This Custard Cake, also called Kremsnita Cake in Croatia, is a beautiful cake made with layers of puff pastry, custard, and whipped cream. It is light, airy, and creamy. This is perfect for celebrating any occasion!
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One of my favorite parts about cooking a meal from every country in the world is cooking the dessert that comes along with it. Dessert is (obviously!) the best part of every meal. And I’ve had so much fun experimenting with cooking the different desserts that the world has created.
I never got to try Kremsnita Cake while I was in Croatia. In fact, I distinctly remember having a hard time in Split finding ANY uniquely Croatian dessert. I had some of the best gelato I’ve ever had in my life in Croatia, but I couldn’t find any desserts that were purely Croatian.
I must not have been looking in the right places, because they clearly exist! Take, for example, this Kremsnita cake. It’s unique in design, and so darn delicious! I had so much fun experimenting with this cake for you, and I can’t wait for you to try it at home!
What is Custard Cake?
Kremsnita cake is a delicious rendition of custard cake. It’s made with two sheets of puff pastry. Then, you use your stove to make a thick, creamy custard. The custard layer goes on top of the bottom puff pastry layer.
Then, you spread on homemade whipped cream. Then, the final puff pastry layer goes on top.
The cake is delicate, light, and so very delicious! I would recommend a two-day process for making it, as you really want to make sure that the custard is set all the way before serving.
What Ingredients Do I Need to Make this Custard Cake?
Whole milk
Eggs
Granulated sugar
White flour
Vanilla extract
Puff Pastry sheets
Heavy whipping cream
For full ingredient measurements and instructions, visit the recipe card at the bottom of the page
How to Make Custard Cake
I’ll admit, I was nervous to make Kremsnita cake on my own, as I wasn’t really sure that I knew exactly how it was supposed to turn out. For this experience, I used Better Baking Bible’s recipe. It turned out beautifully, and I am so grateful that I had her recipe to follow! Here are the steps I followed:
Thaw puff pastry according to package instructions. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cover two open air cookie sheets with parchment paper. Place a puff pastry sheet on each cookie sheet and put in the oven. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, until the puff pastry sheets puff up and start to brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Separate each of the eggs, placing yolks in one large bowl and whites in another.
In the yolk bowl, mix in 1 ½ cups granulated sugar with an electric beater until light and fluffy. Add in the flour, vanilla extract, and 1 cup of milk until combined.
In a large pot on the stove, heat the remaining 3 cups of whole milk until boiling, whisking occasionally to keep the milk from burning. Once boiling, whisk in the egg yolk mixture and whisk for about 10 minutes, until the consistency thickens to that of pudding. Remove the custard mixture from the heat and set aside.
In a separate bowl, use an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer to beat the egg whites until stiff.
Use a rubber spatula to fold the egg whites into the custard mixture. Fold carefully, as you don’t want to deflate the egg whites when combining them with the custard. Fold gently until all egg-white streaks are gone.
Assembly Instructions
In a 10×10 pan, lay one puff pastry sheet on the bottom. If you don’t have a 10×10 pan, follow the instructions above to make a pan the correct size.
Pour the custard on top of the bottom layer of puff pastry. Put in the fridge and allow to rest for 3 hours.
When the custard has cooled, combine the heavy whipping cream and sugar in a chilled bowl. Use an electric stand mixer or a hand mixer and beat on high speed until whipped cream forms. Spread the whipped cream on top of the custard layer.
Use a knife to cut the top puff pastry sheet into 16 equal squares. Place on top of the whipped cream layer. Cut into pieces and enjoy!
Leave a comment on this post letting me know what you thought!
Do I Have to Make my Own Whipped Cream?
Not at all! If you don’t want to spend your time making whipped cream, you can instead use cool whip to replace the homemade whipped cream. I, of course, am partial to the homemade kind, as I think it’s absolutely delicious!
But sometimes, I just don’t have it in me to hand-make everything. If that’s the case and you’re not feeling the desire to cook, you can use cool whip. Shhhh I won’t tell 😉
What Happens if I Don’t Have a 10×10 Pan?
