PREKMURJE LAYERED STRUDEL CAKE - PREKMURSKA GIBANICA

Prekmurska gibanica is one of the most famous and really delicious traditional Slovenian desserts. It originates from Eastern part of Slovenia - Prekmurje, which is the region across  Mura river towards Hungarian border. This lowland country is surrounded by hills and is best for agriculture. The traditional food from this region is delicious and is usually served with high quality wines from the nearby vineyards. 

Prekmurje layer cake - Prekmurska Gibanica

Prekmurje gibanica - Prekmurje strudel layer cake - is made of layers filled with selection of all the best fillings used in traditional Slovenian bakery from poppy seeds, walnuts, cottage cheese and apples. This combination makes it's rich juicy taste and the smell of homemade, comfort food.

It is on the EU List of Special Slovenian traditional desserts.

Although it is on the menu of almost all the restaurants and guesthouses in Prekmurje, it is not so often made at home.

It is commonly viewed as too complicated to make at home. It is very time - consuming and nowadays time is something we usually want to use for something else than cooking and all this “kitchen stuff”. Especially if you are a mother with children, job ... and so many other things to do, which makes your days just too short. 

For such situations there are some “shortcuts” that will make it easier for you to make it at home. And the family will appreciate that treat very much. 

Recipe:

As the name suggests, Prekmurska gibanica is made of different layers. 

You need brittle dough for the first bottom layer, then stretched dough in between the filling layers and for the top and 4 different fillings: poppy seed,  walnut, cottage cheese and apple filling. You also need melted butter and sour cream.

Brittle dough:

200 g wheat flour 

100 g butter

pinch of salt

1 tbsp sour cream

cold water as needed adding step by step

Quickly mix all ingredients in a food processor and finish with cold hands, as you do when you are making a pie dough. Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Put all ingredients in a food processor

Quickly mix and finish with hands

Roll it out to the size of your 

Stretching dough:

400 g of soft wheat flour

2 tbsp of oil

few drops of (apple) vinegar

200 to 300 ml of lukewarm water

1 egg - optional

pinch of salt

You make stretching dough like we did for Slovenian Apple Strudel or Slovenian rolled dumplings - struklji.

You can start making the dough in a food processor but finish it with your hands. Put the egg and oil into the flour. Mix salt and vinegar into water. Start making the dough by slowly adding water. Towards the end be cautious with water not to make the dough too soft.

The dough should be quite soft but it must not stick to your hands. Make several  smaller loafs and put to rest for at least 30 minutes. 

Stretching dough should be nicely soft

Shortcuts: 

Nowadays you can also buy already prepared very fine stretched dough pastry and use it instead of making it from scratch. It helps a lot, especially if you don't have enough time. I think same goes for brittle dough. You can also use two layers of stretched dough for the bottom layer instead ob brittle dough. And of course use melted butter between each layer.

Already made stretched dough bought in the supermarket.

Now you can prepare other fillings. 

Poppy Seeds filling:

150 g grounded poppy seeds

200 ml milk

1 grated lemon zest

50 g sugar

1 egg

Pour boiling milk over grounded poppy seeds, add all other ingredients and mix into paste. 

Poppy seeds filling

Cottage cheese filling:

400 g cottage cheese

100 g sour cream

1 egg

50 g sugar

pinch of salt

50 g raisins 

Put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix into smooth paste. 

Mix all ingredients except raisins into thick paste

Walnut filling:

150 g walnuts

50 g sugar

100 to 150 ml milk or cream

Grind the walnuts and add sugar. Slowly pour the milk over and mix to get nice smooth paste. 

Walnuts filling 

Apple filling:

6 to 8 apples  

sugar to taste

cinnamon

1 grated lemon zest and juice

You can peel apples if wanted, cut them or grate them. Add sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice. You can also stew all together for a few minutes. 

Apple filling

Other ingredients:

100 to 150 g of melted butter
for coating stretched dough layers and
3 to 4 tbsp of sour cream for the top.

Now we have to put all those things together, layer by layer.

Start with brittle dough on the bottom. Over that put a layer of ½ of the poppy seed filling and cover it with a sheet of stretched dough. Coat the stretched dough with melted butter and then add ½ of the cottage cheese filling, again stretched dough, melted butter, ½ of the walnut filling, stretched dough, melted butter, ½ of the apple filling and stretched dough. Repeat once more from the poppy seed filling on. Usually, there are two layers of each filling. 

With that, gibanica is 5 to 7 cm high when completed. Keep this in mind when you are selecting baking dish. 

Usually I am using a rectangular dish - 24 x 34 cm. You can as well bake in a round dish. 

Brittle dough on the bottom.

Poppy seeds filling

Layer of cottage cheese filling

Layer of walnuts filling

Apple filling layer with cinnamon 

After completing all the layers for the second time, finish with stretched dough layer. Coat it with sour cream.

Coat the top with sour cream

Bake in oven for 60 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. 
When baked let it rest a bit then sprinkle with sugar powder. It is best to serve whet still just a bit warm. 

Coat with sugar powder

Cut, serve and enjoy!

It is best served when still a bit warm.

It can be served with any sweet wine from the region - Muscat or Traminec, 

coffee or tea. And be sure to enjoy this rich and juicy homemade strudel layer cake!

You can see more photos on this LINK