Serbian Bundevara (Pumpkin Pastry) Recipe
Bundevara is a traditional Serbian pastry consisting of layers of phyllo dough, sweet, spiced pumpkin and cream filling. The cream filling is spread between several sheets of phyllo dough. The pumpkin filling is placed over the top layer of dough and rolled up. They are baked until the filling cooks and the pastry has a light golden color.
Bundeva means pumpkin in Serbian. Bundevara is similar to Bulgarian tikveknik, another pumpkin filled pastry. The most notable difference is that bundevara filling is raw when assembling the pastry while tikveknick pumpkin filling is cooked.
Origin & Cultural Significance
Pumpkin is a staple in Serbian cuisine. The town of kikinda has hosted a pumpkin days festival for over 30 days where thousands of visitors come to see attractions such as the largest and heaviest pumpkins, engage in activities like pumpkin eating contests, pumpkin climbs and enjoy an array of pumpkin dishes.
Serbian Bundevara Recipe
Bundevara is a traditional Serbian pastry consisting of layers of phyllo dough, sweet, spiced pumpkin and cream filling.
Ingredients
- Phyllo dough sheets
- Pumpkin (grated) - 2.2 lbs
- Eggs - 4
- Sugar - 200g
- Oil - 7 oz.
- Milk - 5 oz.
- Baking powder - 6g
- Vanilla sugar - 1 packet
- Lemon peel (grated) - 1
- Cinnamon - 1 tsp
- Flour- 4 tbsp
Instructions
- Cut the pumpkin in half, remove the seeds and peel it.
- Cut into smaller pieces and grate.
- Mix it with half of the sugar and cinnamon and let it stand while the cream is being prepared.
- Beat eggs with the remaining sugar and vanilla.
- Mix the flour, milk, oil, baking powder and grated lemon peel.
- Take out three tablespoon of cream and set it aside.
- Roll out one sheet of phyllo dough and spread three tablespoons of the cream over it
- Layer with a second crust and cream again.
- Top with a third crust.
- Arrange the grated pumpkin on the third layer.
- Take one end and roll lightly into a loose log.
- Place it on a greased baking sheet.
- Make more rolls until the tray is filled and the cream and pumpkin are done.
- Coat the pies with the reserved cream.
- Poke them with a toothpick and let it stand for half an hour.
- Bake in a heated oven at 425 degrees for about 25 - 30 minutes.
- Let cool before cutting.
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 40 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 83Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 19mgSodium: 29mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 0gSugar: 6gProtein: 1g
Nutrition is provided and calculated by Nutritionix. It is for general information purposes and is only a rough estimation.
