Walnut Roll Gužvara

Name: Walnut Roll Gužvara
Prep time: 11 min
Cook time: 19 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Croatian
Ingredients: 450g Flour; 55g Caster Sugar; 2 parts Yeast; 1/2 tsp Salt; 6 oz Milk; 2 Beaten Eggs; 30g Butter; 140g Walnuts; 85g Butter; 85g Brown Sugar; 1 tsp Cinnamon; To Glaze Milk; To Glaze Icing Sugar

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Dessert recipe with Croatian flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 42 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 30 min total

450g Flour
55g Caster Sugar
2 parts Yeast
1/2 tsp Salt
6 oz Milk
2 Beaten Eggs
30g Butter
140g Walnuts
85g Butter
85g Brown Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon
To Glaze Milk
To Glaze Icing Sugar

Step-by-step instructions

Mix all the ingredients for the dough together and knead well. Cover the dough and put to rise until doubled in size which should take about 2 hours. Knock back the dough and knead lightly.
Divide the dough into two equal pieces; roll each piece into an oblong about 12 inches by 8 inches. Mix the filling ingredients together and divide between the dough, spreading over each piece. Roll up the oblongs as tightly as possible to give two 12 inch sausages. Place these side by side, touching each other, on a greased baking sheet. Cover and leave to rise for about 40 minutes. Heat oven to 200ºC (425ºF). Bake for 30-35 minutes until well risen and golden brown. Bread should sound hollow when the base is tapped.
Remove from oven and brush the hot bread top with milk. Sift with a generous covering of icing sugar.

Why this works on a weeknight

Walnut Roll Gužvara genuinely fits a 30-minute weeknight window, which is why it earned a spot in our Sweet Finishes collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Walnut Roll Gužvara actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🍮 Sweet Finishes Dessert Croatian ⚡ 30-Min Dinner Nutty