29th June 2015 / 0 comments

It was cold but no snow and night was descending on us on the road to Sremski Karlovci. It was January, the second day of the Serbian Christmas when we decided to spend a day away from food, TV and the various sofas scattered around the house. We chose to drive north of Belgrade to the small town of Sremski Karlovci, known for its contribution to history books since it was here that the term ‘round table’ was first used when describing the signing of a peace agreement. The first peace agreement to be so described was signed here in 1699 between the Turkish, Polish, Venetians and Austrians, and it was thrashed out around a round table on a site a little way out of the town and which is commemorated by a circular building, the Chapel of Peace, that has four doors, one for each party to the treaty.

Sremski Karlovci is well known for its good wines and honey which you can taste at various establishments around the town. And it’s known for Kugelhof – a sweet raisin-filled yeast bread served as a coffee cake or as an afternoon snack or as a part of breakfast. The reason for its mullti use is confusion as people can’t decide if it’s a bread or cake. It’s too sweet to be bread and too dense to be cake. History says that cake the originated in Austria and it was widespread through the Austro Hungarian Empire which Sremski Karlovci was part of.

As it was the second day of Christmas everything was closed except a few bars and churches which we duly visited within a few hours. On a small side street, full of independent colourful and closed shops we spotted a handwritten note in the window “Kugelhof. Please call …..”. Curious and bored we decided to call and within a few minutes we had a gentleman in front of us who kindly opened his shop. We apologised for disturbing him over Christmas only to be told that it wasn’t his Christmas. He is German and his Christmas was on the 25th December. My friend, an Englishmen lost in Serbia, got even more curious and asked when he moved to Sremski Karlovci.

“I was born here. And my father. And my grandfather. Sremski Karlovci was a part of Austro Hungarian Empire. This was the EU before people even thought about the EU.” And he smiled while showing us different Kugelhofs. Embarrassed by the short history lesson and the range of cakes in front of us, Mr Hanz decided to put us at our ease by giving us a taste of the cakes his wife keeps making. “People prefer McDonalds these days. No one cares about Kugelhof anymore” he said, disappointedly, and then opened a bottle of full bodied red wine produced locally. The array of different tastes and wine swept over the small compact space when John suddenly remembered that he could speak German which put a smile on Mr Hanz’s face.

We learned the secret of Kugelhof is in the yeast. To make a perfect kugelhof you need to use active fresh yeast instead of baking soda. You also need a special pan, round with a hole in the centre. And you need to be patient as kugelhof needs time to rise due to the yeast. You can hasten the process by putting the dough into a bread machine.

“That’s cheating” said Mr Hanz.

You may add some raisins or nuts. When served you can add some powdered sugar. And its use is universal – you can eat it for breakfast or with afternoon tea.

Kugelhof is known under different names through the different countries which were once part of the Austro Hungarian Empire. In Slovakia is known as babovka, in Poland as babka, in Austria as Wacka, in Slovenia as sarkelj.

We bought two.

For day tours in Serbia and visits to Sremski Karlovci please email tara@readyclickandgo.com Alternatively check our website by clicking here. 

Tags: TRAVEL Visit Serbia