Croatian Sweets: 50 new recipes from Croatia's sweet kitchen
Is there something sweet in the house?
Every Croatian child knows this question. By the time we grow up, we have asked it countless times.
We open the fridge, peek into the pantry, and lift lids that have no business being lifted before finally appealing to Mama or Baka.
They know because they baked nešto slatko: a yoghurt cake, jam-filled kiflice, or a tray of poppy seed squares hiding in the still-warm oven.
For some of us, the daily craving for sweetness is quenched with a quick one-bowl cake. For others, it becomes a lifelong pursuit that extends from eating sweets to making them. Before long our kitchens produce festive trays, celebration cakes, and the kind of desserts that still make us wonder how Baka ever managed it all.
The 50 recipes in this cookbook tell a larger story. Desserts in Croatian homes are never baked just to satisfy a sweet tooth.
They are how we welcome guests, celebrate milestones, remember those who came before us, and turn ordinary days into small celebrations. Over time, they become part of the invisible map of childhood, guiding us back to people, places, and moments we thought we had forgotten.
Croatian Baking Without the Guesswork
Many Croatian family recipes were never written for beginners. They assume you already know what the dough should feel like, how thick the cream should be, or when a sponge has reached the right stage. The recipe survives, but the knowledge often doesn't.
That's why this cookbook took three years to create.
Every recipe is accompanied by detailed instructions, chef's tips, troubleshooting advice, and an astonishing 595 step-by-step photographs. I photographed every stage of every recipe so you can see exactly what success looks like, from dough texture and cream consistency to ribbon stage and shaping techniques.
Think of it as having me in the kitchen beside you, guiding you through the steps Baka never wrote down.
Traditional Croatian baking deserves to be preserved, but it also deserves to be baked. This cookbook was created to help you do both.
Already own Croatian Desserts?
If you're wondering whether I've sneaked any recipes from Croatian Desserts into this book, the answer is no.
Every recipe in Croatian Sweets is new.
Some were waiting patiently on my list for years. Others appeared as I travelled, researched, baked, and listened to the stories people shared with me along the way. Together, the two books create a much richer portrait of Croatia's sweet kitchen than I could ever fit into a single volume.
A Sweet for Every Occasion
Daily Delights
Everyday cakes and comforting desserts, including yoghurt pie, jam-filled kiflice, poppy seed bakes, and rožata.
Eye Candy
Layer cakes and celebration sweets, including Bijela pita, Medena pita, Šampite, and Oblatne.
Tiny Sweets
Bite-sized favourites such as Čupavci, Šubarice, Košnice, and other tray-baked treats.
Cakes
Regional specialities and celebration cakes, including Rab Cake, Hrapačuša, Dubrovnik Cake, and Frankopan Cake.
Festive Treats
Christmas cookies, wedding sweets, and holiday baking traditions, including Bajadera, Kroštule, and Chocolate Salami with Dried Fruit.
Curious whether your favourite Croatian sweet is included?
See the complete recipe list.
Want to try a recipe before you buy?
Get the full recipe for Bijela pita, one of Croatia's most beloved layer cakes.
More Than Recipes
One mother once wrote to tell me that she reads the recipe stories from my cookbooks to her daughter as bedtime stories. At first, I thought this was unusual. Then more messages followed.
Granddaughters began gifting the books to their bakas, even though Baka could make every recipe in her sleep.
Brides-to-be received them as wedding gifts when marrying into Croatian families, welcomed with what might be the sweetest challenge of all: learning that in Croatia, cooking is one of the ways we show love.
If you've ever found yourself in one of those dream-like Croatian scenes — perhaps a wedding where an entire bedroom has been transformed into a cake pantry, shelves bending under trays of sweets brought by aunts, cousins, neighbours, and friends — you'll recognise the world that lives inside these pages.
And if you haven't, I hope these stories will make you feel as though you belong there too.
Book Details
- 288 pages
- 50 entirely new recipes
- 595 step-by-step photographs
- 76 finished recipe photographs
- Metric, cup, and imperial measurements
- 20 × 25 cm (7.9 × 9.8 in)
- Soft cover with inside flaps
Designed, photographed and printed in Croatia
FAQ
When will my order ship?
Croatian Sweets is currently at the printer. We expect books to arrive in our warehouse at the end of June and will begin shipping pre-orders immediately after.
What if I order other books as well?
If your order contains Croatian Sweets and other products, we'll ship everything together once Croatian Sweets arrives.