Croatian Mađarica Cake (Layered Chocolate Slice)

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Post author Mate

Written by our local expert Mate

Mate is Croatian and owns a transport company in the Balkans, he has visited over 30 countries. He is an expert on all things transportation as well as food and wine.

This dessert is an absolute blast from the past for me and a real hit with all the children in our family. Back in Sydney, there was a bakery that made Mađarica the absolute best. That’s right; not even my mother could measure up to this bakery’s Mađarica. Anytime we had a party, the Mađarica was purchased, and all the children would scoff it down as soon as it hit the table.
Croatian Recipes | Madarica Slice Recipe | Layered Chocolate Cake |Chasing the Donkey Cooking Blog
 
When you find yourself in Croatia, the region of Slavonia is known for delicious Mađarica and other desserts, too! Don’t miss them. If you aren’t traveling anytime soon, have no fear. We’ve got a recipe you can whip up in your own kitchen. We love this chocolate slice and hope you do as well!

 

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Croatian Recipes | Madarica | Layered Chocolate Cake |Chasing the Donkey Cooking Blog

Croatian Mađarica Recipe (Layered Chocolate Slice)

Here is how to make Croatian Mađarica - a chocolate layered slice. Mađarica is always a hit, especially with the kids.

Ingredients

Mađarica Cake Layers

  • 600 g all-purpose flour (4 cups)
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • Two egg whites
  • 220 ml cream (1 cup)
  • 150 g sugar (3/4 cup)
  • 180 g butter (13 Tbls.)

Madarica Filling

  • 1 L milk (4 1/4 cups)
  • 140 g butter (10 Tbls.)
  • 200 g sugar (1 cup)
  • 200 g chocolate (7 oz)
  • 5 Tbls. all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mađarica Glaze

  • 180 g chocolate (6.3 oz)
  • 3 Tbls. oil
  • 50 g butter (3 1/2 tablespoons)

Instructions

Mađarica Filling

  1. Cook the milk with sugar and vanilla until it boils
  2. Take out a cup of milk and whisk the flour into the milk. Slowly pour in the flour and milk mixture into the boiling milk and continue to stir
  3. Turn down the heat and add the chocolate and stir continuously until the chocolate melts and the filling thickens
  4. Remove from heat and stir in the butter
  5. Put it aside and let the mixture cool. It should be completely cool before using it

Cake Layers

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F)
  2. Now you need to make a dough. Beat butter with sugar, egg whites, and cream add sift in the flour and baking powder, and knead into a dough
  3. Separate it into five equal parts and roll each one out into rectangles. I usually use a cake tin as a template, so I know the size and shape that I need to roll the dough. Also, I also like to roll it on baking paper; that way, it's easy to transfer the dough onto the baking tray
  4. Roll the dough as thin as possible and place it on a baking tray ready for cooking
  5. Bake layers one by one, each for 8-9 minutes. You want the layers to stay light in color. Once baked, put them on a flat surface and let them cool

Glaze

  1. Melt the chocolate with butter and oil over simmering water. When it's well combined, it's ready

Mađarica Assembly

  1. Now it's time to assemble the layers of the cake. First, place one layer of the cooked dough onto a baking tray and then spread part of the filling on the cake
  2. Cover with the second layer of cooked dough and repeat
  3. You need to end with the dough layer on top; you then finish with the glaze. Simply pour the glaze over the cake and then refrigerate overnight
  4. The next day cut into small rectangles and serve

Croatian Recipes | Madarica | Layered Chocolate Cake |Chasing the Donkey Cooking Blog

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Comments (105)

  1. That looks absolutely delicious. I was surprised to see that the layers between the chocolate were not coconut, they sure look like it.

      1. Back in Sydney, there was a Bakery that made Madarica the absolute best. That’s right, not even my mother could measure up to this bakeries Madarica. Anytime we had a party the Madarica was purchased and all the children would scoff it down as soon as it hit the table. We love this chocolate slice and hope you do as well.

        1. Yeah it was probably the same bakery we used to get it from when we lived there :D They had such nice even white lines…

          1. and back to my original comment/question… “which bakery did you purchase these in Sydney?” Which bakery were you referring to in this article… I assume you did write this blog?

              1. It was at Thorney Rd, Fairfield West. Not sure if it’s still there though. Check out The Wog Box on Insta. They are Sydney based and deliver. Delish!

