sek, a knot or branch. A large one takes hours and uses dozens of eggs. It belongs to Podlasie and the borderland with Lithuania and Belarus, where the same cake is called sakotis and raguolis, and the question of whose it is has been the subject of a genuine cross-border dispute over protected names. It keeps for weeks, which is why it is a wedding, Christmas and Easter cake and why it travels to fairs across the country. It is very sweet and very rich.

Highlights

• Layers built on a spit - ladled on one at a time and set over heat.
• Jagged spikes - formed by batter dripping as the spit turns.
• Growth rings in the slice - the layers visible when cut across.
• A shared borderland cake - known as sakotis and raguolis east of here.

When to go

All year; strongest at Christmas and Easter. An hour.

Good to know

It is extremely rich and dry-crumbed - a small slice goes a long way. Industrial versions sold at fairs are noticeably worse than bakery ones. Whole cakes are expensive because of the egg count.

Nearby

Bialystok, Suwalki and the Podlasie markets are where to find it made properly.