Međimurska gibanica

The story

Međimurska gibanica comes from Međimurje County in northern Croatia, and the tourism site Turističke priče calls it the region's most famous sweet ambassador. It is a layered cake of thin pastry with four fillings set down in a fixed order: poppy seed, fresh cow's cheese, walnuts and grated apples, finished with sour cream and baked until golden. The Međimurje Tourist Board describes it as a protected element of intangible cultural heritage, and visitors to the Zipka center can take part in an educational game of preparing it. Local cooks keep older, more elaborate forms as well. Index.hr reported on pofratna gibanica from Sveti Martin na Muri, built from a sponge layer, a yeast dough and seven sheets of stretched dough, with plum jam and raisins among the fillings; pofrati means to pour or sprinkle, for the milk, cream and egg poured over each layer. Its Slovenian neighbor, Prekmurska gibanica, was registered by the European Union as a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed in 2010. Despite the shared name, neither is related to the savory Serbian cheese gibanica. Turističke priče includes the Međimurje cake among its Croatian Easter-table recipes. Assemble it the day before and serve it at room temperature with coffee.