Pakrac is a town in Croatia’s Slavonia region, up in the north of the country. My father’s side of the family is from Pakrac and Dad’s cousin was the first to introduce me to this recipe. I’ve never made it so let’s do this.
While Slavonia is known for its flat plains (perfect for growing crops), around Pakrac it’s all about hills and even mountains. So if the recipe rises correctly it’s called Pakračka Brda or Pakrac Hills. If however it doesn’t rise it’s Ravna Slavonija or Flat Slavonia. Ha! I’ve tried googling this double name theory and nothing came up, so I’m thinking this is something my aunty made up. Regardless, with two names, the recipe always turns out the way it’s meant too and it is always correct 🙂
Pakrac Hills is super simple and while it may not sound that tempting, it’s kind of like a thick, almost bread-like pancake. And with the addition of honey, Nutella, jam/cream or icing sugar, it’s a really nice treat for an afternoon tea, or served with a cup of tea or coffee. Being born and raised in Australia, it kind of reminds me of a scone, ie. it’s not that great on it’s own but with a condiment it’s super.
Anyway, the recipe didn’t start so well. I took the eggs out of the fridge to bring them down to room temperature, turned my attention to sifting the flour and (after a couple of minutes) an egg rolled off the counter. Splat! What I really couldn’t get out of my head was how it stayed there for minutes and then suddenly just rolled off! Anyway, note to self, always rest your eggs on a tea towel!
The key to this recipe is to have the baking tray as hot as it can be BEFORE you put the batter in. When you pour the batter in you want to hear a hot sizzle.
Ingredients:
- Three (3) eggs, at room temperature
- Six (6) heaped tablespoons of plain flour, sifted
- 300mls milk
- A pinch of salt
- Heat the oven to 225 to 250°C
- Grease and flour your baking tin (either square or rectangle shape) and put it into the hot oven. Leave it in there for a good 20 minutes to really heat up.
- Place the flour, eggs, milk and salt in a bowl and beat with a hand whisk or hand mixer.
- After the baking tray is as hot as it can be, pour the batter into the tray (turn down the oven to about 200°c) and put it back in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. The batter should rise (forming hills) but it seems to only do this in the last five minutes. So keep an eye on it. As soon as you see hills forming leave for another five minutes, to get it golden brown and then take it out of the oven.
- Let the cake cool for a couple of minutes and then cut into slices and serve warm with your favourite sweet or savoury condiment.
So if you got hills, peaks, valley’s the recipe you just made is Pakrac Hills. If it’s as flat as a pancake, then you have Flat Slavonia. Let me know if it worked for you? Which recipe did you end up making? And what do you think of it’s bready consistency?
Zivjeli! (Cheers and Let’s Live!)
The Croatian Kitchen 