Croatian dessert recipes: Kroštule

Kroštule (Photo: Blazej Pieczynski/CC)

Kroštule are delicious traditional sweet crisp pastry made out of dough that have been shaped into twisted ribbons before being deep-fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Popular in the Croatian regions of Dalmatia and Istria, they are also a favourite at Croatian gatherings in communities abroad, especially at Christmas time and are served after a meal.

Kroštule recipe:

Ingredients

Flour (plain) – 200 g

Sugar – 50 g

Egg yolks – 3

Oil – 100 ml

Rakija – 80 ml

Milk –  150 ml

Lemon – 1/2 skin

Oil – 500 ml for frying

Icing sugar – 100 g

Salt – 1 pinch

(Photo: Blazej Pieczynski/CC)

Instructions

1. In a bowl mix together the egg yolks, sugar, milk, oil, rakija, pinch of salt and grated lemon skin.
   
   
2. Add flour then to the mixture, mixing well with a spatula. On a board, sprinkled with flour, mix the dough with your hands till it is semi-hard.
   
   
3. With a rolling pin roll out the dough to 5 mm rectangular sheets. With a pastry wheel cut out strips 10 x 3 cm in size.
   
   
4. With a little knife cut a little part in the centre and through the opening pull the other end of the pastry through.
   
   
5. Deep-fry until golden in colour.
   
   
6. Once done take out and sprinkle some icing sugar on top.