Polish Easter Cake/Mazurek Wielkanocny

A nice and tasty recipe from one of our colleagues. There are various versions, but this is the simplest one.

Preparation

1. First, make the caramel so it can cool down a little.
   Heat the saucepan over medium heat and add the sugar. Let the sugar melt slowly, stirring the pan occasionally. Then add cubes of butter little by little and stir gently with a wooden spoon. Once the butter has melted, turn the heat down to medium and carefully pour in the cream. Finally, add a pinch of salt to taste.
2. The caramel should be liquid, like a thick batter. If it is too thick, you can stir in a little more cream. Let it cool.
3. Preheat the oven to 175°C. Grease the baking tin with butter and line it with baking paper.
   Put the flour, sugar and baking powder in a bowl and add the cold butter in small cubes. Knead this with your hands until you have a fine crumbly dough. Add the egg yolks and mix until you have a smooth dough.
4. Roll out the dough or press it into the tin with your fingers until it forms a smooth base. Prick it with a fork and put the tin in the oven; bake for about 15 minutes until done.
5. Meanwhile, make the meringue. Beat the egg whites until frothy in a clean bowl, add a pinch of salt and beat until the egg whites are firm. Then add the sugar spoonful by spoonful while continuing to beat on medium speed. Finally, add the cornflour. Fold in the 130 grams of finely chopped nuts.
6. Once the base is done, you can immediately spread the caramel over it. Then add the meringue and spread it evenly over the base with an offset spatula. Sprinkle the remaining walnuts over it.
7. Put the baking tin back in the oven and bake for 30 minutes at 175°C. Then turn off the oven. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN but let the meringue dry.
8. Before serving, cut it into small squares and drizzle with a little more caramel if desired.