Kremna rezina

Kremna rezina is a Slovenian Lake Bled specialty. It's a decadent cream cake with a golden, crispy, buttery pastry base. The base is covered with a layer of thin, buttery dough and fragrant vanilla custard. Traditionally, the entire cake is sprinkled with icing sugar and served in cubes. The origins of kremna rezina (or Bled cream cake) may be traced back to the arrival of chef Itvan Lukaevi to Bled's Park Hotel, where he modified the Hungarian cream cake by adding the proper proportions of whipped cream, and the hotel unveiled Lukaevi's invention to the public in 1953.

With up to 3,500 slices sold per day, the novel dessert was a big success and became a favorite tourist treat. The true kremna rezina is more than just a cake; the pastry is claimed to be folded seven times before being set aside, the custard is cooked for exactly seven minutes, and each cake is cut into a seven-by-seven centimeter square.

Ingredients

• 2 layers of puff pastry, already rolled, 6 large eggs, 150 g (3/4 cup or 5.3 oz) white sugar for egg yolk mixture, 50 g (1/4 cup or 1.8 oz) white sugar for egg white mixture, 1 tsp rum, 700 ml (3 cups or 23.7 fl. oz) whole milk for cooking, 100 ml (1/2 cup or 3.4 fl. oz) whole milk for egg yolk mixture, 10 g (0.3 oz) vanilla sugar, 100 g (1/2 cup + 1/8 cup or 3.2 oz) strong bread flour, 2 tbsp corn starch, 500 ml (2 cups or 17 fl. oz) whipping cream, 2 tbsp caster sugar, Caster sugar, Baking pan with removable sides, 24x24x7 cm (9.5x9.5x2.8 inches), Large whisk
  

Instructions

• Remove puff pastry from freezer and let it rest, still wrapped, for 20 minutes at room temperature. While it rests, flour your work surface.
• Roll out puff pastry to a 12 x 15 rectangle. Trim the edges to be even, then prick the dough all over with a fork. Cut lengthwise into two rectangles, each one 6 inches wide.
• Place both pastries on a large parchment-lined baking sheet. Score one pastry into ten squares (divided lengthwise into two rows of five), being sure to not cut all the way through. Chill pastry in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Make the pastry cream: Slowly bring milk and lemon peel to a boil in a heavy pan. Lower the heat and remove the peel.
• Whisk eggs yolks and 1 Tbsp of sugar in a bowl until pale and smooth, then stir in the flour.
• Whisk the hot milk into the flour and egg mix, then return all to the stovetop pan.
• Over low heat, stir constantly until the mix forms a thick custard. Pour into a bowl and let it cool a little, but not until firmly set.
• Whisk the egg white with the remaining 3 Tbsp of sugar until stiff peaks form.
• Whip 2/3 cup of the cream (reserving the remainder) until thick.
• Stir rum into the custard, then fold the egg white mixture gently with a spatula, followed by the whipped cream. The combination is your pastry cream. Chill for 30 minutes until fully set.
• Remove baking sheet from the fridge and moisten the area around the pastry, then bake the pastry for 25 minutes (until golden and flaky). Cool.
• Make the whipped cream: Sift 1 Tbsp confectioner’s sugar into the remaining heavy cream and stir in the vanilla. Whip.
• Put the unscored pastry on a dessert tray, spread with the pastry cream, and then spread the whipped cream atop that. Lay the scored pastry over the whipped cream, and dust with the remaining confectioner’s sugar. Slice along the scoring and serve.