This is an old-fashioned recipe for Czech apple bread pudding, called žemlovka or zemlbába in the Czech Republic. If you want to try a tasty and easy-to-make Czech dessert, go for žemlovka!
➜ What is zemlovka?
Žemlovka is a sweet bread pudding with apples and raisins, spiced with cinnamon, baked in the oven. It is sprinkled with powdered sugar when served.
Žemlovka is often eaten as a main course (seriously!) or, more rarely, as a dessert.
Talking about apples and raisins, don’t miss this quick Czech apple carrot salad or my darned delicious apple strudel!
The name žemlovka is generally used in Moravia (eastern regions of the Czech Republic). We Bohemians (west part of the Czech Republic) use zemlbába as a common name for this type of bread pudding.
The name zemlbába comes from the German word Semmel (a bun), which means a type of white bread.
➜ Pronunciation
I recorded a short audio clip on how to pronounce the Czech word "žemlovka" – the name of this recipe.
➜ Ingredients
Homemade žemlovka is based on 1-2 days old stale white bread. Czechs use their traditional rolls (rohlík or housky). You will need to make two layers out of the soaked bread.
EGG CUSTARD:
- Eggs
- Milk, lukewarm
- Butter, unsalted, melted
- Granulated sugar
Bread is soaked in the egg custard before it’s layered in the baking pan.
APPLE LAYER:
- Raisins, soaked in rum a day before for best results (optional)
- Ground cinnamon, which pairs excellently with apples
- Peeled, cored, and sliced apples
- Granulated sugar, to sprinkle the apples
✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.
You’ll also need some butter to grease the baking pan and powdered sugar to dust the finished žemlovka while serving.
Tip: Egg custard made out of eggs, butter, and milk will take care of the žemlovka texture (not too soggy nor too dry).
➜ Instructions
The simplest žemlovka comprises three layers: the lower layer of soaked bread, the apple layer in the middle, and the top soggy bread layer.
STEP 1: Soak the raisins in rum overnight. This step is optional, you can use non-soaked raisins in žemlovka if you want, nothing will happen.
STEP 2: Preheat the oven to 340 °F (170 °C).
STEP 3: Begin with preparing the baking pan. Grease it with one tablespoon of butter, set it aside.
STEP 4: Make the egg custard: Pour lukewarm milk into a large bowl, add melted butter, granulated sugar, and whole eggs. Whisk until combined. I used a handheld mixer at a very low speed.
STEP 5: Slice the stale bread into pieces about ½ inch thick.
STEP 6: Peel and core the apples, slice them thinly.
STEP 7: Soak the pieces of sliced bread in the egg custard. Then, lay them down into a baking pan as the lowest layer.
STEP 8: Cover the bread layer with sliced apples. Sprinkle apples with granulated sugar, cinnamon and raisins.
STEP 9: For the top layer, soak the rest of the white bread in the egg custard and place them over apples. If you have any egg custard left, drizzle it on the top of the žemlovka. Slightly press down with a fork.
STEP 10: Bake for 40 minutes until the surface is golden and crispy.
➜ Serving
Allow the žemlovka to rest for 10-15 minutes before serving. Serve warm, sprinkled with powdered sugar.
➜ Baking Pan
According to this recipe, use any 9x12 inches (app. 26x32 cm) baking pan with higher rims to make žemlovka.
➜ Storage
You can store the žemlovka covered tightly in a fridge for up to 3 days. The rest of žemlovka can also be frozen in an airtight container.
➜ FAQs
Use any kind of stale white bread available, e. g. brioche, croissant, sandwich bread, French bread, etc. Typical Czech breads used for žemlovka are rohlíky, housky, or veka. Forget rye bread or sourdough bread; they’re not suitable to make žemlovka.
Žemlovka tastes excellent, both warm and cold. Žemlovka freshly out of the oven doesn’t hold together very well, and it falls apart, which does not affect the taste. If you let žemlovka cool down, you can slice it into nice aesthetically pleasing squares.
Stale white bread can absorb egg custard much better than fresh bread. Žemlovka (or any other type of bread pudding) will be a lot more flavorful and tasty.
More Czech desserts to enjoy:
- Makovec – poppy seed cake
- Moravian kolache – double filled Czech kolaches
- Škubánky – a sweet treat with poppy seed topping
- Apple jelly cake – Czech famous no bake cake
- Dried apples – Czech "křížaly"
Tried this recipe?
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Žemlovka Apple Bread Pudding
Ingredients
- stale white bread to cover a baking pan in two layers
Egg custard:
- 1 and ½ cups (360 ml) milk
- 3 eggs
- ⅔ stick (75 g) butter unsalted
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
Apples:
- 4-5 apples
- 2 oz (60 g) raisins optional soaked in rum overnight
- cinnamon ground
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar to sprinkle apples
Others:
- 1 Tbsp butter unsalted, to grease baking pan
- powdered sugar to dust žemlovka while served
Instructions
- Soak the raisins in rum overnight. This step is optional, you can use non-soaked raisins in žemlovka if you want, nothing will happen.
- Preheat the oven to 340 °F (170 °C)
- Begin with preparing the baking pan. Grease it with one tablespoon of butter, set it aside.
- Make the egg custard: Pour lukewarm milk into a large bowl, add melted butter, granulated sugar, and whole eggs. Whisk until combined. I used a handheld mixer on very low speed.
- Slice the stale bread into pieces about ½ inch thick.
- Peel and core the apples, slice them thinly.
- Soak the pieces of sliced bread in the egg custard. Then, lay them down into a baking pan as the lowest layer.
- Cover the bread layer with sliced apples. Sprinkle apples with granulated sugar, cinnamon, and raisins.
- For the top layer, soak the rest of the white bread in the egg custard and place them over apples. If you have any egg custard left, drizzle it on the top of the žemlovka.
- Bake for 40 minutes until the surface is golden and crispy.
- Allow the žemlovka to rest for 10-15 minutes before serving. Serve warm, sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Notes
- Makes 4-6 portions.
- According to this recipe, to make žemlovka, use any 9x12 inches (app. 26x32 cm) baking pan with higher rims.
- You can store the žemlovka covered tightly in a fridge for up to 3 days. The rest of žemlovka can also be frozen in an airtight container.
DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:
Conversion chart Nutrition Disclosure
Joanna
I NEED to try this! I love your website! Thanks for sharing! Love from the USA.
Petra Kupská
Ahoj Joanna, thank you very much for your comment, it made me smile! In our family žemlovka is very popular. If you have enough buns, I recommend making žemlovka in three layers, I believe you will enjoy it! Best wishes from the Czech Republic, Petra
Maria Greene
You left out tvaroh. But thanks for reminding me. The reason it was often the main course is because of Friday fasting by Catholics
Petra Kupská
Ahoj Maria, you have an excellent knowledge of Czech cuisine! You may or may not add tvaroh cheese. In our house we used to make zemlovka bread pudding without tvaroh, that's why I published such a recipe here on the blog. Also because tvaroh is not easily available outside the Czech Republic. Anyway, dobrou chuť! 🙂
Jessica Safarik
This sounds like the bread pudding my dad used to have when he was a kid. I like surprising my dad with recipes he had growing up. My grandma passed away 21 years ago. I never had the opportunity to cook with her and she didn't really write down recipes. Thank you for posting your wealth of knowledge online. I can't wait to try this one out. Many thanks from Nebraska!
Anicka Cooklikeczechs.com
Thank you for your comment and kind words, Jessica, I really appreciate them. Hope your father will like the recipe as well - please let me know afterwards 🙂