Nut lovers will go nuts for the Croatian torta Hrapocusa, or Dol Cake. The almond cake supports a massise walnut topping, all held together with loads of sugar and eggs.
Well this is officially my first Croatian recipe here on CulturEatz! Not only that but the torta Hrapocusa specifically comes from a small village of Dol, on the Croation island of Brac. You and I may have never heard of it before, but over there the cake is a huge deal. They say every family in Dol has their own secret recipe. And there is an annual Night of Hrapocusa event where the population goes from about 100 inhabitants to over a 1,000 people.
Let’s find out more about this very popular cake (which I turned into ‘cupcakes’).
The cake from Brac, Croatia
So first things first, it is pronounced “huh-rap-choose-sa”. And it is pretty much unlike any cake you have ever tried before. The bottom part consists of almond-based sponge with orange notes, while the top part is made of a walnut brittle with lemon notes. And where does the name come from? Not only is it named after rugged stones from the nearby caves, the cake kinda looks like the homonymous rocks too!
The Island of Brac is located in the Adriatic Sea and it is the largest island in Dalmatia. Dalmatia is one of four historical regions in Croatia. Yes the people are called Dalmatians, not to be confused with the cute dogs 😉 The cake comes from the small village of Dol which is know for it’s rolling hills, pine and fig trees, isolated bays and clear water. The last census of 2011 puts the population at 130 souls. Now that is tiny!
This September 2016 Daring Kitchen’s challenge comes to us from Jason at Daily Candor. The English recipe source comes from The Recipe Hunters, and a few other Croatian blogs brough inspiration.
How Sweet it is
I thought I would be ‘portion’ smart so I actually halved the recipe posted below and I used a muffin tin to make 6 ‘cupcakes’ (a full recipe would be 12 ‘cupcakes’). The images I have seen of this cake are really not pretty. This cake will never win the swimsuit competition in a pageant lol. So a small individual size could be prettier. And I think I succeeded in that mission.
However one cupcake is way too much for a single serving. This cake is SWEET, like hurt your teeth sweet. I have a massive sweet tooth which usually balks at claims of ‘it’s too sweet’. Not this time, just too much sugar for me. It is however naturally gluten-free! I recommend cutting your “cupcake’ in 2 or 4 portions. Delicious, that is is so just go for a small portion and enjoy!
Hrapocusa (Croatian Dol Cake)
Ingredients
- 250 g / 9oz / 1 3/4 cups ground almonds meal
- 400 g / 14oz / 3 1/2 cups walnuts halves and pieces
- 600 g / 1 1/3lb / 3 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 orange
- 1/2 lemon
- 1 1/2 Tbsp kirsch maraschino or other cherry-flavored liquor
- 6 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 480°F / 249°C / Gas Mark 9 1/2.
- Add to your mixer bowl the zest and juice from 1/2 orange, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1 1/2 tbsp of cherry-flavored liquor and 200g / 1 cup of the sugar. Mix gently until homogeneous.
- Separate the 6 eggs, adding the yolks directly into the mixer bowl. Retain the whites separately: 4 whites in one bowl, the remaining 2 in another. Mix the ingredients from step 2 with the yolks until it yields a uniform batter. Beat the bowl with 2 egg whites until you have somewhat stiff peaks.
- Add half of the beaten egg whites and half of the almond meal to the batter. Fold in to incorporate and stir gently to homogeneity. Then add the remaining almond meal and egg whites, folding in and stirring gently as before.
- Place a circle of parchment paper at the bottom of a 8 inch springform pan. Pour the resulting cake batter into the springform pan on top of the parchment paper.
- Bake according to this schedule: 5 minutes at 392°F /200°C / Gas Mark 6 (drop the oven to this temperature immediately after placing cake inside), 15 minutes at 350°F / 176°C / Gas Mark 4; 15 minutes at 320°F / 160°C / Gas Mark 3.
- Begin checking the cake approx 5 minutes after lowering the temperature to 320°F / 160°C / Gas Mark 3 (or approx 25 minutes after beginning to bake). When a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven. If the center has swollen due to baking, press gently with the back of the wooden spoon to flatten the surface.
- While the bottom cake is baking, place the remaining 4 egg whites, 400g / 2 cups sugar and the walnuts in a large pot. Turn up the burner to medium-high heat and stir aggressively for approx 15 minutes, making sure the bottom of the pot doesn’t scorch. Stop when the liquid takes on a beige/caramel color.
