The scent of vanilla and cinnamon, sweet honey, delightful walnuts …. Potica.
Happiness. Mindfulness. All things magic.
Potica is a traditional Slovenian pastry consisting of yeast dough and a filling which is usually made from walnuts. For Slovenes, this traditional festive pastry symbolizes wealth and prosperity. Nowdays, potica is also a sweet ambassador of Slovenia at various international, cultural, state and sports meetings and events. How about making this sweet delight at home?
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the Slovenia Meetings Team!
The Dough
- 1 ½ cups milk
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup white sugar
- pinch of salt
cool to lukewarm and pour into a bowl, then sprinkle on top
- 2 oz. dry yeast
and let stand for 15 minues, after mix in
- 2 eggs
then add and mix in
- flour to make soft dough, approx. 5 cups.
Place the dough in a room temperature buttered bowl, cover it with a linen cloth. Let the dogh raise in a lit oven for approx. 1 hour. In the meanwhile, prepare delicious filling.
The Filling
- 2 pounds fine grinded walnuts
- ½ cup coarsely grinded walnuts
- 1 cup powder sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Bourbon vanilla
melt together
- 2 teaspoons Slovenian honey
- 1 ¼ cup milk
- 5 teaspoons butter
mix walnut & honey mixture, then add
- 4 egg yolks beated to soft peak stage
after slowly add
- 4 egg whites beated.
The Finish Touch
- 3 taspoons powder sugar
- 10 candied cherries from Vipava Valley
After 1 hour of rest, beat the dough for 10 minutes or until it separates from the bowl, roll out the dough on well floured linen cloth (½ cm thick) and spread the filling to cover it (optional: sprinkle filling with soaked raisins). Roll tightly and put it in a greased baking mould called potičnik, cover potica and place it ina a protected area for about an hour. Bake at 350 degrees for approx. 35 to 45 minutes and let it cool in mould for 1 hour, afterwards remove potica from mould and place it on racks for additional hour. For a modern twist, a millennial Slovenian foodie Isa Novak recommends placing candied cherries from Vipava Valley on top and sprinkle potica with powder sugar. Decorate, snap & post it on Instagram! 😉[/vc_toggle]
