Rapska Torta

Rapska torta is an almond pastry from the island of Rab in Croatia’s Adriatic Sea. The edge of the filling, laid out in a spiral, is finely decorated with thin pastry. When it is sliced, you can sense the aromas of citrus and maraschino in the densely packed almond layer.

Pleating Along the Spiral

In one example, blanched almonds are dried and ground, then combined with sugar, eggs, lemon and orange zest, and maraschino. Thinly rolled dough is cut into long strips, and the filling is placed on top. Even narrower strips of dough are attached along the edges and pinched into pleats with the fingers to shape it. The handmade edging continues all the way into the inside of the spiral.

The main ingredient, almonds, is bound with eggs and flavored with liqueur and citrus zest. Once it is baked and dusted with powdered sugar, the pale surface and fine pleats stand out. Makers on the island shape the pastry by pressing the edge with their fingers so that the filling does not collapse.

The Monastery and the Island’s Makers

On Rab, it has been handed down as a sweet associated with celebrations such as weddings and baptisms, and today it is also a souvenir for visitors to the island. It is also made at the Benedictine monastery of St. Andrew, where the nuns use rosolio, a liqueur they make themselves, in their version. The aroma also varies from maker to maker; for example, a homemade liqueur may be used instead of the commonly cited maraschino.

The island also has a legend that the nuns prepared the pastry when Pope Alexander III was received there in 1177. Materials introducing the monastery also present this story as legend, and it does not indicate that the current recipe has remained unchanged since the 12th century.

Glossary