Proust may have been nostalgic for madeleines, but the smell that will arouse most Polish people’s happiest childhood memories is that of yeast-based baking. Fruit-laden cakes, jam-filled doughnuts ...

One of the most original – and probably the most controversial – Polish cakes, makowiec most often is a strudel ... You can also use the same filling with thin strudel pastry or make a shortcrust tart ...

Haydel’s has been a New Orleans fixture since 1959, and the bakery’s Fleur de Lis-shaped king cake is a festive departure ...