Prekmurska gibanica🇭🇺.

Ahhh, Prekmurska Gibanica — now that’s a showstopper of a dessert! ❤️ While it’s originally Slovenian (from the Prekmurje region), it’s very well known and loved in parts of Hungary too, especially near the border. It’s an authentic multi-layered pastry masterpiece that’s rich, rustic, and full of history — and it absolutely deserves a full-length spotlight. Let’s go deep with a long, detailed recipe that captures its soul 🇸🇮🇭🇺

🇭🇺 Prekmurska Gibanica – Traditional Layered Slovenian-Hungarian Dessert

A spectacular, heritage dessert with poppy seeds, walnuts, apples, cottage cheese, and rich buttery pastry.

đź“ś A Slice of History

Prekmurska Gibanica (pronounced prehk-MOOR-skah GEE-bah-neet-sah) is more than a dessert — it’s a cultural treasure. Originally from Slovenia’s northeastern Prekmurje region, this dessert’s name translates to “folded cake,” referencing its rich, layered construction. But its popularity transcends borders — in fact, it’s often found in Hungarian kitchens near the border, and it totally fits that cozy, Sunday-after-church dessert table.

It’s built with multiple layers of strudel dough or filo pastry, and between each one you’ll find a luscious combination of ground poppy seeds, sweet cottage cheese, apples, and walnuts — each mixed with sugar, spices, and sometimes sour cream. It’s a labor of love — but the result is a bakery-worthy dessert bursting with old-world charm.

đź›’ Ingredients (for a 9×13″ / 23x33cm pan)

For the Layers:

  • 12 sheets of phyllo dough (filo pastry), thawed
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, melted (plus more for brushing)

Poppy Seed Layer:

  • 1 cup ground poppy seeds
  • ½ cup milk
  • 2–3 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Walnut Layer:

  • 1 cup ground walnuts
  • ÂĽ cup sugar
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • 2–3 tbsp milk or cream (to moisten)

Apple Layer:

  • 3–4 apples, peeled and grated
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • Optional: handful of raisins

Cottage Cheese Layer:

  • 1½ cups cottage cheese or ricotta
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Zest of 1 lemon

Sour Cream Topping:

  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp sugar
PREPARATION