A cremeschnitte (german: Cremeschnitte, hu, krémes, pl, kremówka, napoleonka, ro, cremșnit, cremeș, crempita, sr, krempita/кремпита, Bosnian: krempita, hr, kremšnita, sk, krémeš, sl, kremna rezina, kremšnita), also known as vanilla slice or custard slice, is a custard and

chantilly cream Whipped cream is liquid heavy cream that is whipped by a whisk or mixer until it is light and fluffy and holds its shape, or by the expansion of dissolved gas, forming a firm colloid. It is often sweetened, typically with white sugar, and ...

cream cake dessert commonly associated with the former

Austro-Hungarian Monarchy Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. However, its exact origin is unknown. This dish remains popular across

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

and the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

in various variations, all of which include a puff pastry base and custard cream.

By country

In Austria

In Slovenia

In Slovenia, kremna rezina is commonly associated with the town of

Bled Bled (; german: Veldes,''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 146. in older sources also ''Feldes'') is a town on Lake Bled in the Upper C ...

, an Alpine tourist destination in northwestern

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. The recipe cake was brought to the local Hotel Park in 1953 by Ištvan Lukačević, chef of the hotel's confectionery store. He came to Bled from

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

where a similar cake was already known. As of October 2009, 10 million cream cakes have been baked at the hotel's patisserie since its invention. The name of the dessert means simply "cream slice". Most locals refer to it as kremšnita, from the German word Cremeschnitte, with the same meaning. While the kremna rezina from Bled celebrated their 10th million piece production, Slaščičarna Lenček, which is located in Domžale, in year 2013 celebrated the 75th anniversary since they have made their first one which is called Lenčkova kremna rezina.

In Croatia

In Croatia, the two most popular variants are Samoborska kremšnita from the town of

Samobor Samobor () is a city in Zagreb County, Croatia. It is part of the Zagreb metropolitan area. Administratively it is a part of Zagreb County. Geography Samobor is located west of Zagreb, between the eastern slopes of the Samobor hills ( hr, Samo ...

and Zagrebačka kremšnita from the capital,

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

. The extremely popular Samoborska kremšnita is characterized by having a puff pastry top, predominantly custard cream filling (less whipped cream) with meringue and is finished with powdered sugar. Zagrebačka kremšnita has a characteristic chocolate icing instead of the puff pastry top, while maintaining the puff pastry base. The classic recipe for Samoborska kremšnita is considered to be designed by Đuro Lukačić in the early 1950s, based on different earlier variants found in patisseries of Zagreb.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, and

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

, the dish is known as krempita 'cream pie'. It is usually prepared with

puff pastry Puff pastry, also known as ', is a flaky light pastry made from a laminated dough composed of dough (') and butter or other solid fat ('). The butter is put inside the dough (or vice versa), making a ' that is repeatedly folded and rolled out befo ...

dough. The filling is usually pure thick custard, less commonly combined with

meringue Meringue (, ; ) is a type of dessert or candy, often associated with Swiss, French, Polish and Italian cuisines, traditionally made from whipped egg whites and sugar, and occasionally an acidic ingredient such as lemon, vinegar, or cream o ...

(whipped egg whites and sugar) creme. A similar recipe with only meringue filling is called Šampita.

In Montenegro

Kotor Cremeschnitte - Kotorske krempite 05

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

, the most famous are the Kotorska krempita or Kotorska pašta (Kotor Cremeschnitte). Except for the original recipe, they differ from other crempitas because they are made with three layers of dough and two layers of cream. The "Kotorska pašta" festival dedicated to this delicacy is held in

Kotor Kotor ( Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative ...

every year.

In Poland

In Romania

Romanian Cremşnit has a compacted puff pastry top and base (a weighted bake) and a stiff custard filling. It's usually sprinkled with icing sugar. Creme_schnitte_romanian_version

References

{{pastries Custard desserts Austrian pastries German pastries German cakes Polish pastries Balkan cuisine Bosnia and Herzegovina cuisine Slovenian desserts Croatian pastries Serbian cuisine Montenegrin cuisine Romanian pastries Bled Puff pastry