Golf Park Dubrovnik - DalCasa

128g a s t r o n o m i j ag a s t r o n o m yThe Island of Rab Cake, a delicacy thatdoes not resemble that which is com monlycalled a cake, but is rather a pastrymaster-piece, is tra di tio nally served with aglass of Maras chino wine on Rab.Vatican, thanks to the Rab experience of Pope AlexanderIII, was familiar with the tasty almond mass asearly as the 12th century, so the sweet circle was in factclosed with the renewed arrival.Today it is proved that the Rab cake was preparedon the island as a specialty in patrician houses as farback as three centuries ago, during the Venetian rule.In the 19th century along with patrician houses thecake was made, by special order, in the convent of St.Antun Padovanski and later in the Benedictine conventof St. Andrew.As the case was with other similar cakes, because itis rather a costly treat to make, the Rab cake was notmade day to day, but only during the most festive occasions,such as Easter, baptisms, weddings and otherbig ce le brations.Traditionally the Rab cake is round-shaped and hasalways been made, according to the locals, in littledough strips which were bent forming a circular patternand baked in such a shape.-It is from this method that the word cake comesinto play, which often surprises the visitors of Rab. Webake the cake in the traditional circular form, if havesuch special orders, and we make it in “štručica”(littleloaf) form as a souvenir - says Mrs. Vilma Brna, theowner of the already mentioned pastry shop “Vilma”where it has been possible to order and taste the cakefor the last eight years.The new generations of nuns of the St. Benedictorder in the St. Andrew convent are of Slovenian originso there is no one to make the original cake:The cakes were made, until recently, by an older nun,says one of the younger nuns, and us young ones donot make it, because we have just recently arrived andhave no one to teach us how.And “nonice”(a local word for grandmothers and oldladies) who bake the cake according to old family recipesthat were jealously cherished and trans ferred fromgeneration to ge neration, grow fewer in numbers.Today it is prepared by only a dozen housewives inRab, Mrs. Vilma says and continues:- I was born in Bribir and was familiarized with theRab cake only when I came to live on the island. I haveworked in the pastry shop of the “Internacional” hoteland it was there that I learned how to prepare the cakefrom my late colleague Božo Sokolić who was a Rab native.His recipe was an ancient one, previously used byhis aunt and I use myself today. The Island of Rab cake isan original de licacy which authentically represents Raband is a much desired souvenir.- Nowadays the cake is used for tourist promotionof the island on different occasions and can be boughtas a present and tasted in our bakery. From this yearwe are selling it wrapped in a new and attractive packingwith a small brochure about its history written inseveral foreign languages and people like it very much,I must say, do mestic guests as well as foreign.All the housewives and cooks who want to learn theart of Rab cake-making must prepare themselves for along and hard practice.- The recipe seems to be, at first, a simple one, butonce you are underway preparing it you will find andface problems which can only be solved with experience,because the exact recipe in grams does not exist,due to the varying quality of the ingredients used. Thecooked “mendula” (the local word for almond) is peeledand dried for a few days, in a manner that does notleave it neither too dry nor too moist, which requiresthe right days, climate and temperature-wise. Youshould add some pine nuts and some bitter almondsfor the right smell and taste and the best ones arefound in Luna on the island Pag.Furthermore it is important to know how manyeggs to put in, which depends on how dry the almondsand the sugar are, how big the sugar crystals are andother similar details. The filling is aromatized withlemon, orange, maraschino or some other ingredient,depending on the particular recipe used. The doughis similar to the one used for noodles, only sweetand aromatized with maraschino. The dough is to berolled thin, the filling placed on top, after the edges arefinger-shaped into resembling lace. But the recipe itselfis not enough to make a top class Rab cake because itis the experience that counts the most and every cookhas a few his/her little secrets, Vilma explains.The Island of Rab Cake, a delicacy that does notresemble that which is commonly called a cake, butis rather a pastry master-piece, is traditionally servedwith a glass of Maraschino wine on Rab.“All the smells and tastes of Primorje (the coastlinearea of Croatia), the experience and the skill of preparationnurtured through centuries are built in this uniqueharmony called the Island of Rab cake. While you enjoythe taste of this totally special cake you can be certainit exists only on Rab” are the words concluding the brochureattached to this unique delicacy.