Slovenian Prekmurska Gibanica Recipe

By
Barbara Rolek
Barbara Rolek
Barbara Rolek is a former chef who became a cooking school instructor and award-winning food writer.
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Updated on 07/5/21
Close-up of Served Black Coffee With Gibanica Cake
Natalia Ejsymont / EyeEm / Getty Images
Prep: 60 mins
Cook: 60 mins
Total: 2 hrs
Servings: 16 servings
Yield: 1 cake
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
743 Calories
45g Fat
77g Carbs
15g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 16
Amount per serving
Calories 743
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 45g 58%
Saturated Fat 12g 58%
Cholesterol 69mg 23%
Sodium 217mg 9%
Total Carbohydrate 77g 28%
Dietary Fiber 8g 28%
Total Sugars 61g
Protein 15g
Vitamin C 3mg 13%
Calcium 480mg 37%
Iron 4mg 21%
Potassium 488mg 10%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Slovenian prekmurska gibanica is a layered cake from the region of Prekmurje, Slovenia. Croatians have a similar version they call medimurska gibanica from the region of Medimurje. Sweet and savory (some use potatoes and cabbage but cheese is most common) gibanica (ghee-bah-NEET-sah) exist in almost every Balkan culture.

In this sweet version, we use poppyseeds, walnuts, apples, raisins, and dry curd cottage cheese layered between filo dough. Some versions call for a yeast dough, pastry dough base and honey instead of sugar.

Ingredients

Apple Filling:

  • 1 pound apples, peeled, cored, and grated

  • 7 ounces sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs, dry

Sweet Cheese Filling:

  • 1/2 cup raisins, soaked in 2 tablespoons dark rum

  • 2 tablespoons dark rum, for the raisins

  • 1 pound cottage cheese, dry curd

  • 1 1/2 cups sour cream

  • 7 ounces sugar

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Poppyseed Filling:

  • 14 ounces poppy seeds, ground in a or mortar and pestle

  • 7 ounces sugar

  • 1/2 cup milk, hot

Walnut Filling:

  • 1 pound walnuts, ground

  • 7 ounces sugar

  • 2 tablespoons milk, or more, hot

Sour Cream Topping:

  • 2 large eggs, beaten

  • 1 1/2 cups sour cream

  • 2 tablespoons sugar

Filo Crust:

  • 1 pound filo dough

  • 4 ounces (1 stick) butter, melted

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Mix the ingredients for each of the fillings in separate medium bowls until they are moist and spreadable, and set aside. Mix the sour cream topping ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.

  3. Heat oven to 350 F. Lightly brush the bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan with some of the melted butter. Place 2 sheets of filo dough in the bottom and up the sides of the pan, letting it overhang (this will be cut off later). Lightly brush with butter and lay down two more sheets of filo dough and brush those with butter.

  4. Spread half the poppyseed mixture on the dough and lay two sheets of filo dough on top of it. Brush with butter and spread half the cheese filling on top followed by two more sheets of filo dough. Butter them and spread half the walnut filling on top. Lay down two more sheets of filo dough, butter them and spread with all the apple filling.

  5. Now repeat by laying down another two sheets of filo dough, buttering them and spread the remaining poppyseed filling on top. Continue in this manner until you have spread on the remaining portion of walnut filling.

  6. Lay down two sheets of filo dough and butter them. Place two final sheets of filo dough down and butter them. Cut off any hanging filo dough. (Use any leftover filo dough for appetizers or mini tarts.) Spread the sour cream topping over the gibanica. Place pan on a baking sheet. Using a long skewer, pierce the gibanica all the way to the bottom in several places. Bake 1 hour or until top is golden brown. If top is browning too fast, cover with aluminum foil.

  7. Store refrigerated, but serve at room temperature (or warmed) for best flavor.

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