Sljeme Pastry (Gibanica)

This pastry, named after the highest peak of the mountain Medvednica (Croatia) really has no connection to Paganism, though its ingredients perfectly fit into the Imbolc kitchen. Cottage cheese and cooking cream (which are generally the basic ingredients for the Croatian pastry called gibanica) which make the pastry all the more juicy and the flavor of which dominates can be connected to what's going on in nature at this time, namely the lactation of ewes. This is why milk and dairy products in general are favorite ingredients for the Imbolc kitchen. The other dominant ingredients in this pastry such as almonds and apples simply have a wonderful taste and add to the cake's original and refreshing taste.

You Will Need:

• 500 g almonds (hazelnuts can work too)
• 500 g cottage cheese
• 6 dl cooking cream
• 1 pack of integral strudel dough (400 g, you get it in the form of thin sheets, I had 9 sheets in the package)
• 1 kg apples
• 300 g sugar
• 2 eggs
• sunflower oil

How To Prepare:

1. Bake the almonds in the oven for 5 minutes at 200°C until they let out their nice aroma and only darken a little bet. Grind them.
2. Heat up 1.5 dl cooking cream and add 100 g sugar. Mix until the sugar is melted and add the ground almonds. Mix until everything is compact. Let it cool down. Leave the rest of the cooking cream aside for later (you will need it to pour over the different pastry layers).
3. In a bowl, mix together the cottage cheese, eggs and 100 g sugar using an electric mixer.
4. Peel the apples, grate them and mix with 100 g sugar.
5. Oil your baking pan (mine is about 35 x 25 cm and about 7 cm deep).
6. Arrange the layers of the pastry/gibanica in the following order: 3 strudel sheets - cooking cream (1 dl) - almond mixture - 2 strudel sheets - cooking cream (1 dl) - cheese mixture - 2 strudel sheets - cooking cream (1 dl) - apple mixture - 2 strudel sheets

Note: when spreading the almond, cheese and apple mixtures, try to spread them as evenly as possible so that the pastry looks nice when cut and so every layer can be tasted in every bite.

7. Mix the remaining 1.5 dl cooking cream with 1 tbsp sunflower oil and a bit of sugar. Pour over the pastry.
8. Bake for 45-50 minutes at 180°C.