It's just a change in script when it comes to desserts and Bulgaria is no exception, here's what common dessert terms mean: cake equals “torta”, pies equals “pay” and cheesecakes are called “Chizkeyk”. Chocolate becomes “Shokolad”, mousse becomes “Mus” and pastries become “Sladkarski izdeliya”. The rest we'll leave for the desserts to do the talking and for you to pick up and add to your list of desserts you need to try in this lifetime.
Chocolate cake, yes, Bulgaria very own local chocolate cake made from plenty of walnuts. The walnuts are in the cake batter, in the cake sponges that are layered and sandwiched with rich chocolate. It's best eaten at room temperature because the chocolate icing or the ganache topping is at its softest. The cake has a delicate aroma when it bakes and it's best eaten fresh, although the refrigerated version doesn't taste bad either.
Called Rurki z kremem in Poland, these simple confections are a local cream roll which has a thin pastry shell filled with pastry cream or whipped cream. It's often labelled as a torpedo dessert because of its funnel-like shape. There are other versions of this dessert in other parts of the world, existing under different names. This dessert's birthplace is considered either Bulgaria or Turkey although there is no conclusive evidence so far. The ingredients for the crust and the cream filling differ with the country.
This is a local specialty of Bulgaria which is a pastry made from thin sheets of dough and eaten as a breakfast item. It's made with yoghurt and brine cheese but there's a sweet version of the Banitsa too called Tikvenik. This one has the pastry filled with grated pumpkin, crushed walnuts, sugar and cinnamon. It is dusted with powdered sugar after baking and sliced into smaller pieces. Since pumpkin is associated with autumn, this dessert is synonymous with winter in Bulgaria and is quite popular on Christmas Eve. There's another version of Banitsa that just uses sugar and is one of the oldest recipes in the country.
This translates to biscuit cake and the sponge biscuits, in the cake, are a bit similar to the texture and feel of Italian ladyfingers that are used to make tiramisu. The sponge biscuits are soaked in milk or some kind of sweet syrup flavored with vanilla or rum. In between these biscuits goes either chocolate, caramel, vanilla or some kind of fruity filling. The cake is chilled and eaten later, and often topped with whipped cream.
Bulgarians love their puddings too and since there are Middle Eastern influences in the country that extend to their desserts too, they have a rice pudding they call Sutliash. It's a creamy rice pudding quite similar to kheer – rice slow-cooked in a pool of milk, sweetened with sugar and flavored with lemon zest and cinnamon.
Another dessert with Middle Eastern roots, Revane or Revani, also goes by the name of Basbousa; Bulgaria only recognises Revane. It's made with semolina that is shaped into bite-sized square or diamond cakes and soaked in sugar syrup with the usual lemon zest, juice, orange blossom or rose water common in the region. The vivid green hue of pistachios is often used to garnish Revane.
Ever heard of dessert soups, because Oshav, as saintly as it sounds, is exactly that – Bulgarian dessert soup. Like Tikvenik, Oshav is also prepared for Christmas Eve which is a simple stew made with dried fruits – pears, prunes, and apples. These are boiled until soft and then sweetened with honey or sugar. Spices are also added to it, mostly cinnamon and cloves in the simmering pot of Oshav. It's best-eaten cold on the eve of Christmas.
This cake is popular in most of the countries of the former USSR and Bulgarians love it too. Medovik is a honey cake that is famed for its delicate and moist honey-infused sponge cake layers, with a creamy filling. The filling is a mixture of condensed milk and buttercream and the cake is such that you can taste each layer separately while savoring the whole essence of the cake at one go. It's garnished with a sprinkling of biscuit crumbs that gives it a good crunch.