Who hasn't heard of famous Czech kolache or buchty, iconic pastries filled with a variety of sweet fillings? I would like to introduce you to a less-known filling made with a fresh head of white cabbage, a fantastic vintage Czech recipe that is almost forgotten these days. That would be a pity, believe me!
➜ About the recipe
Czechs have always baked delicious sweet pastries, often with yeast dough. They used ingredients from their garden or field to make the fillings for these pastries, as well as processed milk from the domestic animals they kept.
A popular ingredient that has always thrived in the Czech lands is cabbage. Most often, cabbage was prepared braised with caraway seeds as a side dish for pork roast or fermented into sauerkraut. However, the savvy Czech grannies were also skilled at using cabbage to make a deliciously sweet filling for pastries!
I recently discovered an amazing recipe in an old cookbook that I had to try right away. The sweet filling is made with chopped cabbage, sweetened, and seasoned with spices. It's then baked in the oven until soft, getting the maximum flavor into the filling.
➜ Zelniky
The Czech pastries with sweet cabbage filling are called "zelníky." The Czech name "zelníky" comes from the word "zelí" which means cabbage!
➜ Ingredients
To make sweet cabbage filling from scratch, you will need:
- Fresh head of cabbage; white. Some people also refer to this type of cabbage as green cabbage.
- Unsalted butter; helps to create a richer flavor and moisture
- Granulated sugar; white one is fine; if you want even bolder taste, try brown sugar
- Salt; for flavor
- Heavy cream; adds more sweet taste and richness
- Ground cinnamon; Ceylon and cassia varieties are the best for baking
- Ground black pepper; boosts flavor in the cabbage filling!
✅ You will find the exact ingredient amounts in the recipe card below, which you can also print out.
➜ Instructions with photos
STEP 1: Remove the wilted outer leaves from the cabbage and cut out the tough stem. Finely chop the cabbage, preferably with a large chef's knife.
TIP: If you have a food processor, let it chop the cabbage for you!
STEP 2: In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and mix it with the heavy cream. Transfer the chopped cabbage to the baking dish. Add the sugar, cinnamon, pepper, and salt. Pour in the melted butter and stir until everything is thoroughly combined.
STEP 3: Place in an oven preheated to 350°F (177°C) and bake for about one hour. During baking, the cabbage will release water, which should almost evaporate by the end of baking. Stir from time to time to prevent the cabbage from burning. When finished, the filling should have a golden brown color.
➜ How to use sweet cabbage filling
Allow the filling to cool completely before use. The best way to do this is to spread it out on a large cookie sheet and let it sit in a cold place.
Use the cooled filling in sweet pastries, most often in buchty buns or different types of kolache.
Here is an example of making buchty with sweet cabbage filling. You will find the recipe for buchty dough here.
➜ What does sweet cabbage filling taste like?
The sweet cabbage filling tastes nutty and is similar to the filling made with shredded apples. The potentially bland taste of the cabbage is lifted by the addition of spices such as ground pepper and cinnamon.
More sweet fillings for pastries:
- Poppy seed filling (makova napln)
- Cheese filling (tvarohova nadivka)
Tried this recipe?
Leave a review down in the comments! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Sweet Cabbage Filling
Tap or hover to scale
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh cabbage white or green
- ⅔ stick unsalted butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Remove the wilted outer leaves from 1 pound fresh cabbage and cut out the tough stem. Finely chop the cabbage, preferably with a large chef's knife.
- In a small saucepan, melt ⅔ stick unsalted butter over medium heat and mix it with ¼ cup heavy cream. Transfer the chopped cabbage to a baking dish. Add ½ cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Pour in the melted butter mixture and stir until everything is thoroughly combined.
- Place the dish in an oven preheated to
350 °F and bake for about one hour. During baking, the cabbage will release water, which should almost evaporate by the end. Stir occasionally to prevent burning. The filling is done when it has a golden brown color.
Notes
- The filling prepared according to the basic recipe is enough for about 10 Buchty buns or 6 Kolache pieces.
- Allow the filling to cool completely before use. The best way to do this is to spread it out on a large cookie sheet and let it sit in a cool place.
- How does this filling taste? The sweet cabbage filling is similar to shredded apple filling but has a pleasant nutty flavor. The potentially bland taste of the cabbage is enhanced by spices like ground pepper and cinnamon.
Sarah says
Very easy and delicious! I love cabbage, and it was so interesting to use it in a sweet preparation. I used it in the buchty recipe on this website, which was fantastic. You must make this recipe!
Petra Kupská says
Thank you, Sarah, for your nice words! Glad to hear that you liked the recipe and enjoyed tasting this less common sweet filling.
Dolores Arendall says
I would love-love to have each and every recipe- my mom was chezch& slovek& Moravian - —dad polish & German- so we had great food- I now am 78 years- do you have any cookbooks in English?? Thanks— Dolores
Anicka Cooklikeczechs.com says
Dear Dolores, thank you for your comment and question, unfortunately I cannot offer any Czech cookbooks at the moment, only the online recipes posted here on the blog.