Here is how to make Croatian oblatne – tasty wafers that are filled with chocolate dulce de leche filling. Nothing like your Baka makes. These ones are better!!
These giant tort wafers are very common in Croatian and across the Balkans. You’ll find really a ton of oblatne recipes, they all have varying ingredients and cooking times.
This dessert was simply called “čokoladne oblatne,” but today, we can call it “wafer with chocolate dulce de leche” because this really is dulce de leche, but our grandmas just weren’t familiar with that name, for them it just was “cooked milk with sugar.”
When I was researching for the right recipe to share for these tort wafers, I found a lot of them! Some oblatne recipes needed only ten or twenty minutes of preparation but I have chosen this one with a longer cooking time.
This recipe takes two and a half hours, but I promise you, it’s definitely worth it. Don’t be afraid – you only have to stir it a few times during that 2.5 hours. It’s not like you’ll need to stand in front of the kitchen stove the whole time.
Let’s get to the recipe and start making this delicious Croatian dessert.
Oblatne S Čokoladnom Karamel Kremom Recipe (Tort Wafers Cake)
Here is how to make Croatian oblatne - tasty wafers filled a chocolate dulce de leche filling. Nothing like your Baka makes. These ones are better!!
Ingredients
- 1 liter milk (4 1/4 cups)
- 600 g white sugar (3 cups)
- 200 g chopped dark cooking chocolate (7 oz) The darker the better!
- 250 g unsalted butter (16 tablespoons)
- Pinch of salt
- One pack tort wafers (5 sheets)
Instructions
- Pour the milk into a large pot, add the sugar and bring it to boil while stirring
- When the milk boils, reduce the heat to a minimum and cook for 2.5 hours while occasionally stirring. This is a long process during which sugar milk will slowly change color and turn into caramel. After about 30 minutes of continuous cooking, the liquid will become a light cream color, after the next half hour, it will become even darker, while the latter result will be a true dark caramel color. Please refer to photos in the blog post so you can see the difference. Keep in mind that the caramel only thickens to its full extent once cooled. Just be careful to stir slowly, as the caramel can easily and suddenly rise up when you put the spoon inside the pot. What you are actually making here isn't just called caramel, you're actually making what is known as "dulce de leche". You can pour this mix into a jar, close it, cool it and use it later in your desired way (over ice-cream is excellent!). You will use this caramel to pour over the wafers to give you a very lovely crispy wafer dessert, but in this recipe, we will do a few more things
- After the 2.5 hours, add the chopped chocolate to the hot caramel, stir to melt it and then add the chopped butter and keep stirring
- On a low heat, continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes with stirring continually and then, that's it - you've made the filling
- Place one wafer into a tray. I always put the wafers in a baking tray, so I don't make lots of mess
- Coat the wafer with about 10 tablespoons of the sauce, spread evenly all over and cover with another piece of wafer
- When you're done with all four layers of chocolate caramel, place one wafer on top to finish. This way you'll use the packet of 5 in total
- Place few heavy books on the top (or something else heavy) just to help the filling stick to the wafers, or else it may separate after cooling and drying
- Allow the sauce to cool on the bench for a few hours, and then place into the fridge to finally set
- Once cooled, cut the wafers in whatever shape you like
- You can store them in an airtight container until you are ready to eat them
- They go deliciously well with a cup of coffee, tea or a glass of milk
More Croatian And Balkan Recipe Ideas
- Meat and Cheese Burek
- Stuffed Peppers (Punjene Paprike)
- Klipići
- Under the bell (Ispod čripnje)
- Pasticada Recipe
- Octopus Salad
- Prezgana Soup (Brown Roux Soup)
- Lazy Apple Pie (Lijena Pita s Jabukama)
- Stuffed Vine Leaves (Japrak)
- Zagorje Cheese Strukli
- Trogirski Rafioli (Filled Cookies)
- Bijela Pita (White Slice Traditional Cake)
- Buredžici: Meat Pie Topped With Sour Cream, Yogurt & Garlic
- Hrapoćuša – Traditional Cake From Brač Island
Just curious have you tried substituting Nutella instead of dark chocolate for this recipe? Would that consistency still work?
I have never tried, but yeah, why not! It would take a LOT of Nutella though…
Hi! What sort of milk do you recommend? Evaporated, whole, etc? I just picked up a pack of these wafer and didn’t really know what they were used for, so I’m very glad I found your recipe! Thanks!
I only ever use whole milk for cooking.
Hi.
I remember both my grannies making this cake quite often. One made chocolate variation and the other used ground walnuts (no chocolate). Can’t tell which I liked better.
I also remember there was a variation made with tahini.
Now for the suggestion, it might be worth pointing how much mixture would reduce, in volumne when ready.
Thanks for the reminder to my childhood.
Is it possible to use a mix of walnuts and pecans?
I don’t see why not! Sounds delish.
Hi, how do you prevent the wafer from going soft and soggy. I placed mine in the fridge to set and when it came out , the wafer was no longer crunchy
They will not be crunchy like they were out of the packet, but they also should not be soggy if you used the same amounts as this recipe.
Just made this…will update on Sunday …I do have HEAPS of sauce left thought! cooked for 3h…