Prekmurje layered cake (Prekmurska gibanica)

1. For the base, work the flour with 125 g of cold butter, a pinch of salt and 4-5 tablespoons of cold water into a shortcrust dough, chill for 30 minutes, then roll out into the bottom of a deep tin of about 25 × 35 cm; melt the remaining butter.

2. Make four fillings: poppy seed (the poppy seeds with a quarter of the sugar), curd cheese (the curd cheese with the eggs, vanilla sugar and a quarter of the sugar), walnut (the walnuts with a quarter of the sugar) and apple (the grated, squeezed apples with the remaining sugar, the cinnamon and raisins).

3. Stir the soured cream and cream together until smooth – this is for drizzling over the layers.

4. Lay 2 filo sheets on the base, drizzle with butter, then layer: poppy seed, filo, curd cheese, filo, walnut, filo, apple, filo – drizzling a little of the cream mixture over each filling.

5. Repeat the sequence once more (in the same order), finish with a filo sheet and drizzle generously with the remaining butter and cream mixture.

6. Bake at 180 °C for about 60-70 minutes until golden on top; cool completely and only cut into large squares the next day.

Tip: Prekmurska gibanica is an EU-protected Slovenian cake from Prekmurje, on the Hungarian border. It looks complicated but only needs patience: you can make the fillings a day ahead.