Bled cream cake, the kremšnita of Lake Bled

Bled cream cake, since 1953

The recipe was settled by Ištvan Lukačevič, who then ran the Hotel Park patisserie, after a long time testing recipes and combinations of ingredients. Since 1953 it has been made the same way, and Bled’s tourist board says there’s no secret, only experience. The Tourist Board adds that it’s made by hand, with no industrial formula, several times a day and every hour at weekends, when most visitors arrive in Bled.

What’s in a Bled cream cake

According to Bled’s tourist board, the base is a golden, crisp layer of puff pastry made with butter, not margarine. On top comes a vanilla custard of just the right consistency so it doesn’t collapse when cut, then a layer of whipped cream, another crisp sheet of pastry and, to finish, a generous dusting of icing sugar. The Tourist Board suggests eating it by cracking the top layer with your fork first and scooping up all four layers at once. The cake holds a certificate of national origin.

Where to eat the original

The original is served at Kavarna Park, opposite Hotel Park, on the lakeshore. The Tourist Board reports that the café was renovated for the first time in almost 30 years, with spruce wood inspired by the Pokljuka forests, and that you can also try a Bled spruce liqueur served only there. The terrace looks out over the lake, the island and the castle, as I describe in Lake Bled. For another take, Bled’s tourist board mentions cream-cake-flavoured ice cream and special editions. For the rest of the country’s cooking, see Slovenian food.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Bled before prices climb.

Some 16 million cakes

Bled’s tourist board has done the sums. Almost 16 million original cream cakes have been made so far, using more than 136 tonnes of flour, 8.7 million eggs and 1.6 million litres of milk. Laid end to end they’d stretch from Bled to Pompeii, it says. Taste Slovenia, which had counted eleven million made at the hotel by the autumn of 2011, shows how fast the total keeps growing, by millions in little more than a decade. For the 60th anniversary, the largest cream cake in Slovenia was made, with 2,100 portions, and at Bled’s popular races, such as the business run and the Nočna 10ka night run, winners receive a fork instead of a medal, to celebrate with a cream cake at the finish.

Another sweet on the island

While you’re in Bled, the Tourist Board recommends the Potičnica on the island, which serves potica in several flavours. It’s covered in potica. For another EU-protected dessert, see Prekmurje gibanica.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Bled and choose by the reviews.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Bled before prices climb.