In 2015, Czech Koláče Is Trendy Worldwide

How odd, I thought. Apparently, if I want a pre-death Czech traditional pastry, I’d have to leave the Czech Republic. Shouldn’t I be able to get a pretty darn good one in the country? I decided to ask around.

I do admit to not actually being a fan of koláče. I tried a few when I first came to Prague and found them to have a cardboard-like crust and tasteless fillings. Querying ‘Do you know any place that sells good koláče’ to both Czechs and foreigners alike was usually met with semi-blank looks and ‘uhhhs.’ I got recommendations for good bakeries and sweet shops but only a few actually said THIS place has good koláče. I ended up with the impression that no one is eating these cakes.

“The problem is quality,” she said. “And that’s not just for koláče but the baking industry in general. These little cakes are our tradition and I think Czechs love them. They are very popular with our company clients for breakfast and they are usually the first thing we sell out of every day.”

Šemíková believes the communist period interpreted the tradition and after the revolution people wanted good bakeries again.

“These bakeries did well but eventually the prices increased for bakers, there wasn’t as much profit and the quality began to suffer,” she said. “From about 1995-2010 was a period of bad quality baked goods, the only motivation was price – and it was on both sides. People wanted to spend less and bakeries wanted to make more.”

“If you go out of Prague, it’s not that way,” she added. “Small bakeries do it the old, proper way, but in Prague you don’t feel the tradition.” She says they are time consuming to bake at home and many people think it’s too much work.

Simply Good’s koláče are pretty wonderful. Soft crust, tasty fillings, lots of yummy crumble on top. In a blind taste test, I would probably not have guessed this was a koláč, based on my previous tastings.

“If you are buying cakes in a sweetshop make sure they are freshly baked,” he said. “If the cheese in the cheesecake is beginning to peel away from the sides of the cake or pastry then you know the sweets have been sitting around for too long.”

Maybe that sitting around factor combined with the open air affected the few I dared try at both the IP Pavlova and Jiřího z Poděbrad farmers markets. If you’ve got a koláč hankering, it does seem best to just make them yourself. Or go to Texas.

Whisk or blend together 1 cup of the sugar and the butter very well, until you have a light and creamy mixture. Add two egg yolks and mix together well. Fold in the flour and a little milk if necessary to make a dough.

Butter a medium-sized 9-inch round cake pan. Spread the dough on the cake pan. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Press the farmer cheese through a sieve. Mix in the raisins, the remaining ½ cup sugar and two egg yolks. Spread the cheese mixture over the dough. Put the cake in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until lightly golden on top.

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