Grandma pronounced it “po-va-TEET-sa.” Others know this Eastern European pastry as potica, kolachi, gubana or bejgli. But you don’t have to learn Croatian to enjoy this delicious tradition — just call it “povi” for short!

The story of Strawberry Hill Baking Company began in 1903 when our family came to Kansas City from Croatia, bringing along the beloved tradition of povitica. Grandma Dorothy and Grandma Daisy were reluctant to reveal the secret family recipe, but Dorothy’s son Harley finally convinced them that this unique and delicious tradition should be shared with the world.

While its rich texture resembles a cake, povi is actually a pastry, and our handmade dough plays the important role of supporting cast. The dough must be delicate, flaky, and thin enough to read a newspaper through it, while also holding together the abundance of filling that it’s designed to showcase.

One thing that makes povi unique is that the handmade filling is the star of the show — each povi has three times more filling than dough. The dough is rolled around the filling by hand, formed into our signature “S” shape and then baked to perfection.

Now three generations later, our family ships our handmade povi nationwide, and we’ve added another one of grandma’s recipes to our repertoire — Old World coffee cake! Enjoy our povi or coffee cake with a pat of butter for breakfast, a scoop of ice cream for dessert, or straight off the cutting board for an afternoon snack.