Cukrarna – Which pastry to choose?

Cukrarna – Pastry shop. Are you asking Which pastry to choose when you visit a Pastry shop in the Czech Republic? Which one would you like the best? Since I was a child, I have loved “Venecky,” and my love for them has not diminished even after years. I love to go to Pastry Shops on my visits to the Czech, to see all those cakes and desserts. I do not experiment as I always have an appetite for the same good pastry. You can grab a to-go box to take Pastry home and share with family, or you can sit there and enjoy a cup of coffee and delicious pastry! Let’s explore some Czech pastries and flavors! I will try to explain the flavors of some typical Czech pastries, which might help you to choose one.

What is Pastry shop in Czech? – Cukrarna

Every town, big or small, has a Pastry shop, where you grab a box of desserts when you are visiting family or friends for an afternoon coffee, or you sit with a friend and grab a dessert and coffee as you do here in Starbucks, except the selections of desserts is HUGE!!!! Most desserts are often very similar to all pastry shops, and some cakes will be unique to each shop or just different, but not many.

You can also get a scoop of ice cream while walking around town or not having an appetite for a pastry. If you stop to sit down for coffee, do not be surprised to see people adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream to coffee.

Are Pastry shops Gluten-Free?

The typical Pastry shop is not Gluten-Free. Many times they bake their cakes in their own store bakery. So if you are in a regular store, be aware of cross-contamination as you can buy Gluten-free desserts.

There are a couple of Gluten-Free shops in Prague. In small towns, not so much or not at all. Sometimes they will carry Gluten-Free ice cream cones, but that is mostly luck to find one in a small town outside of Prague.

I made a blog post where you can find some Gluten-Free Coffee shops in Prague.

What Pastry shoul you try?

As I said, there are so many pastries to pick from. I grab a “to-go” box and take some home, as I cannot settle on just one flavor. It can get overwhelming when you enter one of the Pastry shops, which has many desserts and some you probably never saw before as they are traditional to Czech or European countries.

I will explain some of them and hope you can find your favorite. I know everyone has different likes and dislikes, and hopefully, you can help find the best flavor for you.

Venecek – Wreath and Vetrnik – Windmill

Venecek – Wreath is a circular choux pastry filled with yolk/pudding frosting in the middle and sandwiched together. Choux pastry is the same as a cream puff, and just the filling is very different! The Top is dipped in a lovely and sticky sweet glaze.

If you want to make your own Wreath, here is a blog post with recipes.

Vetrnik – Windmill is a circular pastry without a hole inside. Cut in half and filed with two types of fillings. The bottom part is filled with the same egg yolk/pudding filling as the Wreath, and the top is filled with caramel cream and sandwiched together. The top is drizzled with caramel glaze as well. This pastry is quite big, and you might bet sugar overload!

If you want to make your own Windmill, here is a blog post with recipes.

These two pastries are not Gluten-Free unless you are in a Pastry shop that focuses on Gluten-Free pastries.

Laskonka – Coconut Meringue

If you like meringue, this pastry is for you. There are two flavors of Laskonka. It depends on what the bakery prefers to bake. One can have walnuts or coconut. Both are delicious and very sweet. I would say the more typical one is the walnut pastry, but I did come across both.

The filling is classic buttercream. It could be caramel flavor, walnut, or coconut.

This pastry is Gluten-Free naturally, but be aware of the cross-contamination of a shop that bakes all pastries in one place.

Apple Strudl

Apple strudel is a jewel of our grandmothers. Besides the bundt cake, it is one of the most popular Czech desserts. A classic dessert that never gets boring. Puff pastry rolled thin and filled with apples. Some bakers add walnuts and raisins onto apples. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar and roll into a “sleeve” looking shape and bake. Many restaurants will serve strudel with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and topped with a gallop of whipped cream.

If you would like to try this dessert, visit Babiccina Spiz – bakery as they offer gluten-Free treats!!!

Indianek

The traditional Indianek pastry is one of the classics as well and is one of the retro desserts. The bottom part is a vanilla wafer-like cookie and not Glute-Free, but the rest is just meringue. My daughter always likes to eat merengue and cholate and leave out the cookie, as she cannot have it.

This dessert is whipped egg whites in a double boiler with a lots of sugar to make sure egg whites are cooked and won’t start leaking. Sometimes strawberry jam is added to merengue for pink color.

Lastly, the whole dessert is dipped in dark chocolate.

Hot Rasberries with Vanilla Ice cream

If you are unsure about desserts and want to keep it safe and stay away from Glute, go for ice cream! You will see on the menu very often Hot raspberries with vanilla ice cream. Hopefully, you will find a place with the real deal ice cream sundae. The chef is often lazy and microwaves raspberries and pours over the ice cream, which is very sad.

The right way to make this sauce is to melt a bit of butter, add sugar and raspberries and let it simmer on low till the sauce thickens. Pour hot over ice cream and serve.

I love the warmth of sauce mixed with melting ice cream. It is my to-go ice cream sundae in Czech for sure!

Likerova Spicka – Liquer tower

Another retro “Czechoslovakian” dessert we all grew up with. You will be shocked to know that this little dessert contains alcohol and you can buy it, and nobody will be checking your ID! This dessert is definitely not Gluten-Free, but I will try to figure out how to make it at home Gluten-Free as I now have an appetite for this treat.

It is loaded dessert with chocolate, and inside is spiked eggnog, and sitting on a vanilla wafer like a cookie. You need to love eggnog to like this dessert as it is loaded with liqueur.

Did you find your favorite Pastry?

Now you know what is Cukrarna and maybe you know which pastry to choose from? There are many more desserts and many you already know, like Cheesecakes, Chocolate moose cakes, Pies, Panna cottas, Log cakes…

I am not talking about many of these cakes, as they are certainly loaded with Gluten. Many of these treats are inspired by treats from other countries all around the world. When you are traveling to the Czech, why don’t try some classic dessert?

You can have cheesecake anytime in the USA. You can have Venecek or Laskonka only in Czech!

More blog posts about eating Gluten-Free in Prague

• Celiac? Traveling to the Czech Republic? General information for Glute-Free person traveling to Prague, Czech republic. What you should know before you arrive.
• Celiac? – 5 amazing restaurants in Prague Looking for restaurants in the Czech Republic Capitol? I put together a couple of my favorite restaurants in this blog.
• Celiac? Coffee shops and Bakeries in Prague Are you in Prague for visite? Looking for Bakeries or pastry shops? Check this blog post to see where you can find Glute-free ones.

Easy day trips in Czech Republic

Are you planing trip to Czech Republic? Are you a bit overwhelm what place to go visit and see? I know there is so much to see and not just in Prague! The whole country is full of beautiful Gems. Here are couple of my blog posts to help you plan some day trips.

• The perfect day trip – Prague – In this blog post, you can plan an entire day trip for visiting Prague Castle and Lesser Town. I put places together which will help you to stay in one area and not to lose time by traveling from place to place.
• Romantic day trip to Prague – On this Day Trip, I follow the previous post but move to the Old town square and areas around.
• Lovely day trip – Kutna Hora – Kutna Hora is a favorite place for tourists to visit. You should definitely put it on your bucket list.

There you have it! Prague is an incredible place to visit. It is my birth home, and I love to come back year after year. My daughter is now celiac, which is making it a bit more interesting to search for favorite treats and meals, as I don’t eat regular stuff when we are together. As you can see, it is not that difficult to find places to eat at all!

Enjoy the city and whole country!!!!

Until next time…!

DOBROU CHUT!

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