Pinca, a sweet bread made with flour, milk, egg yolks, citrus zest, vanilla, sugar, salt, baking powder, butter, and sometimes alcohol, is a traditional dessert in Croatia, Slovenia, and parts of Italy during Easter. Precise measurements are needed to make the circular dessert, which is cut with a three-pointed star and baked until golden brown. Pinca is often presented in a cross shape and sometimes made with thin strands of dough woven around a hard-boiled Easter egg.
At Easter, the Croatian coastal regions of Istria and Damatia pump out thousands of egg-based sweet breads known as pinca to complement their other colorful egg-themed offerings. Also known as sirnica, this circular dessert is a regular offering during Lent celebrations in Slovenia and Croatia, as well as parts of Italy. Cake dough is a pile of flour, milk, egg yolks, citrus zest, vanilla, sugar, salt, baking powder, butter, and sometimes a little alcohol that is baked until golden brown with a three-pointed star cut at the top.
Precise measurements are needed to get a correct pinca. A sample recipe on the Ostaria Istriana website, which features culinary and other information about the politically divided Croatians and Slovenes in the European region of Istria, includes a traditional mix of Dalmatian ingredients. To prepare four balls of cake dough, you will need about 1 kg of flour whipped with the appropriate amount of yeast and about 7 ounces (about 200 g) of room temperature butter. Into a depression made in the top of this ball pass the yolk of five eggs, 7 oz. (about 200g) of granulated sugar, a few drops of vanilla extract, a pinch of salt, some citrus zest and perhaps a shot each of brandy and rum. Some chefs also add a little milk to the dough for a potentially richer final product.
These ingredients are kneaded through the dough until a uniform consistency is reached. After the dough sits at room temperature for a few hours, it should double in size, which is a cooking technique called leavening. It is then divided into four equally sized balls of dough, which are set aside to continue to rise.
After about another hour, the pinca cakes are cut along the top in the pattern of a three-pointed star and placed on a greased pan. Their buds are brushed with more egg yolk and sprinkled with powdered sugar than the granulated variety. The cakes bake at about 400°F (about 200°C) for at least 20 minutes, but may take up to 45 minutes to finish properly. These cakes should be golden brown and hyper-sweet on top of the yolk and sugar.
A common way to present pinca is a cross in the center of a table for a special meal. Many Croatian bakers also make a variation known as primorski uskrsne bebe, which weaves thin strands of pinca dough around and away from a colorful, hard-boiled Easter egg, creating a passing resemblance to a lined baby Jesus.
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