Symbols of Easter like eggs, chicks and rabbits got somehow deeper meaning which is related to the joy of Jesus’ resurrection. In the 19th century, confectioners from Germany and France started to produce chocolate eggs and other treats, and Easter began to be bonded with sweets.

Zagreb confectioner Jakšić is well known for its cakes made out of the old recipes. Sandra Marčić, the granddaughter of Ivana Jakšić, a member of the third generation of this pastry family, finds out which traditional pastries will be offered for the upcoming holiday: “There are ‘pince’ (special kind of sweet Easter bread) and Easter cakes are made, as well as Easter bunnies and standard baked cakes like Orahnjača (walnut), Makovnjača (poppy seed), macaroons, tea biscuits and dry cookies.” Sandra Marčić says that for the good Easter Pinca, the most important thing is a skilful hand, it is very important to mix the dough well but also not to save up on the aromas. In Jakšić’s pastry shop, lemon and orange juice is mixed in as well as a bit of rum. “We have a classic recipe for ‘Pinca’, and we form it in a traditional way with three horns”, reveals the owner and adds, “We also make all kinds of other cakes. If someone wants to order them, they can do so before Easter. It’s important to order cakes at least three days before desired delivery”.

Pastry shop M&M is well known for its great selection of cakes, and in the day-to-day offer there are about forty different cakes. For Easter, they will further enrich their already generous offer. “We make pincas (traditional Easter cake), cheese strudels, kuglofs, Easter bunnies, chocolate and biscuits chicks and various selection of chocolates, Split cake, Međimurje pie and Imotski cake. These are all Croatian native cakes that we prepare for the Easter table”, Martina says. In the pastry shop, all cakes can be ordered three to four days in advance. “And, if you forget to order, feel free to come because we always have different cakes, and for the Easter basket we will have chocolate eggs big and small, chicken-shaped macaroons and bunnies. Also, we offer both vegan and non-gluten cakes”, adds Martina.

For many years during Easter time, at the pastry shop Vincek, the skilful professionals prepare different kinds of traditional walnut and poppy pastries, they also make butter dough, braids, baskets, orahnjača (walnut), makovnjača (poppy seed), wreaths, kuglofs with chocolate, nuts, almonds and raisins. “We also prepare pannetone, an Italian Easter specialty, a kind of sweet bread. Everything we do is natural, we do not work with previously prepared mixtures but instead we use our own recipes”, says Stjepan Vincek, who opened his first pastry shop with his wife Ankica in 1977 in Zagreb.

Spouses Vincek at once recognized the needs of modern people, so they opened a ‘Vis a vis’ by Vincek pastry shop in Tomićeva Street where they offer exclusively vegan and non gluten desserts. “For Easter we prepare non gluten orahnjača (walnut) and makovnjača (poppy seed) as well as all kinds of non gluten pies. In this healthy program, the cakes are much more expensive than in other pastry shops because the raw material prices are higher, but all the mixtures are homemade”, explains Vincek and says that it is enough to order three to four days in advance.

Whichever of these pastry shops you choose, we are sure that they will brighten and contribute to the delicacy of your Easter table with their sweets and cakes.