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Also known as vdolek, pecák or lopaták, Valašský frgál is a traditionally made, round-shaped sweet cake with toppings, produced in the Moravian Wallachia region in the south-eastern part of the Czech Republic.
The cake has a diameter of about 30 centimetres and is golden in color when fully baked. On the surface, there is a crumble that can be additionally sprinkled with sugar, cinnamon, and gingerbread crumbs, or drizzled with butter. Nearly half of the finished product (42-48%) consists of the topping, which can be made from dried pears (the most popular variety), jam, fruits, curd cheese, poppy seeds, walnuts, cabbage, kohlrabi, or carrots.
Krapfen was probably the first European-style doughnut to appear, followed by similar varieties in other countries. These pastries are traditionally prepared with leavened dough that is deep-fried until golden and crispy on the outside, while they remain soft, light, and airy on the inside.
Though krapfen can be prepared plain, they are most often filled or topped with jams, and vanilla or chocolate custards, while the top is usually dusted with powdered sugar or drizzled with chocolate. The origin of the word krapfen dates back to 9th century, and the recipes in German can be found as early as the 14th century.
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Round, thick, and soft, lívance are traditional Czech pancakes. The addition of yeast in the egg batter gives them an incredibly soft and buttery texture and differentiates them from other common pancake varieties. Lívance are usually small in size, with a light golden-brown color and crispy edges.
The Czechs prefer to consume them dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon or topped with various fruit jams, but their slightly sweet taste can withstand numerous other toppings and complements.
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These soft, tender Czech doughnuts are prepared with yeasted dough that is occasionally flavored with lemon zest. They are typically round and have a small indentation on the top, which is used to hold all of the delicious filling. Even though they can be baked in the oven, vdolky are usually fried in oil until golden brown.
Traditionally, they are enjoyed warm, smothered in jams and topped with whipped cream or crumbled tvaroh cottage cheese.
Koláče or kolache (plural: kolaches) is a sweet pastry roll that is traditionally topped with plums or plum jam, cheese, or poppy seeds. Modern toppings might include fruit such as apricots, blueberries, cherries, lemon, pineapples, or raisins.
Its name is derived from the Czech word kola, meaning wheels, referring to the traditional, round shape of the pastry. The pastry originated in the 1700s in the Czech Republic, where round breads are some of the earliest ritual foods, usually symbolizing the sun and the moon.
MOST ICONIC Koláče
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These sweet, fruit-filled Czech dumplings appear in numerous varieties throughout the country. They are made with either leavened or potato dough, or the combination of wheat flour and fresh quark cheese. The fillings, which are completely enclosed in the dumplings, might include various fruits, but the most common options are lightly sweetened apricots, strawberries, blueberries, or plums.
Knedlíky are shortly cooked in boiling water and usually served hot, doused in melted butter, and sprinkled with sugar and crumbled quark cheese. Although they are traditionally enjoyed as a dessert, ovocné knedlíky also make an excellent sweet snack.
VARIATIONS OF Ovocné knedlíky
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Míša řezy is a traditional dessert made with quark cheese (tvaroh) as the key ingredient. The cake consists of three distinct layers – a base of chocolate sponge cake, a layer of quark cheese, sugar, and butter, and the final layer is a glossy chocolate icing.
When served, the cake is cut into squares. The name of this cake means Mickey square, and it's based on the popular Czech Míša ice cream consisting of quark cheese that's covered in dark chocolate.
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Bublanina is a light sponge cake prepared with eggs, butter, sugar, flour, and a variety of different fruits such as cherries, strawberries, blueberries, apricots, and fragrant plums and pears. The sponge is occasionally lightly flavored with vanilla or lemon zest, pairing perfectly with the delicate sponge and succulent fruits.
It is typically consumed warm, and it is often dusted with a thin layer of powdered sugar before serving. Although it is not lavish and sophisticated, bublanina is one of the most famous desserts in the area. It is commonly prepared at home as an everyday dessert or a quick sweet treat, but the cake can also be found in traditional Czech bakeries.
VARIATIONS OF Bublanina
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This Hungarian tube-shaped pastry popularly known as chimney cake traces its origin to the medieval era Székely Land—back then a part of the Kingdom of Hungary. The first known recipe titled Kürtős kaláts’ à la Mrs Poráni was found in a 1784 cookbook written by Transylvanian countess Mária Mikes de Zabola.
The pastry shells are made from sweet yeast dough that is rolled in granulated sugar, basted in melted butter, and spit-roasted over charcoal. Freshly baked, kürtőskalács shells can be topped with additional ingredients such as ground walnuts or powdered cinnamon, but they're also often filled with ice cream or whipped cream.
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Buchty are traditional Czech yeasted buns that are filled with various sweet ingredients. They consist of a light, buttery dough that is occasionally enriched with fragrant vanilla or citrus flavorings. Divided into smaller portions, the dough is rolled into small buns, and each is filled with thick homemade jams and preserves.
The buns are densely placed in trays and baked until golden brown. During baking, they grow in size and stick to each other, creating a unique, recognizable shape of this traditional treat. It is believed that buchty originated in the Czech Republic, from where they spread to numerous other countries such as Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, and Croatia, where they are still prepared as a traditional dessert.
TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “Top 31 Czech Desserts” list until March 15, 2025, 3,903 ratings were recorded, of which 3,107 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.