December Treats

December is here and those who adore the aroma of biscuits, cinnamon and other goodies are hurriedly searching for new ideas. We, however, haven't turned to new recipes but rather unearthed three old and trusted ideas for sweet treats that home cooks in Radovljica and the surroundings have been making for many years.

1. Sladkulce from Kropa

What a lovely name for a really great sweet treat! Today, sladkulce are still prepared in Kropa by Urška Avsenik from the Gostilna pri Jarmu restaurant. They are made from flour, milk, egg yolk, yeast and oil (or butter). The dough is left to rise then plaited and baked. The baked sladkulce are then brushed with cold water and rolled in crystallised sugar.

The story about this baked good, which locals in Kropa still know to this day, was described a few years ago by the Gorenjska Regional Development Agency, which mentioned that sladkulce were characteristic of Kropa's village bakery, which started to bake them after the year 1950. This titbit of information from Kropa's past was added alongside: “White and brown loaves and rolls were baked in the bakery, including sweet croissants. Once upon a time, housewives kneaded dough for bread or potica at home on festive holidays and carried it in round straw baskets to put in the oven in the bakery. The children also got sweet treats from the bakery if they diligently carried out their everyday chores, for example carrying firewood.

2. Homemade honey breads from Gorenjska honey

We found this idea for December baking after looking at the Gorenjska Gastronomy Strategy, which was written by Dr. Janez Bogataj in 2013. At that time he listed selected dishes for individual municipalities in Gorensjka, and under the entry for Radovljica he mentioned eleven tastes/flavours, which extend from Baron's strawberries via Kropa žonta (sauteed liver) and Kropa fržolovca (bean stew) to Vipi's aged wine vinegar, apple juice and products made from hemp.

In between there are also some sweet treats, for example Linhartov cukr, which is the house dessert at the Gostilna Lectar restaurant, and Lectar's strudel, which dates back to 1822. Of course, Gorenjka chocolate as well as honey are among Radovljica's characteristic tastes/flavours. And it is the latter that is the basis for our next sweet tip – spice up December baking by making homemade honey breads using one of the authentic recipes and, of course, be sure to use local Radovljica honey!

3. The 'queen' of festive food – walnut potica

Every Slovenian housewife has her own recipe for potica and when we were pondering which of them to share with you here, there was no doubt: it had to be the recipe for potica made in Prezrenje near Radovljica at the Pr' Masniku Farm. The recipe and a few tricks to help you make this 'queen' of festive food was sent to Spela's Larder by Polona Fister Toplišek. 

So, why this particular potica? Because last year at their homestead in Prezrenje near Radovljica, Polona and her mother, Marija Toplišek, baked walnut potica, which then 'travelled' throughout the world via the blog Pasta Grannies. In the first four months the method for preparing potica (video) from Radovljica (as well as a few other treats from the Gorenjska region) was seen by over 65,000 viewers from throughout the world.