It’s time for dessert. Tufahija is a traditional Bosnian dessert that is made up of a poached apple filled with walnuts, covered with syrup and then topped off with cream. It has an almost canned fruit (Brits would know) kind of taste. It is light, refreshing and a great post meal dessert. It can be found in other Balkan countries too. Some claim it can be traced back to the ottomans. Others state it is Persian roots and some say it has Arabic roots (due to its name).
What is Tufahija?
Tufahija is quite possibly the most famous the most traditional dessert you have to try when in Bosnia. You can’t leave the country without trying it. It is a poached apple that has been filled with walnuts and then covered with a sweet syrup and a dollop of cream finishes it off. And some places add a cherry on top too. Seems simple enough, but it’s still a unique concoction nonetheless. It is believed to be brought to the region by the ottomans (mind you there are other theories too) and therefore it’s a dessert or sweet that has a lot of history attached to it much like the baklava.
The name
The name would suggest it has Arabic roots as the word for apple in Arabic is “Tufah” and so the name of the dessert can be assumed to come from this Arabic word. Another example of the rich history of the Bosnian cuisine and its influences.
The best place to try Tufahija
You will not struggle to find a cafe that serves Tufahija. Cute and charming dessert cafes are scattered all around the old town of Sarajevo. There’s literally one on each corner. From our research we have discovered that Slastičarna Egipat is the one that locals regard as doing one of the best Tufahija in the city.
Google Maps location: link
How did it taste?
If you’ve ever tried canned fruit in England that has been covered with sweet syrup, the apple part tasted like that. Then you’ve got the addition of the walnuts in the middle, which provide a nice crunch and nutty taste which compliments the apple perfectly. And then the cream on top just brings it all together like custard would with cake. But I have to be honest, it wasn’t our favourite dessert ever, but due to its cultural significance it is definitely worth trying.
The Bosnian dessert scene
Tufahija isn’t the only must try dessert in the cuisine; in fact they’ve got a very rich dessert scene. You’ve got Hurmacise (a syrup coated biscuit), trilece (caramel milk cake), baklava, krempita (layered cream cake) and Turkish delight too. In Sarajevo you’ll find mainly two types of dessert spots: 1. A charming snug dessert cafe where you can get hot drinks, ice cream and a wide array of desserts (tufahija, hurmacise, krempita, trilece). These spots are very nice to just chill in after a day of exploring and shopping. And there’s so many scattered around in the old town. 2. The second type of dessert spot is a baklava spot. In these you’ll essentially find a variety of baklava that you can get to eat in or take away. There are other sweet shops that specialise in Turkish delight and Tulumbe for example, but these aren’t really sit down spots.
Is it just Turkish food??
Most of my Bosnian food series posts on Instagram and TikTok went viral and so this attracted numerous people from numerous parts of the world to comment and engage with my posts. Unfortunately, this meant that a lot of haters have come through to spread hate and, in all honesty, expose their own insecurity. To simplify Bosnian food and just call it Turkish, is naive, silly and just straight up culturally ignorant. Firstly, you need to educate yourself about the history of the ottomans and Islam in Bosnia. It will surprise you and hopefully make you realise a little more about the country, its history, its religion and even its food influences. Secondly, you need to educate yourself about how food works. Wherever you go in the world, you’ll find dishes (a few to many) that have been derived from or influenced by dishes from other parts of the world. I come from England and so I’ll use my country as an example – I implore you to look up the national dish of England. And I’ll leave it there…
Getting there
Google Maps link