This recipe is, by and far, easier if you have a 10×10 pan to put the cake in. Unfortunately, I only had a 8×8 pan for a 9×13 pan to use! The 8×8 was too small, so I needed to use the 9×13.
I had a problem.
Of course, you need the pan to be only as large as the puff pastry sheets in order for the custard to hold the correct shape.
My solution to the issue was to use aluminum foil to make the pan that size that I wanted. I gathered up a long sheet of aluminum foil and folded it a couple of times so that it was really thick. Then, I turned it into a horizontal L shape. I put the short leg of the L against the bottom of the pan, and then used the longer, taller side of the L to form an entirely new edge of the pan.
This effectively turned my 9×13 pan into a 9×10 pan, which is exactly what I needed!
If you need help understanding the way I explained this, see the photos below 🙂
That’s it, everyone! Did you like this recipe for Custard Cake? If so, leave a comment on this post letting me know! Also, post a photo of your creation on Facebook or Instagram and tag @TheForeignFork and hashtag #TheForeignFork.
If you liked this recipe, you might also like these other dishes I picked out just for you:
- Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake Recipe
- Honey Cake with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting
- Chocolate Molten Lava Cake
- Canadian Christmas Fruit Cake
- Orange Buttermilk Pie
- Easy Bread Pudding Recipe
- Chocolate Glazed Donuts
Custard Cake
Ingredients
- 4 cups whole milk
- 8 eggs
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ cups white flour
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Puff Pastry sheets
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
Instructions
- Thaw puff pastry according to package instructions. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cover two open air cookie sheets with parchment paper. Place a puff pastry sheet on each cookie sheet and put in the oven. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, until the puff pastry sheets puff up and start to brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.
- Separate each of the eggs, placing yolks in one large bowl and whites in another.
- In the yolk bowl, mix in 1 ½ cups granulated sugar with an electric beater until light and fluffy. Add in the flour, vanilla extract, and 1 cup of milk until combined.
- In a large pot on the stove, heat the remaining 3 cups of whole milk until boiling, whisking occasionally to keep the milk from burning. Once boiling, whisk in the egg yolk mixture and whisk for about 10 minutes, until the consistency thickens to that of pudding. Remove the custard mixture from the heat and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, use an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer to beat the egg whites until stiff.
- Use a rubber spatula to fold the egg whites into the custard mixture. Fold carefully, as you don’t want to deflate the egg whites when combining them with the custard. Fold gently until all egg-white streaks are gone.
- In a 10×10 pan, lay one puff pastry sheet on the bottom. If you don’t have a 10×10 pan, follow the instructions above to make a pan the correct size.
- Pour the custard on top of the bottom layer of puff pastry. Put in the fridge and allow to rest for 3 hours.
- When the custard has cooled, combine the heavy whipping cream and sugar in a chilled bowl. Use an electric stand mixer or a hand mixer and beat on high speed until whipped cream forms. Spread the whipped cream on top of the custard layer.
- Use a knife to cut the top puff pastry sheet into 16 equal squares. Place on top of the whipped cream layer. Cut into pieces and enjoy!
- Leave a comment on this post letting me know what you thought!
Sladana says
I agree with Anja, many central European countries, mostly the ones that were part of the old Austro-Hungarian monarchy, have a version of this cake.
Croatia does have an unique version of Krempita/ Kremsnita that is traditionally made in the town of Samobor in the Zagorje region.
The final product is a a bit different and holds together better than the one you made.
For a recipe look for Samoborska Kremsnita.
You did a great job. Thank you for making a Croatian/ Slovenian/ Czech/ Slovak/ Hungarian / … dessert 🙂
Anja says
I’d be careful calling this a Croatian dessert, it’s typical of sevral European countries, all balkan countries, Slovenia, Hungary and a few others. Each country might have a variation that is specific for their region, for example one typical Croation variation of the Kremsnita will have chocolate on top. I’m from Slovenia, we’re neighbours with Croatians, so I know. Please check the facts before assigning a dessert to a certain nation.