"Nowhere else in the world are such good little cakes made as at Smiljana‘s in Cukarin," is a sentence we‘ve heard countless times, and once upon a time, we saw for ourselves. Smiljana Matijaca is a well-known name on our pastry scene, and her pastry shop Cukarin on Korčula now already enjoys the status of a gastronomic institution.

Mario Kucera/

It has existed for about 30 years and it has always been well known that only the best treats are eaten here. One of the most famous are certainly klasuni, old Korčula cookies filled with walnut cream, which gained great popularity precisely thanks to Smiljana Matijaca and her pastry shop. In recent years, there is almost no person who has visited Korčula and has not eaten at least one of her klasuns, and it is very common for guests to return several times during their summer vacation for this treat.

Mario Kucera/

Klasuni used to be made only on special occasions. They were always kept in tin boxes, and those from wealthier households could afford to make and store supplies for unexpected guests. The simplest way to describe them is as shortcrust pastry in the shape of a crescent filled with an aromatic nutty filling with the addition of lemon or orange zest. However, klasuni are actually much more than that.

Many call them the most special little cakes in the world, which in one bite deliver a whole wealth of flavors, they are rich and powerful, but at the same time it is hard to eat just one. The recipes for klasuni in Korčula families are passed down from generation to generation, and once we wrote down Smiljana Matijaca‘s recipe, which eventually ended up in the Croatian cookbook, and we bring it below.

Mario Kucera/

KORČULA KLASUNI

For the dough:
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
300 g sugar
2 vanilla sugars
lemon and orange zest
250 g pork fat (or butter)
a pinch of salt
30 g ammonium bicarbonate
100 ml milk or water
500 g strong flour
500 g plain flour
For the filling:
800 g walnuts
300 ml milk
250 g sugar
2 vanilla sugars
zest of 2 lemons and 2 oranges
50 g white raisins soaked in rose brandy
Preparation:
Mix eggs, sugar, vanilla sugar, lemon and orange zest. Add a pinch of salt. Add fat or butter, heat the milk or water and dissolve the ammonia, then pour it into the mixed dough. Add the flour in a mixer or by hand and knead a soft dough. Put the dough in foil and let it rest in the fridge for one hour.

Cook the milk, sugar, and vanilla sugar until boiling. Put the ground walnuts in a bowl with the lemon and orange zest and raisins. Pour over with hot milk and sugar. Mix well and let the cream cool. Divide the dough and roll each piece out on a floured surface. Place a teaspoon of filling on the rolled-out dough away from the edge. Fold the dough over the filling and use a glass to cut out half-moons, klasuni. Arrange the klasuni on a tray spaced apart as they expand during baking. Bake them at 170 degrees for 15 minutes until golden. After they have cooled, brush them with rose brandy using a brush and roll them in sugar. Let them dry a little.