On 16 June 1999 Pope
John Paul II mentioned that after he had completed his
matura exam, he had cream cakes with his friends in his home town of
Wadowice. They wagered who could eat more. The future Pope ate eighteen cream cakes, but did not win the bet. This was publicized by media, and "papal" cream cakes from Wadowice became popular in Poland. The confectionery shop where the Pope ate cream cakes was owned by Jewish cake maker Karol Hagenhuber, who came to Poland from
Vienna. It was located in Wadowice Town Square. Some speculated that the original papal kremówkas contained alcohol, but this was denied by Hagenhuber's son. According to him his father's cakes were regular, non-alcoholic kremówkas, although made with all natural ingredients, using a traditional recipe. Either way this led to renewed, and even international fame for the cake, rebranded as "papal". In 2007, to celebrate Pope John Paul's II 87th birthday, a giant kremówka was baked in
Rzeszów. Kremówkas remembered by Pope John Paul II were filled with cream made of whipped butter mixed with
crème pâtissière made of whole eggs. This is the typical filling for
karpatka. ==See also==