November 15, 2020 – On the list of the top 100 most popular cakes in the world by Taste Atlas, two Croatian cakes, samoborska kremšnita and mađarica, have deservedly found their place.
After a famous fish dish of Slavonia and Baranja – fiš paprikaš – recently appeared on the list of the top 100 best traditional dishes in the world, it is now time for Croatian desserts to find their place among the most popular ones in the world.
According to TasteAtlas, the global food map guide, two Croatian cakes, samoborska kremšnita and mađarica, were listed among the top 100 most popular cakes in the world. In the competition with the world’s most popular cakes, such as German Schwarzwald cake or Italian Ciambella, samoborska kremšnita, originally from the Croatian town of Samobor near Zagreb, took 84th place on the list, and widely-known Croatian cake mađarica took a high 41st place.
Unique souvenir from Samobor
Being the most recognizable symbol and the first association of the town of Samobor is what makes samoborska kremšnita the queen of all cakes for Samobor residents. It is almost unthinkable to visit Samobor without tasting this fine light yellowish cream between the crispy puff pastry.
Samoborska kremšnita / Wikimedia Commons
“Samoborska kremšnita consists of two layers of puff pastry that are filled with custard cream. A thin layer of whipped cream is sometimes placed on top of the custard. The whole cake is typically dusted with powdered sugar, and before serving, the cake is sliced into squares. Kremšnita can be eaten warm or chilled. It is believed that this tasty dessert was invented by pastry chef Đuro Lukačić who had worked in Vienna and Budapest, and upon arriving in Samobor, he modified some of their recipes to create Samoborska kremšnita, which proved to be a huge hit to this day,” reads the description of samoborska kremšnita on TasteAtlas.
It is one of the main reasons why Samobor is gladly visited, and many take more of it as a souvenir, so they can enjoy its taste even when they’re home. The first kremšnita cakes were made in the confectionery owned by Marko Lukačić, Đuro’s brother, located on the Samobor Square. There are several recipes for this cake, but Samoborska kremšnita is unique because of its preparation, but also because of Samobor and the ambiance in which you should enjoy it.
Mađarica or the “Hungarian girl”
On the other hand, the mađarica cake does not have its town of origin but is widely-know in the whole of Croatia as an unavoidable festive and Christmas dessert. As TasteAtlas writes, “although not much is known about its origin or etymology, mađarica is believed to be an original Croatian dessert that was modeled on traditional Hungarian layered cakes,” which explains her name meaning “Hungarian girl”.
“The layers are coated in a velvety, chocolate-infused cream, and the whole cake is finished with a dark chocolate glaze,” reads the description of mađarica on TasteAtlas.
Over 300 different recipes for mađarica can be found on various internet portals, and some believe that mađarica is the Croatian variant of the Hungarian cake called dobos torte, which is ranked 40th on this list, only one place ahead of mađarica.
Croatian cake mađarica / Screenshot YouTube, Domaći recepti
Also, the same as with the mađarica and dobos torte cake, the name, appearance, and origin of samoborska kremšnita are irresistibly reminiscent of the Austrian cake cremeschnitte, which took a high third place on this list, and which had a great influence on the creation of the Samobor version. The title of the world’s most popular cake went to the Australian and New Zealand’s Pavlova cake, followed by the Japanese Kasutera cake which took second place.
Although these two Croatian cakes have undoubtedly arisen under the influence of the above mentioned neighboring Austrian and Hungarian cakes, by making it to this list, they proved their competence to be in the company of world-famous desserts.
