Bublanina Recipe – Czech Fruit Sheet Cake - Cook Like Czechs (2024)

When summer fruits begin to ripen in June, it means one thing for Czech bakers: it's bublanina time! Let's bake this traditional Czech coffee cake full of juicy fruit together. Everyone can make bublanina cake with my simple recipe!

NOTE: This is a new, June 2022 revamped recipe. The original recipe from spring 2020 can be found in pdf format here.

➜ What is bublanina?

Originating from the Czech Republic, bublanina is a classic summer sheet cake, topped with seasonal fruits.

The Czech word bublanina derives from the sponge cake-like batter, which is whipped and contains bubbles. The resulting cake is fluffy and soft. Sometimes the word bublanina is translated into English as bubbly cake.

Bublanina cake belongs to the popular former Czechoslovakian desserts, still baked by modern Czech home bakers.

➜ Which fruit fits best for bublanina?

Traditionally, bublanina was made with sweet cherries. These were simply poured on top of the cake before baking. However, the cake pairs seamlessly with any fresh summer fruit.

Besides strawberries, make bublanina with any other small summer fruit, classically with pitted cherries, raspberries, currants, blueberries, or a mix of these.

MY TIP: If you have a sweet tooth, try other Czech cakes, such as plum streusel coffee cake with drobenka topping or authentic kolaches!

➜ Ingredients

To make Czech bublanina, you need:

• Heavy cream; with a fat content exceeding 30 %. Please, do not use light cream. No extra oil is added to the batter, it is the high-fat cream that makes the cake soft and moist.
• Eggs; warmed to room temperature. Take the eggs out of the refrigerator at least two hours in advance. If you forget, I have a handy trick for you: dip the eggs in warm water for 10 minutes.
• All-purpose flour; read more about types of Czech wheat flour.
• Baking powder
• Granulated sugar
• Lemon zest; freshly grated from an organic or thoroughly washed lemon. The lemon zest will add even more flavor to the bubble.
• Strawberries; fresh & ripe, rather smaller pieces, or cut them in half. Use other fruits if you don’t have fresh strawberries on hand (see above).

Next, prepare this:

• Powdered sugar; to dust the bublanina cake before serving
• Butter/vegetable oil + sifted breadcrumbs or flour; to grease & sprinkle the sheet cake

✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.

➜ Instructions with photos

STEP 1: Wash the strawberries under running water and remove any remaining dirt. Remove the green hull and leave the strawberries in a colander to drain.

STEP 2: Grease a baking tray with a piece of butter or other fat and dust with fine breadcrumbs or plain flour.

STEP 3: Crack the eggs, warmed to room temperature, into a large bowl. Using a hand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment beat the eggs until foamy. Gradually add the granulated sugar while increasing the speed. Be patient, this process takes about five minutes. Don't be afraid to set the mixer to a higher speed.

STEP 4: Reduce the blender speed to the minimum. Gradually add the flour mixed with baking powder and heavy cream to the beaten egg foam. Stir continuously. Finally, add the lemon zest.

STEP 5: Pour the semi-liquid batter onto the prepared baking sheet. Cover with drained strawberries.

STEP 6: Place the bublanina in an oven preheated to 170 °C (lower and upper heating). Bake for about 30 minutes, until the surface turns golden brown.

➜ Serving

Allow the strawberry bubble cake to cool, dust with icing sugar, cut into approximately 4 inches (10 cm) square slices, arrange them on a dessert plate, and serve with a cup of coffee or tea.

TIP: Still having plenty of fresh strawberries? Try this easy recipe for cold strawberry soup (a Czech recipe).

➜ Baking dish

I baked the bublanina on a smaller baking dish about 9x13 inches (23x33 cm), which is the most common size used by home bakers in the USA.

Czechs usually bake on larger baking sheets, but then you need to adjust the amount of each ingredient. If you use a larger baking sheet with the basic recipe, the bublanina will be thinner and take less time to bake.

TIP: In addition to the metal baking sheet, the bublanina can be baked in a sufficiently large glass baking dish. The glass gives the texture of the cake a better appearance and looks nice if you place the bublanina in a glass baking dish on a set table.

➜ Video recipe

Is the blog recipe not enough? I made a video for you on how to make this Czech bublanina cake!

Please click on the photo below and you will be taken tomy YouTube channelwhere you can see step by step how to make bublanina.

If you like my YouTube content and would like to watch more Czech recipes, please subscribe.Thank you very much!

➜ Storage

Thanks to the batter containing heavy whipping cream, the bublanina remains soft even on the second or third day.

Store covered in a baking dish, leaving it on the kitchen counter. Or cut the cake into slices, and place them in an airtight container in the fridge. This way, bublanina will keep for up to five days.

➜ Pronunciation of bublanina

Curious how Czechs pronounce "bublanina"? I recorded a short audio clip to give you an idea! I'm a native speaker, so I guarantee an authentic Czech voice.

➜ Cook’s tips for success

• If you used cold eggs directly from the fridge, you might not be able to whip them into a fluffy foam. A good tip is to dip the eggs in warm water for ten minutes if you forget to take the eggs out of the fridge in time.
• How to upgrade bublanina? Sprinkle it with a streusel topping (drobenka) made from butter, granulated sugar, and flour!
• No fresh fruit available? Try a cake with canned or frozen berries. Let the canned fruit drain in a strainer before using. Allow frozen fruit to thaw before placing it on top of the bubble cake.

More Czech sweet pastry

• Buchty – sweet filled buns
• Three-layer sheet cake
• Poppy seed roll – makový závin
• Fruit bread – biskupsky chlebicek (bishop’s bread)
• Prague kolach cake – pražský koláč