Croatian · Breakfast
A tender northern Croatian cornmeal bake with yogurt and cream.
Zlevanka is a homestyle cornmeal bake from northern Croatia, especially Međimurje and Zagorje. It sits between cake and spoon bread: tender, lightly sweet and excellent with sour cream or jam.
Technique notes
Recipe status
A named independent cook or chef has published a prepared version of this dish, and that verification is credited below. It verifies their version—not Gastromica’s exact quantities, timing or method. Measured search evidence, exact-recipe testing and final JB approval remain separate gates.
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Reviewed August 2, 2026. Research sources inform this edition. Any external cook verification is separately named, linked and limited to the independently prepared version described in that source.
pourable cornmeal batter; eggs; cultured dairy; baked slab
Declared allergens: milk, egg, wheat/gluten grain (verify labels and individual medical needs)
Cool promptly in shallow containers, refrigerate within two hours, keep no longer than the recipe's stated period or USDA's 3–4 day ceiling (whichever is shorter), and reheat leftovers to 165°F/74°C when reheating is appropriate.
Do not treat a quality date as proof of safety. Wild greens and mushrooms must be positively identified and food-grade. Diet labels do not guarantee absence of cross-contact. Dish-specific dairy/egg handling instructions remain applicable.
Mary Bergfeld is credited with preparing and publishing an independent version of this dish in Zlevanka - A Dessert Cornbread from Croatia for One Perfect Bite.
What this supports: dish identity, method, texture/doneness, failure cue, serving result.
Verifies an independently prepared version of the dish, not Gastromica’s exact recipe. Bergfeld adapted another recipe with fine cornmeal and a specific cottage-cheese-and-sour-cream batter, not Gastromica's exact measurements.
Croatian kitchen
Croatian zlevanka is an easy pour-and-bake cornmeal cake enriched with yogurt, sour cream and a little sugar.
Heat oven to 375°F (190°C). Grease a 9-inch square pan. Whisk cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Whisk eggs, yogurt, milk and oil, then stir into dry ingredients just until smooth.
Rest batter 10 minutes, pour into pan and dot with sour cream and optional jam.
Bake 30–35 minutes until golden and set in the center. Cool 20 minutes before cutting.
Review ingredient labels for allergens and cross-contact. Follow the recipe’s handling notes, refrigerate perishable food promptly, and use an instant-read thermometer where a safe internal temperature is specified.
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Research EditionGood to know
Zlevanka is a homestyle cornmeal bake from northern Croatia, especially Međimurje and Zagorje. It sits between cake and spoon bread: tender, lightly sweet and excellent with sour cream or jam.
Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days; warm briefly before serving.
Serve warm or room temperature with sour cream, plum jam or fresh fruit.
