Boldogasszony’s Summer Chimney Cake

Kürtőskalács or Chimney Cake is a traditional Hungarian pastry baked over an open fire and smoldering coals. It is formed around wooden spindles and cooked until crispy on the outside while soft and doughy on the inside, rather like a soft pretzel.The pastry was originally born is Transylvania (present day Romania), when the territory was still part of present day Hungary. Legend holds that the recipe was originally created by Szekler families trying to maximize the use of their cooling charcoal. And so they wrapped their stovepipes pastry that cooked as the coals burned themselves out. Eventually, kürtőskalács became a treasured sweet served at weddings and and special occasions in Transylvania and Hungary. Today, Chimney Cake is sold by street vendors at carnivals and fairs by street vendors as well as in bakeries in a variety of countries.

Total Time: 2 hours, Prep time: 1 hour 30 mins Cook time: 20 min, Garnish time: 10 mins, Yield: 6 rolls

Ingredients

• 750g flour • 2 eggs • 60g sugar • 100g butter, melted • 30g yeast • 300ml milk, lukewarm • some more melted butter and sugar, for the caramelised surface

Directions

1. Scoop the flour into a bowl and make a small pit into the middle. Put the yeast into the pit, pour the lukewarm milk onto it and mix gently until the yeast dissolves in the milk. Cover the bowl with a tea towel for 10-15 mins to allow the yeast to activate. 2. Mix the butter, sugar and eggs together and pour this mixture into the yeast & flour mix.

Knead these ingredients together and then cover the dough again and allow to rise for 1 hour in a warm place. 3. While dough is rising, create your ‘spindle’ using either paper towel rolls or empty beer cans wrapped in aluminum foil. Be sure to cover completely with the foil. 4. After your dough has risen, place dough ball on a hard even surface and roll out. Cut long

strips from the dough and wrap around your homemade spindles. after brushing spindles with butter in order to ensure pastry slides off easily. Make sure to wrap pastry strips so that dough covers the spindles completely with no space between strips. 5. Bake at 200 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.

Around minute 10, brush pastry with melted butter and roll in sugar or cinnamon/sugar and bake until the sugar is fully caramelized. 6. When fully baked, tap the cake on a hard surface so the pastry will simply slide off of your foil-covered, buttered spindles.

Garnish & Serving

• Slice cooled rolls lengthwise down the center on one side • FIll with ice cream and berries of choice • Serve