When you travel to Croatia, make certain that you seek out traditional food, as it is certain to delight your tastebuds. Sailing around Croatia, I was very lucky to have been invited to many a home, where I truly began to understand the uniqueness and flavour of the food of Croatia.
Here is a wonderful Torta from the Dalmatian region and I first tasted this dense but wonderful Torte in Dubrovnik. I have made this Torte a number of times and it is always a hit with my guests.
Imotska Torte
Crust
50o gms (50 dag) plain flour
150 gms (15 dag) sugar
4 egg yolks
1 tablespoon butter
sherry or white wine
Filling
250 gms (25 dag)
250 gms (25 dag) ground almonds
3 tablespoons rum or maraschino liqueur
grated peel of one lemon
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
Whole peeled almonds (slivered almonds also work well)
For the crust, sift the flour and blend with the sugar, egg yolks, softened butter and sherry or white wine. Knead to a smooth dough. Roll out the crust thinly and lay it in a large, oiled pie plate. Cut the excess dough, knead and roll out again, then cut into long strips.
For the filling, mix the sugar, ground almonds, liqueur, lemon peel, eggs and vanilla sugar. Pour into the crust and spread evenly. Lay the strips across the top to form a lattice. Press some whole almonds lightly into the top. Trim the sides and bake at 150ºC (300ºF) for an 1½ hours. Sprinkle with more vanilla sugar while still hot, or you can use icing sugar if you prefer.
(This recipe was adapted from Dalmatian Cooking by John H. Goddard, 2012).
