🍬 Sugar: 120–150 g (½–¾ cup / 4.2–5.3 oz) — adjust to pumpkin sweetness
🌰 Walnuts, finely chopped: 100 g (1 cup / 3.5 oz)
🌾 Fine semolina (or dry breadcrumbs): 20 g (2 tbsp / 0.7 oz)
🌿 Ground cinnamon: 5 g (2 tsp / 0.18 oz)
🍇 Raisins (optional, soaked & drained): 60 g (½ cup / 2.1 oz)
🍊 Orange zest (optional): 1 tsp (2 g / 0.07 oz)
🧂 Salt: 1 g (⅛ tsp / 0.04 oz)
Finish
🍯 Honey or powdered sugar (serving): to taste
🍋 Lemon wedge (optional, to brighten slices): 1
Preparation
1️⃣ Pre-cook filling: In a wide pan, cook 🎃 grated pumpkin with 🍬 sugar and 🧂 salt over medium 8–10 min, stirring, until it softens and most moisture evaporates. Off heat; stir in 🌰 walnuts, 🌿 cinnamon, 🌾 semolina, 🍇 raisins, and 🍊 zest. Cool to lukewarm.
2️⃣ Prep phyllo: Heat oven to 190°C / 375°F. Brush a 30×40 cm / 12×16 in pan with a little 🫒 oil/🧈 butter.
3️⃣ Rolls: Lay 2 sheets 📜 phyllo, brush lightly with fat. Scatter a thin, even layer of pumpkin mix (about 1/8 of filling). Roll up from the long edge into a log; coil into the pan or arrange logs side by side. Repeat to use all sheets/filling.
4️⃣ Top & bake: Brush the tops generously with remaining fat. Bake 30–40 min until deep golden and crisp.
5️⃣ Serve: Rest 10 min. Drizzle a thread of 🍯 honey or dust with powdered sugar. Slice warm or at room temp.
Total Time
🕒 Prep: 20 min
🔥 Cook: 30–40 min
⏳ Total: 50–60 min
Nutritional Value
🔋 Energy: ~280 kcal
💪 Protein: ~5 g
🧈 Fat: ~15 g
🍞 Carbohydrates: ~34 g
🧂 Sodium: ~110 mg
Advice
Cook the pumpkin dry and let it cool before rolling—semolina then absorbs remaining juices, keeping the base crisp and the layers laminated.
Why it works
Pre-cooking drives off excess water; brushing thin layers of fat between sheets promotes blistered, glassy phyllo; a little semolina stabilizes the filling without making it bready.
Twist
Make Šopski tikvenik with a spoon of rosehip jam swirled through, or swap half the pumpkin for grated apple for a brighter, fruitier aroma.
Status
Crackle outside, pumpkin hug inside—Bulgarian tikvenik built for fall afternoons and hot tea. #grannyzen #bulgarianpastry
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