Prekmurska Gibanica

Prekmurska gibanica is built in a strict order: pastry, then poppy seed, then curd cheese, then walnut, then apple, and the whole sequence repeated, with cream poured over and the top left crisp. It comes from the northeast corner of the country and was originally festival food rather than everyday baking, because the four fillings together were expensive. It holds European protection as a traditional speciality, which fixes the recipe and the order of the layers.

What you actually see

• The layer order - poppy seed, curd cheese, walnut and apple, in that sequence, twice.
• The cream - poured over before baking, binding the layers.
• The protected recipe - European traditional speciality status fixing how it is made.
• The festival origin - a cake made for weddings and feast days rather than every day.

When to go

Year round; it is on menus across Prekmurje and increasingly across the country. Bakeries sell it by the piece and whole. Feast days are when households still make it.

Honest expectations

Much of what is sold under the name outside Prekmurje is a simplified version with fewer layers. It is very rich and a portion is more than most people expect. Bought versions vary enormously in quality.

Nearby

Moravske Toplice is north, and Bogojina is northeast.