Murzynek - Traditional Polish Cake with Chocolate Glaze

"Murzynek" means in Polish "black boy" and my family (half Polish, half Dominican) love it. On the beginning they found it a little bit racist and refused eating it but after they tried Murzynek they forgot about the name ;)

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  Murzynek - chocolate cake
  

Well, I thought the same but many Poles say it's not racist at all. Polewa is very good, this is chocolate glaze.

My fiancee makes this from time to time. Very good it is too.

wasnt cannibalism popular among the caribbeans a few decades ago? they shouldnt resist eating a sweet 'black boy' cause its more like a symbolical comeback to their roots.

No offence, but translation of "murzynek" is much more "heavyer" than "black boy". And thats surely not even a bit racist. Please, don't think I'm rude or something, I think murzynek was "invented" long before II WW, when no one cares that will be unkind.

And in case of chocolate in cake. I must say, I've never seen a single housewife using chocolate to the murzynek. This cake is somekind of fast and simple crisis-cake ( I hope You know what I mean), and everyone is using cocoa. They do cake base (eggs, sugar, flour and bakingpowder) and add some cocoa (of course, cocoa without sugar). That's why it's kind crisis-cake :) ...

When you use chocolate cake is more like browne, and much more sweet...
Also murzynek colud be a base to make other cakes like metrowiec ( one meter cake). But metrowiec is more complicaded than murzynek...

Remember that 200+ years ago, the word "******" wasn't racist in USA because there were no such thing as "racism" - treating black people as a worse human beings was considered "normal". It changed and thank God for that. However, there were never many black people in Poland, so this word never got any negative meaning. "Murzyn" means a black person, it can be found in dictionaries and it is a proper form of calling black people.

So if a cake is called "Murzynek", it is a completely friendly and positive name.
We even have a litle story for children called "Murzynem Bambo". It is about a little black boy in Africa who - despite all the cultural differences - is just like people in Europe. It was called "racist" by leftist authorities, but it's not racist at all - it tought me when I was a child, that the skin colour is just a colour and can't determine tha value of a person.

Sorry for the long and chaotic post.

The censored thing was "the N word". I didn't know that it's THAT offensive. I hope you got my point - it's easy to call some actions of Polish people racist, but it's still prety uncommon to see foreigners on the streets, especially in smaller towns - that's why people look at them and maybe point them out. Not because they think they're worse, it's just because they're uncommon

That's why I edit my post. :D

There's one thing I bring to mind just after I edit my post. "Black boy" in Poland, specially for older people, can mean "boy with black hair" or dark skin or eyes.

Would the Dominican half of your family translate the cake's name as Negrito, Negrillo or something along those lines?

Things are getting ridiculous. We can't even use words anymore.
Negro is bad, Black is bad, African American is no longer recommended. Now, as I hear from some sociology students, the correct terms they try to introduce is "socially marginalized".

So there, you had a bite of a very yummy, socially marginalized cake.

"murzynek" in Polish is not racist
"czarnuch" is.

more nonsense :
in Czech Republic
èernoch is not racist

^^

Well I don't speak Czech ( sorry) but who says this word is not "racist"? And why?
Surely it's less about the word itself and more about tone and feeling and context?

For example many ppl will argue the toss about the word "paki" in a kind of faux - naif, wide eyed way, saying ridiculous things like..."Oh but we dont mind being called Aussie or Brit, so why are Paki's complaining?"

Lovely cake by the way I am gonna make it tomorrow! Any more Polish cake recipes?

I see that my cake started quite a discussion ;)

Atrida - that is true, I used unsweetened cocoa powder not chocolate, here is the recipe.
coffeeandvanilla.com/?p=5498

Polonius3 - Not at all, my husband is Dominican from island of Dominica, not Dominican Republic, where ppl speak mostly English, plus some Creole.

Niejestemcapita - Glad to hear that, enjoy :)

coffeenvanilla :
Murzynek was first cake I've made when I was little :). It was a disaster - you can imagine 7 years old kid in a kitchen, don't you...

niejestemcapita:
If you want to I can search my recipes for Karpatka or makowiec. :)