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Rapska torta is a traditional cake originating from the Croatian island of Rab, where it was first served in 1177 to Pope Alexander III. This decadent cake is characterized by its signature spiral shape and ingredients such as almonds, lemon zest, orange zest, and Maraschino liqueur.
Nowadays, the cake is a very popular souvenir that can be baked in various forms, while locals prepare it only for festive occasions such as baptisms and weddings.
MOST ICONIC Rapska torta
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This Croatian pastry is a traditional delicacy that is mainly associated with the island of Krk. Presnac was created as a way to utilize the once abundant fresh sheep cheese and to create a unique, authentic dessert. The dish is assembled out of a pastry base that holds the creamy, lightly sweetened cheese filling.
Though tradition suggests only sheep cheese, modern variations often replace it with fresh cow cheese and usually alter the filling with eggs and lemon zest. Presnac was traditionally prepared during the Carnival season, but nowadays the locals use every opportunity to make this specialty and to keep the tradition alive.
MOST ICONIC Presnac
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Mrkopaljska štrudla s borovnicama is a delicious dessert originating from the city of Mrkopalj, hence the name. The dessert is essentially a blueberry strudel. The dough is made with a combination of flour, oil, warm water, and a bit of salt, while the filling consists of blueberries, sugar, vanilla sugar, rum, and breadcrumbs.
In order to prepare the strudel, the dough should be rolled as thin as possible and filled with the stuffing. After the strudel has been baked, it is traditionally sprinkled with powdered sugar before serving.
MOST ICONIC Mrkopaljska štrudla s borovnicama
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Grašnjaki is a festive sweet treat originating from Rukavac, a small place located above the Croatian city of Opatija. These little fritters are filled with a combination of local chestnuts (maruni), butter, cinnamon, sugar, and a bit of melon liqueur.
The dough is traditionally made with flour, eggs, salt, sugar, vanilla sugar, yeast, milk, and margarine. Once filled, these fritters are fried in hot oil, then dusted with powdered sugar. Although grašnjaki are so delicious that some wish to prepare them at least once a month, they are especially popular during the carnival season and Christmas.
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Torta Frankopan is a traditional cake originating from the city of Crikvenica. The cake is made with puff pastry, whipping cream, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, almonds, raisins, rose water, butter, lemon zest, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The puff pastry is baked until golden brown, while the cream is made with whipping cream, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, butter, raisins, almonds, and flavorings.
The cream is then spread on the puff pastry layers, and the cake is left to set in the refrigerator. After that, the remaining whipped cream is used to cover the cake, which is additionally decorated with finely sliced peaches. This decadent cake serves as a reminder of the era when the region was ruled by the Frankopan family.
MOST ICONIC Torta Frankopan
Griški kres is a traditional dessert originating from Grižane in the Kvarner region. It’s usually made with a combination of bread slices, milk, butter, whipped cream, eggs, sugar, apples, walnuts, figs, cinnamon, honey, and rum. The bread slices are dipped into a mixture of milk, cream, and sugar before they’re arranged on a buttered baking sheet.
The apples are grated and mixed with ground walnuts, figs, cinnamon, honey, rum, and egg yolks. The mixture is placed on the bread slices, and it’s topped with apple slices and a mixture of beaten eggs and sugar. The dessert is baked in the oven for about half an hour.
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Framentunjača is a traditional dessert originating from the Kvarner area. The cake is made with a combination of polenta flour, water, salt, raisins, dried figs, walnuts, and almonds. The raisins, figs, walnuts, and almonds are coarsely chopped and mixed into cooked polenta near the end of cooking.
The mixture is poured into a baking dish and baked in the oven on low heat. Once baked, the cake is chilled, cut into slices, and then served with homemade rakija (local brandy).
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The name of this old shepherd’s dish comes from olita - a dialect word for animal stomach and intestines, which gives a hint regarding the method of preparation. Olito is made by mashing together sheep suet, flour, dried figs, and raisins.
The mixture is flavored with cinnamon, orange and lemon zest, and it is then stuffed into a sheep stomach and boiled for a couple of hours. When cooked, olito is sliced and pan-seared in olive oil. The slices are typically served dusted with icing sugar and sprinkled with fresh sage.
MOST ICONIC Olito
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