Placinte: Romanian Family Pies

These traditional layered pastries are filled with history and childhood memories

Placinte come with a variety of doughs and fillings, both savory and sweet, but perhaps most beloved of all is placinta cu mere: made with grated, spiced, and stewed apples, and a soft dough enriched with sour cream. Irina Georgescu

For Romanians, nothing says childhood better than placinte. These layered pies were a constant presence in our lives—sweet or savory, hot or cold, always cut into rectangular slices, stacked on top of each other on a plate, and left on the table to entice hungry eyes and appetites. 

The story of the placinta starts with the ancient Greeks and the Roman Empire. The pastry has a Greek origin, a Latin name, and a history entwined in trade routes and conquests.