              2. It was at Thorney Rd, Fairfield West. Not sure if it’s still there though. Check out The Wog Box on Insta. I think they are in the Liverpool area and deli

  2. This is what makes me think of my childhood. Memories of my Baka making this layer by layer. Sooooo good

  3. I don´t think I ever had madarica. My baka was a fantastic baker and created the most wonderful & delicious cakes but I don´t think she ever made this one. Pity.
    Ah well, I´ll have a decaf & a piece of (shop bought) almond cake now ;)

  4. nice SJ, really nice, but my personal favorite are still “figaro´s”, see recept below, but added to the recept some chocolate coating ^_^

  5. One of my favourite cakes reminds me of my childhood…and finally I’ve mastered it!!! Gotta keep the tradition going!

  6. My favourite and the best one ever tasted was ny nephews Daniels grandmothers.

  7. If you’re pressed for time, there is a cheat’s version where you use Arnotts Milk Coffee biscuits- the chocolate filling makes the biscuits turn soft so you dont even realise they’re biscuits

  8. The good thing about croatian food, is that it is nicely balanced. Soft buttery flavors.

  9. I can’t wait to try this! Can you write out “madarica” phonetically? I don’t want to pronounce it wrong when I serve it to my family :) Thanks!

    1. Hmm… like this maybe “mah-dri-sah” The d is actually a đ which is a rolled kind of sound like the j sound in Jack.

    2. ma-ja-ree-tsa – and the stressing whilst pronouncing should be all flat, not stressing on “ree” as ma-ja-REE-tsa as then nobody would understand it:-) all flat -ma ja ree tsa, with small break between “ma” and the rest” as if it had been “ma-jareetsa” . This “ja” phonetically is as in “gia” like Giacomo:-)

    3. Mađarica pronunciation is ma-jar-itza – the ‘ma’ is ma as in mother. One of my faves too! Is that bakery in Sydney still around? Do you have the name?

    1. Yes 200 and a bit more I am cake baker traditional Croatian cakes all kind based in London ?

  10. Sanja u pravu madjaricu ne ide ni single ni double cream fil se kuha od mleka brasna secera kakaa I cokolade ?

    1. You’d have to befriend a croatian ‘baka’! ? No bought version of this cake could ever compare with the homemade one. For me,at least..

    1. In every house you aspecialy on birthdays or most of the restaurants have them to in Zagreb ,Dubrovnik sisak, but if you are in Melbourne. You can by some in Croatian coffe shopes

  11. maĐarica. crucial thing. say to anyone in croatia maDarica, they will have no clue what are you talking about.

    1. YEAH YEAH, thanks you’ve pointed that our before BUT my keyboard does not have that letter and the text looks wonky on the image so please, no need to tell me that a 3rd time when this gets shared again.

    2. sorry, i have no bad intentions. btw, DJ instead of Đ is correct, even officially. madjarica, now we are talking :)

  12. I just made these last night. My only issue is that I rolled the dough incredibly thin and parts had cracked when I transferred the sheets onto the chocolate layer. Mum made these on special occasions. Mmmm

  13. Ich liebe die kroatische Küche sehr und würde gerne etwas nach backen, nur leider kann ich die Rezepte nicht in deutsch übersetzen lassen. Auch das Kopieren in einen Translator geht nicht…….schade…… Ist es nicht möglich, noch einen deutschen Button einzufügen? Oder dass ich zumindest die Rezepte heraus kopieren kann in den Translator? Ich würde mich sehr freuen, wenn Sie daran etwas ändern könnten.
    LG Britta

  14. What is the measurement for the actual cake layers please? I’m an American with a Bosnian husband & really want to make more tortes for him. I don’t know how big a “cake tin” is for you. Thanks ????

    1. hi, I also would like to know what size tin to use please. I wish to make this for a Croatian friend in memory of his mother who has just passed.

  15. Recipe was good, however, would like to know how everyone went with boiling the milk and taking out a cup ad adding the flour.
    Pretty sure flour needs to go into cold milk and either added slowly to hot milk or added to the cold milk and heated.

    1. If you add the flour into a cup of boiling milk, it comes out lumpy. I kept one cup of milk cold and added the flour into that. Perfect!

  16. Hi there!
    Love your blog and looking forward to trying this recipe. I’m hoping you can let me know what the protein percentage is in Croatia for all purpose flour. I’m in Canada with Croatian roots and looking forward to making this for my mom. Our AP flour is actually more similar to bread flour protein wise, so I am wondering if I should be using cake flour instead.
    Thanks in advance for your help!

    1. I have no idea. All-purpose flour is what we call it in Australia. Here in Croatia, it’s called Tip550. It’s just regular plain flour. Hope that helps. Enjoy.

  17. I have been making a dessert from every country and this is, by far, one of the best recipes I’ve made. I always take samples to my friends and it has been almost everyone’s favorite. It is definitely time consuming bought it is so worth it!! Yummy!

  18. Can you please tell me the size tin (or what size) to roll out the layers of dough. I’m dying to try this. Many thanks from Athens, AL, USA

  19. What kind of chocolate do you use? Powdered cocoa or chips? If so what kind? Semi sweet or other, thank you!

  20. Thank you for sharing this recipe! Can’t wait to try it….yum…just wondering, what’s the name of the bakery that make it in Sydney? I live in Syd and never heard of a bakery that makes it. I would love to know the name so I can try it!

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