EAT IN ASIA / Destinations / Other destinations / Europe / Croatia
Do you have a sweet-tooth? Try Croatian desserts!
Sooner or later a deep need of eating something sweet comes to everybody. Doesn’t matter whether you regularly avoid it or not, sweets in some form would be needed to guarantee a good day.
Sometimes, you want them to improve your mood. Sometimes because you need a quick energy. And sometimes, it is just because you want it. Candies, chocolates, creamy cakes or pastries. Energy, dried-fruit bars, sweet snacks or just small drops. Finally, during the summertime, what could be more pleasant than a couple of cold ice cream scoops. Fruity sorbets, milky vanilla, pistachio or yoghurt flavors are helping so much! And then come shakes and ice coffees. Strawberry, mango, pineapple or banana flavors remind us of great, tropical moments spent on a blanket under a palm tree.
Wintertime is good for something more warming up. Nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamon, oranges and chocolate are perfect for that time. The smell of spices recalls best Christmas moments and cold evenings spent close to the fireplace with a book.
But, let’s come back to Croatia. Croatian cuisine is influenced by different cultures and nations. Hungarian, Austrian, Balkan and German influences are visible. That is why, there is so many dishes, including desserts, that appear in all these countries. Especially worth mentioning are strudels and local pancakes.
Apple strudel – Northern Croatia
Apple strudel – a rolled phyllo pastry filled with a lot of apples. As a general rule, the dough should be very thin and consisting of a lot of thin layers. These layers should be on hand combined together, and on the other hand easily separable.
Strudels ca be stuffed with different fillings. White cheese, nuts, dried fruits and raisins, or what is the most popular and typical – apples.
Apple strudels are very popular in Austria and Hungary. These Austro-Hungarian influences are also visible in Croatia. Maybe not as popular as in the first two countries, but still it is liked and widely available the whole country long. However, in the cooler, Northern part it would be easier to get them.
The filling consists of almost only apples. Sliced or in small cubes are cooked with cinnamon and sugar till they become soft and tender. Thanks to all spices, apples are aromatic and full of flavor. Sweet, delicate, with no peel and extremely soft.
This apple strudel we order after waitress’ persuasion. She was so convincing. It had to be made just a couple of minutes before our arrival. Both the dough and the filling had to be home-made, and it had to be freshly warm. Not reheated or baked again.
A twenty centimeters long strudel came to us as the final course. Cut into smaller pieces that were facilitating eating it, was sprinkled with a brown sugar mixed with cinnamon. It was laying on a small plate with some sugar.
The pastry was as the waitress described it. Fresh, warm, home-made, and delicate. Just melting in your mouth. So delicious!
Croatian Pancakes or Crepes – Palačinke – Krk Island region
Palačinke – chocolate pancakes are the next example of a cultural mix. Known, as strudels are, from Austria and Hungary, play an important role in the Croatian cuisine. Served with jams, marmalade or chocolate are not only a nice dessert, but can also be eaten as a light lunch or a quick snack.
Palačinke are home-made and at the moment of ordering them. However, you won’t have to wait for them a long time. Just a couple of minutes, and that is all. Usually you will get two of them, folded in a triangle shape and garnished with some sauces.
The most we liked chocolate pancakes. Especially, that in many places the filling chocolate was homemade! The dough of Palačinke is delicate, soft and moist. It is golden, pale, with some parts more fried. These Croatian crepes we had during our break close to the Krk Island. A small bar was offering some drinks, light meals, traditional dishes and two types of Palačinke – with chocolate and marmalade. We were recommended the chocolate version, as the owner said it was completely done in their kitchen.
And that was a good choice. Palačinke were as they should be. Delicate and not too sweet. The composition of the sweetness and of the slight bitterness of the chocolate filling was ideal. Semi-sweet chocolate inside and a dark chocolate sauce outside the delicate pancake created a wonderful dessert.
Ice creams – the whole country long!
Summer holidays without ice creams? No, it is rather impossible. Well, maybe only for us. But, if you are in the same situation, that you cannot live without them, Croatia is for you too! Every city, every, village, every little town has at least one ice cream spot. And I said – at least. Usually, a plentiful of them will be not only in the city center but also in smaller streets or in less popular spots.
Sold per scoops in sweet or regular cones and always served with carefulness. An enormous number of flavors is offered in every place. Starting with these the most popular like vanilla, strawberries, chocolate, walnuts and pistachio, through more candy ones like Kinder Bueno, Mars, Snickers or Twix. Finally ending with tropical fruits and local flavors like a cheesecake or Black Forest, both that base on regular cakes.
Tasting different flavors was a real pleasure. Every scoop could be different. With nuts inside, with frozen fruits, with raisins or fresh fruit parts. Most of them were made locally and not in big companies. Local, relatively small manufactures were very popular and produced really good ice creams. Natural, creamy, basing on good ingredients and homemade. What was common for all of them, was that you could feel that good ingredients were dominating, and no extra preservatives were added. The taste was as the one you could remember from your childhood, when your grandmother was doing them for you.
Shakes – Funtana, Vrsar, Istria region
Finally, shakes. Refreshing and satiating drinks that could be enjoyed during the whole day. They are good as a quick breakfast. Perfect as a cooling drink during the lunch break, or just as a tasty attraction that you could grab and take with you while walking around cities. Cold, basing on milk or yoghurt, with fresh, frozen or canned fruits. Usually topped with a whipped cream and served with a stroke and a long spoon. While I prefer fresh juices to shakes, sometimes I am in a situation when I see it and I want it. I know then, that, that is what my body needs. While for the whole stay in Croatia, it had never happened before, this day, was that exact day! A day of a shake! Need of milk? Maybe, but it is more probable that just a need of a shake! A strawberry one was what was needed.
And we found it. We spent a couple of days in Istria in a small touristic village – Funtana. There from we made some short excursions to cities and villages that were located nearby. One day we decided to visit Vrsar. A small, charming town, with cobbled streets, old, colorful buildings, and a unique atmosphere. After a short stroll, we found a little square with a small restaurant. There was a couple of people sitting and chatting, but mostly that were Croatians.
The short menu of the cafeteria included mostly coffees, liquors, wine, beer and… yes, shakes. Banana, strawberry and vanilla. Strawberry shake that was what I needed. We sat, enjoyed the sun and the panorama that offered cafeteria’s terrace.
In a couple of minutes our white wine and the shake were brought. A pink color of the shake didn’t actually look very naturally, but it didn’t matter. The shake was served in a tall glass as the one used for an ice coffee or for caffe latte. It was topped with a lot of whipped cream. Sweet, dense and creamy. The shake was cold, thick and sweet. The strawberry flavor was intense but well balanced with the cream.
Of course, you can try and get in Croatia much more if you love sweets, but these are our tops. Crepes and strudels because they are local. Ice creams, mostly because we love them, and they are very often homemade. While shakes, as they are a nice alternative to juices, coffees and other soft drinks.
