Kremšnita

Ingredients

Pastry

• 500 gpuff pastry, in two sheets

Custard

• 1 litrewhole milk
• 8egg yolks
• 200 gsugar
• 100 gcornflour
• 2 tspvanilla

Cream layer

• 500 mldouble cream, very cold
• 2 tbspicing sugar
• 1 tspgelatine, optional

To finish

• icing sugar

Directions

1. Bake the two pastry sheets weighted flat at 200°C (390°F) for 15 to 18 minutes, and cool them completely.
2. Score the top sheet into 12 squares before it fully cools, cutting most of the way through.
3. Score the top now rather than cutting later. Set puff pastry over a soft filling cannot be cut cleanly, and pre-scoring is how Samobor bakeries get square-edged slices.
4. Make a thick vanilla custard with the milk, yolks, sugar and cornflour, cooking it well past the first bubble.
5. Cool it completely with film on the surface.
6. Now the layering, which is what makes a kremšnita rather than a krempita or a kremówka.
7. Whip the very cold cream with the icing sugar to firm peaks, keeping it entirely separate from the custard.
8. The two layers stay separate and visible: a pale yellow custard below and a white cream above, in distinct bands.
9. In Serbia the meringue or cream is folded into the custard; here it sits on top of it, and that visible two-tone cross-section is the Samobor signature.
10. Lay the bottom pastry sheet in a deep tin.
11. Spread the cold custard over in a thick even layer, about 3 cm.
12. Spread the whipped cream over the custard in a second layer, levelling it carefully.
13. Spread rather than dollop, and level it with a palette knife. Any unevenness shows immediately in the cut face.
14. Lay the scored pastry sheet on top and press only very lightly.
15. Chill for at least 6 hours, and overnight is better, so the layers firm and set against each other.
16. Dust with icing sugar and cut down through the scored lines with a long thin knife.
17. It comes from Samobor, near Zagreb, where the cafés on the main square have sold it since the 1920s and where it is served as a single large square on a plate.
18. It is eaten with a fork and a spoon, and it is never neat.

Technique

• The Samobor original is protected locally and the town holds it as a point of civic pride.
• A little gelatine in the cream helps it hold in a warm kitchen, though purists leave it out.
• The Bled version from Slovenia is a very close relative with the same construction.

Substitutions

• Shop-bought puff pastry.
• Mascarpone folded into the cream for extra stability.

Variations

• Blejska kremšnita, the Slovenian version from Lake Bled.
• Krempita, the Serbian version with meringue folded into hot custard.
• Kremówka, the Polish version.

History

Samobor’s custard slice, made without whipped cream and served warm; the town’s cafés have sold it since the 1920s.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kremšnita?

Kremšnita is a dessert from Croatia: samobor custard-cream slice between puff pastry. Samobor’s custard slice, made without whipped cream and served warm; the town’s cafés have sold it since the 1920s.

How long does Kremšnita take to make?

Kremšnita takes 40 min plus 6 hr chilling of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 12 pieces. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Kremšnita?

Yes, within limits. Shop-bought puff pastry. Mascarpone folded into the cream for extra stability.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kremšnita?

Score the top now rather than cutting later. Set puff pastry over a soft filling cannot be cut cleanly, and pre-scoring is how Samobor bakeries get square-edged slices.