Ingredients
Pastry
- 500 gfilo pastry sheets (about 16), or thin hand-stretched dough
Poppy seed layer
- 200 gground poppy seeds
- 80 gsugar
- 100 mlhot milk
- 1 tspvanilla sugar
Curd cheese layer
- 500 gskuta or drained cottage cheese
- 100 gsugar
- 2eggs
- 100 mlsoured cream
- zest of 1 lemon
- 50 graisins
Walnut layer
- 250 gground walnuts
- 80 gsugar
- 100 mlhot milk
- 1 tspground cinnamon
Apple layer
- 800 gtart apples, peeled and coarsely grated
- 80 gsugar
- 1 tspground cinnamon
Between the layers
- 250 mlsingle cream
- 200 mlsoured cream
- 150 gbutter, melted
- 1egg yolk, for the top
Directions
- Mix each of the four fillings separately in its own bowl. Scald the poppy seeds and the walnuts with the hot milk so they swell and stay moist through the bake.
- Squeeze the grated apple lightly to shed some juice, then toss with sugar and cinnamon. Too much juice makes the middle of the cake collapse.
- Whisk the single cream and soured cream together with 2 tbsp of the melted butter into a pourable liquid; this is what soaks between the layers and binds the whole thing.
- Butter a 30 by 25 cm tray and line the base with two sheets of filo, brushing between them with melted butter.
- Build the first cycle in the traditional order: poppy seed, then a filo sheet brushed with butter and spooned with cream mixture, then curd, filo and cream, then walnut, filo and cream, then apple, filo and cream.
- Repeat the whole cycle a second time, so the finished cake has eight filling layers alternating with pastry, ending with two filo sheets on top.
- Score the top pastry into portions with a sharp knife before baking, brush with the remaining butter mixed with the egg yolk, and pour over any leftover cream mixture.
- Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 60–75 minutes, until deeply golden and set with no wobble in the centre. Rest at least 3 hours before cutting; gibanica is served cool or at room temperature, never hot.
Technique
- Prekmurska gibanica holds EU Traditional Speciality Guaranteed status, and the specification fixes both the four fillings and their order. The name comes from ‘gibanica’, a layered cake, not from the verb to move.
- The cream poured between the layers is what stops the filo turning into dry paper. Be generous, and do not let any layer go on dry.
- It must cool completely before cutting or the layers slide apart. Made a day ahead it slices cleanly and tastes better.
Substitutions
- Skuta is Slovenian curd cheese: use well-drained cottage cheese, quark or ricotta pressed overnight in a sieve.
- If you cannot get ground poppy seeds, grind whole blue poppy seeds in a spice mill just before using; whole seeds stay hard and taste of nothing.
Variations
- Home versions from other regions swap in pumpkin seed or curd-and-cream layers, but these cannot legally be called prekmurska.
- A festive version drenches each pastry layer with a little more soured cream, giving a softer, almost pudding-like cake.
History
Layered pastry of poppy, curd, walnut and apple from Prekmurje, protected in the EU in 2010 and served at Slovenian state occasions.
Frequently asked questions
What is Prekmurska gibanica?
Prekmurska gibanica is a dessert from Slovenia: layered pastry of poppy seed, walnut, apple, cottage cheese. Layered pastry of poppy, curd, walnut and apple from Prekmurje, protected in the EU in 2010 and served at Slovenian state occasions.
How long does Prekmurska gibanica take to make?
Prekmurska gibanica takes 45 min of preparation and 1 hr 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 12 servings (one 30 x 25 cm tray). It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Prekmurska gibanica?
Yes, within limits. Skuta is Slovenian curd cheese: use well-drained cottage cheese, quark or ricotta pressed overnight in a sieve. If you cannot get ground poppy seeds, grind whole blue poppy seeds in a spice mill just before using; whole seeds stay hard and taste of nothing.
What is the most important thing to get right in Prekmurska gibanica?
Whisk the single cream and soured cream together with 2 tbsp of the melted butter into a pourable liquid; this is what soaks between the layers and binds the whole thing.