- Add the zest and juice of 1/2 lemon and the remaining 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract to the walnut-caramel mixture. Stir to spread uniformly throughout the mixture.
- Pour the resulting walnut mixture over the bottom layer of the cake. Make the top even with the back of the wooden spoon.
- Place the cake back in the oven (at 320°F / 160°C / Gas Mark 3) and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until the top takes on a golden color.
- Allow to cool for 90 minutes. Then gently remove from springform pan, peel off the parchment paper, and serve.
I’ve never seen a recipe like this before-it looks delicious!
Thank you Kate, it was indeed.
Looks like quite a filling dessert, would be a perfect accompaniment of earl grey tea, kind of looks like a hybrid between a crumble and a cupcake!
Very filling desert, even these should be cut in 2 lol. It would go down nice with a spot of tea!
Those look absolutely amazing! The tops look like they’re just the right amount of crispy. I’m hoping to visit the Dalmatian Coast next summer so I will have to keep a look out for these 🙂
Thanks John!Wow so cool you will be heading that way next summer, home you get to try a locally made one!
Oh this looks so good, I would love to have this with some vanilla ice cream! Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Rosemarie, and ice cream is a great idea!
Almond and orange are two of my favorite flavors, though I don’t think I’ve ever eaten the together. The combination sounds wonderful, and I love how you put your own spin on this traditional dessert. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Thank you Mindy. The citrus notes here really make it special. Very true almond and orange are rarely together, but a happy pair
I’ve never heard of this cake. It sounds lovely- even though it’s a bit of an ugly ducking!
LOL Nadia indeed but a full cake is even uglier.
Really interesting. I have actually had this cake before, but it’s a great idea to turn it into smaller cakes. A much better way of eating them in my opinion.
Wow Keri you are the first to have tried this before, so cool.
I actually have heard of Brac! It looks like you did a great job of recreating this Croatian treat. I love the almond and orange flavor combination.
Wow I am impressed that you know of Brac,and yes the citrus and almond was really lovely.
Very nice!
Thank you John:-)
This is new. So I’m assuming that the “flour” is the almond meal? I just used almond flour for the first time the other day and loved it. These little cakes have so much flavor with the nuts, orange, lemon and cherry-flavored liquor. My mouth is watering.
Yes exactly MJ,the almond meal is the flour. Oh so glad you just played with it not too long ago. Loads of flavors here for sure, as subtle notes 🙂
I’ve not heard of these. Really like the looks and description, though. Good idea to cut these down to cupcake size. But maybe mini cupcake/muffin size, given how sweet they are? Really fun dish, though — thanks.
Oh good idea to make them in ever smaller tins! Would have to be high walled though. Thanks for stopping by!
I really had to google Dol after all this information you provided. Wow, great village and pictures are breath takin, the combination of green and blue in this village made me want to go there. I thought there will never something as too much sweet for me 🙂 but this really seems so. A recipe worth trying from a place worth visiting. Thanks
I had to google it to lol. And yes it really is that sweet. I usually laugh when people say something is too swet but this one really is! Let me know if youmake it!
Hi Evelyne,
Do you mind linking our page for the original recipe in case anyone wants to try it? We spent about a week hunting it down from Barbara in Dol! Glad you enjoyed it!!
-The Recipe Hunters
http://www.therecipehunters.com/hrapocusa-cake
Hi Leila, no problem I just updated the link with the one you sent. Great post and recipe!
Wow that looks like a perfect dessert for a light meal, or even a good match with an Americano
Oh I do like the Americano idea for sure! It’s a heavy dessert.
I love the healthy dose of topping! And the citrus undertones sound delicious!!
Great topping indeed and yes the citrus tones: orange on the bottom and lemon on top, nice touch.
What a clever idea to have made mini cakes. We finally finished ours yesterday.
A was traumatized of doing a whole cake for a 1 person household lol.
I wanted to make these but they sounded a bit too sweet for me (everyone mentioned the sweetness) but I might try them with less sugar! 😀
I did not see the comments and yeah it is sweet. it would be great to find a way to lighten the sugar indeed. The almond part would be easy to do.
The FnF post is up, Evelyne: here.
I love you made these in muffin tins!
Thanks Debra and I look forward to seeing what everyone made!
wow and one more wow…they look incredibly nutty and rich with that mountain high streusel!!
Very very nutty indeed, really different kind of sweet!