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Potica
Walnut and honey spiral cake
Slovenian walnut and honey spiral ring cake (orehova potica)
No Slovenian Easter or Christmas table is complete without potica, a yeasted dough rolled thin around a honeyed walnut filling and baked in a fluted ring mould called a potičnik. When sliced, each piece shows a tight spiral of pale dough and dark nuts. Families in Ljubljana and across Carniola argue about the best filling, but walnut with honey is the classic one, eaten with coffee from Christmas morning until the tin is empty. Unlike a braided Romanian cozonac, the beauty is all in the thin, even swirl. Chef's tip: spread the filling no thicker than the dough and roll it up tightly; a loose roll or a thick layer leaves a gap between dough and filling once baked, the most common potica fault.
- Total time
- 210 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 16
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 cup whole milklukewarm
- 2 ⅛ oz caster sugar
- 1 ⅛ lb strong white bread flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 ½ oz buttermelted and cooled, plus extra for the mould
- 1 unwaxed lemonzest only
- 1 tbsp rum (optional)
For the walnut filling
- 14 oz walnutsfinely ground
- ¾ cup whole milk
- 3 ½ oz honey
- 2 ⅛ oz caster sugar
- 1 ⅜ oz butter
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
To finish
- 1 eggbeaten
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
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Method
0/11 doneStep 1: Stir ¼ oz fast-action dried yeast and 1 tsp of the ¼ oz caster sugar into 1 cup whole milk and leave for 10 minutes until foamy.
10 minStep 2: Put 1 ⅛ lb strong white bread flour, ½ tsp salt and the rest of the 1 ⅞ oz caster sugar in a large bowl. Add the yeast milk, 3 egg yolks, 2 ½ oz butter, 1 unwaxed lemon zest and 1 tbsp rum if using, and knead for 10 minutes until the dough is silky, comes cleanly off the bowl and springs back slowly when poked.
10 minStep 3: Cover and leave somewhere warm until doubled, about 1 hour.
60 minStep 4: For the filling, bring ¾ cup whole milk, 3 ½ oz honey, 2 ⅛ oz caster sugar and 1 ⅜ oz butter just to the boil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Pour over 14 oz walnuts, add 1 tsp ground cinnamon and 1 tsp vanilla extract, mix and leave to cool until barely warm.
10 minStep 5: Whisk 2 egg whites to soft peaks and fold them into the cooled nut mixture; this keeps the filling light and spreadable.
Step 6: Butter a 24 cm fluted ring mould (potičnik or bundt tin) well. On a floured cloth, roll the dough into a thin rectangle about 60 × 45 cm, 3–4 mm thick.
Step 7: Spread the filling evenly to the edges, leaving 2 cm bare along one long side. Using the cloth to help, roll the dough up tightly from the other long side and pinch the seam closed.
Step 8: Coil the roll into the mould, seam side up, pressing the two ends together. Cover and leave to rise until it fills the tin to about 2 cm from the top, 45–60 minutes.
50 minStep 10: Bake until deep golden and a skewer pushed into the thickest part comes out with no wet dough, 55–60 minutes. Cover loosely with foil after 30 minutes if it browns fast.
58 minStep 11: Cool in the tin for 15 minutes, turn out and cool completely before slicing with a serrated knife. Dust with 2 tbsp icing sugar. It keeps a week wrapped in a cloth.
15 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 340 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 35 g
- Fat
- 20 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does potica take?
- About 210 minutes in total: 150 minutes to prepare and 60 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 16 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
- What can I use instead of fast-action dried yeast?
- Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
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