Est. 1953
Our Confections
A Triestine heart in Mitteleuropa
The pinza looks like a golden loaf, rich in eggs, butter and sugar, fragrant and soft to the touch.
Trivia. The pinza is the traditional Easter-time pastry which is more commonly found in Trieste. It symbolizes the sponge used by a Roman soldier to offer vinegar wine to Jesus at the Crucifixion. Our grandmothers homemade it: they kneaded the dough by hand, starting at Holy Saturday's dawn, because a good pinza can't be hurried. Finally, they brought it to the local bakery to bake.
Anecdote. Our father told us how baking the pinze brought by the local housewives was next to impossible. The differences between each pastry, be it the ingredients, leavening or size were such that they would have had to be baked one by one. To avoid disappointing his good-meaning customers, he secretly kneaded all the pinze together and re-made each one, trying to keep them as close as possible to their original sizes.
The putizza is made by wrapping walnuts, raisins, candied orange peels, pine nuts and cocoa with soft, leavened dough, scented with a splash of rum.
Trivia. The putizza is one of the traditional Triestine Easter-time pastries. Its origin is Slavic, its name coming from the word “potica”, or rather from the verb “poviti”, which stands for enveloping, rolling up.
The presnitz is the most iconic pastry of Trieste's tradition, filled with nuts and candied fruit (walnuts, raisins, candied orange peels, pine nuts) which are all wrapped in a thin layer of puff pastry.
Trivia. The presnitz symbolizes Jesus' crown of thorns. It was conceived in the middle of the 19th century, when the whole city of Trieste was awakened by a historic event. Princess Sissi, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary, was visiting the Castle of Miramare. For the occasion, the city was groomed and festive, with competitions and contests being held for artists, cooks, and bakers. Moreover, a particular price was due to the best cake to be made in honour of the Empress. In a dignified bakery, it was then made for the first time a pastry advertised as “if you tour the world, come back here!”. It was prized and titled “Preis Prinzessin” (Princess Prize), which the people of Trieste shortened to the nickname “presnitz”.
The Triestine fave are small round pastries made from almonds that come in three colours: white for the natural almond flavour, pink for rose flavouring, and brown for cocoa.
Trivia. The fave enter Trieste's tradition around the same time as the Castle of Miramare's inauguration. They are typically made in the months of October and November, around the time of All Souls day, a Christian holiday which commemorates the souls of the departed. For this reason, these pastries are also known as “the dead's little fave”.
Enriched with both eggs and butter, the titola is a braided bread pastry which nests a red-coloured hard-boiled egg.
Trivia. The titola is a pastry commonly made during the Easter period in Trieste. According to the Christian tradition, its shape symbolizes the nails of Jesus' cross.
The sachertorte is one of the most famous Viennese culinary specialities, which we enrich with apricot jam and almonds.
Trivia. Its origin dates back to when Vienna was the main capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was invented by the pastry chef Franz Sacher for Prince Wenzel von Metternich in 1832.
Anecdote. A few years ago, one of our esteemed customers sent us a card while he was visiting Vienna, writing us: “Yours is tastier!”.
Rigó Jancsi is a Hungarian cake with a creamy consistency and an intense dark chocolate flavour.
Trivia. Rigó Jancsi is a traditional Hungarian cake, whose fascinating story is tied to the forbidden love between the famous Romani violinist Rigó Jancsi and Clara Ward, Princess de Caraman-Chimay, only daughter of American millionaire E. B. Ward and wife of the Belgian Prince de Caraman-Chimay. Rigó created this delicious chocolate cake with the help of a famous pastry chef, gifting it to his beloved as proof of his love. Both because of its deliciousness and for the love story to which it was tied to, the cake quickly became the famed pastry it is today.
A traditional Bohemian sweet roll, the buchteln is akin to a tender, fragrant, and leavened brioche filled with apricot jam. It's best had warm, fresh out of the oven.
A traditional Austro-Hungarian pastry, the strudel is a filling of either apples or ricotta cheese enclosed in a thin layer of butter-based puff pastry.
Trivia. During the summer season, our strudel is also available with fillings of cherries, peaches, apricots and plums.
Via Carducci 14, Trieste
+39 040 760 6013 - pasticceriagiorgits(at)gmail.com
Piazza Giotti 7, Trieste
+39 040 635 408 - pasticceriagiorgits(at)gmail.com