Slovenia: Prekmurska gibanica (Poppyseed, Walnut and Apple Strudel Pie)

Prekmurska gibanica is an interesting combination of cake and pastry, and hails originally from the Prekmurje region of Slovenia. It restates a favorite theme in central European baking -- the layered sweet strudel, often with poppy seeds involved (as in this variation) and stuffed with sweet jams, fruit or fruit compotes, nuts, and/or dairy products (in this case cottage cheese).

Some descriptions of Prekmurska gibanica describe it as a pie. This is probably because of the bottom layer, which is sometimes made of shortcrust pastry -- possibly a remnant from the earliest versions of the dish, which were devised before refined sugar was available. Honey would have been the only sweetening in those versions, and a more solid bottom layer (more solid than strudel dough, anyway) might have made sense.

Those versions of Prekmurska gibanica also included dried grapes as one of the main constituents of the filling. The present version, however, uses cottage cheese, poppy seed, walnut and apples, and the dried grapes (in the form of raisins) turn up as part of the cottage cheese filling, having been first soaked in rum. This version of the recipe is well enough known and liked in Slovenia to have been declared one of the fifty national "birthday cakes" for the European Union's 50th birthday celebrations in 2007. It's so popular that it appears on one of the country's stamps!

Click on "read more" for the recipe...

For the strudel dough:

• 300 g flour

• 3 tablespoons lukewarm water
• 2 tablespoons wine
• 1 tablespoon sugar.
• salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 tablespoons melted butter for brushing dough

(You can also substitute store-bought filo pastry or strudel dough.)

For the fillings:

The poppyseed filling:

• 400 g poppy seeds, ground with a mortar and pestle or very briefly whizzed in a food processor with the steel blade

• 200 g sugar
• cinnamon to taste
• 1 cup hot milk

The apple filling:

• 500 g apples, grated

• 200 g sugar
• cinnamon to taste
• 1 lemon rind, grated
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

The cottage cheese filling:

• 500 g cottage cheese

• 3 dl (deciliters) sour cream: about 1 1/2 US cups
• 1 egg
• 200 g sugar
• 2 tablespoons raisins, soaked in rum
• vanilla to taste

The walnut filling:

• 500 g ground walnuts

• 200 g sugar
• cinnamon to taste

Optional topping: 1 cup sour cream

Separately for each filling, mix the ingredients well. Grease well (butter is best) a square or oblong ovenproof baking dish or pan.

For the strudel dough: Mix the ingredients in a bowl, knead thoroughly (ten minutes at least) and let stand to relax for one hour. Then roll out and cut into thin sheets the size of the baking container. (Alternately, purchase large sheets of strudel dough or filo pastry to suit your baking dish.)

Place a layer of strudel dough / filo pastry in the bottom of the baked dish. Brush lightly with melted butter. Spread half the poppy seed filling evenly over it. Cover this layer with another sheet of strudel dough and brush the dough with melted butter. Spread this layer with half the apple filling. Cover with another sheet of dough: brush with melted butter. Spread with half the cottage cheese filling: cover with a sheet of dough, brushing with melted butter. Spread with half the walnut filling: cover with dough and brush dough with melted butter.

Repeat this process with the remaining poppyseed filling, apple filling, cottage cheese filling and walnut filling, making sure to brush each layer of strudel dough with the melted butter as you proceed.

Top with a final layer of strudel dough: brush with melted butter. If you like, spread this last layer with 1 cup sour cream (thinned a little with milk, if necessary, to make it easier to spread).

Bake for about 1 hour in a medium oven (350F / 175C). Cut into squares and serve.

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