Unique Degree For Traditional Hvar Cake-Making Lover

Not many people can say they have a degree in baking cakes, but 34-year-old Croatian Viktorija Colic Serdar can.

It is not just a degree in baking any old cakes either, Viktorija has graduated from the Faculty of Chemical Technology in Split with a degree in making “Traditional cakes from the island of Hvar – specialising in Hvar’s famous Paprenjak”.

The traditional Paprenjak contains a unique mix of honey and black pepper and also has sugar syrup or honey, butter or fat, eggs, nuts, pepper and various spices such as clove, cinnamon and nutmeg in it.

Colic Serdar, who made her first cake when she was 10-years-old, comes from a family with a long line of history in the cake making trade, her great-grandmother, grandmother’s and mother were all keen cake makers, and now Viktorija’s young daughter has also started the family tradition.

Viktorija grew up and lives in the City of Split, but spent most of her summer’s in Stari Grad on the island of Hvar, learning the old Hvar traditional recipes from her great-grandmother Marija.

“Traditional cakes from the island of Hvar do not differ much, they were mostly dry, long-lasting cookies because they had nowhere to store them in the time when refrigerators were not around, but they are radically different in what gets added such as herbs and spices, some had almonds, some lavender, and others had dried figs, honey, sherry, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg,” explains Viktorija to Slobodna Dalmacija, adding that it is not easy these days to make a living from making traditional cakes, saying that tradition is not as valued as it once was. Viktorija says foreigners seem to be more interested these days.