Lake Bled cream cake (Blejska kremšnita)

1. Roll the puff pastry into two sheets of about 25 × 25 cm, prick with a fork and bake at 200 °C for 15-18 minutes until golden; pre-cut one sheet into 12 squares now (it will be the top layer).

2. Separate the eggs. Whisk the yolks with half the sugar, the cornflour, flour, vanilla sugar and 200 ml of the milk until smooth; bring the remaining milk to the boil.

3. Pour the yolk mixture into the hot milk, stirring constantly, and cook until thick and glossy.

4. Whisk the whites with the remaining sugar to stiff peaks and fold carefully into the hot custard.

5. Put the whole pastry sheet in a tall frame of about 25 × 25 cm, spread over the hot custard, then, once cooled, the whipped cream, and finally the pre-cut sheet; chill overnight.

6. Before serving dust thickly with icing sugar and cut along the scores into squares with a sharp knife dipped in hot water.

Tip: Kremšnita was born in 1953 at the Park Hotel in Bled and more than 15 million slices have been sold since – a real lakeside attraction. The custard depends on the balance of vanilla and egg: always fold the meringue into the still-hot custard so it stays silky and holds its shape.