Sweets filled with fruit, poppy seed and quark are prevalent and come in diverse forms including cakes, ' (pies), tarts, fritters, and dumplings ('). The tradition of making pies has been preserved in American Czech communities who have settled in the Midwestern United States and Texas. They are laborious to make and usually prepared for special celebrations, births, funerals and they also have a role in Czech wedding traditions where they are distributed to friends and family in place of wedding invitations. The most common fillings are poppy seed, apricots ("") and prunes.