First, the confession. I must have the world’s worst sweet tooth! Chocolate, cakes, biscuits, you name it – if it’s sweet it’s got my name written all over it. So, it was with delight that I read last week that Radovljica has now got its own cake and therefore I hastily arranged a tasting.

The idea for Linhart’s cake (Linhartov cukr), as it is known since Radovljica is the birthplace of the first Slovene dramatist and playwright Anton Tomaž Linhart, came about during conversations held in Lectar Inn between its proprietor, Jože, and locals who recalled how in days gone by in Linhart’s era, local school children used to come to Lectar for cake.

And so the idea to try to recreate and revive this tradition was born and Jože and his team at the Lectar Inn set about trialling and testing recipes, based upon traditional recipes, until they were satisfied with the result.

The cake was launched at a special event on St. Valentines Evening and from now on will be available daily, to eat in or take-away, at Lectar Inn.

The cake, which has become a talking point about town, uses only natural ingredients, comprises a light sponge base topped with a moist apple layer, using organic locally grown apples, and finished with a light cream icing. A silhouette of Linhart is then added to the top for decoration and to mark it out as Linhart’s cake. You can see me indulging, or about to indulge, below, with a little drop of (medicinal!) blueberry schnapps!

The family run Lectar Inn, which is in the centre of the historic old town of Radovljica, has been in operation for over 180 years and is a popular attraction for locals and visitors from all over Slovenia, as well as tourists from far and wide. The waiters and waitresses are dressed in traditional Slovene dress and food is prepared and cooked using traditional methods and recipes. In addition to the restaurant, Lectar also houses a working gingerbread museum and a penzion with 9 rooms. More information about Lectar can be found here – http://www.lectar.com/_en/index.html

It was yet another snowy night when I visited Lectar, so it felt great to be somewhere warm and hospitable, enjoying good food and company and momentarily forgetting about the blizzard outside. It has been another week dominated by snowfall, which I for one, really hope will end soon as it’s about time spring sprung! I’ve managed a couple of walks up to Talež (see my previous blog entitled ‘Sporting Slovenia’) which have involved wading through knee-deep snow – pretty to look at but exhausting – still, helps to burn off all that cake!

© Adele in Slovenia