Kürtöskalács
|
| Origin |
| Alternative name(s) |
Kürtös kalács, chimney cake, stove cake, Hungarian wedding cake |
| Place of origin |
Hungary |
| Details |
| Course |
Dessert |
| Type |
Pastry |
| Main ingredient(s) |
Pastry, sweet spices (usually cinnamon), walnuts or almonds, sugar |
Kürtőskalács or kürtős kalács (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈkyrtøːʃ ˈkɒlaːtʃ]) is a Hungarian[1] pastry also known as chimney cake or stove cake. It is baked on a tapered cylindrical spit over an open fire. In the past decades, it became popular to bake it in special gas- and electric ovens. The Kürtőskalács originates from Transylvania,[2][3] a historical region in present-day Romania with a sizable Hungarian population. The name derives from the Hungarian words kürtő that refers to chimney or 'wide pipe length', and kalács meaning "milk-loaf". It is famous as Hungary's oldest pastry[citation needed]. Kürtőskalács is sold in bakeries and pastry shops, and even street vendors are selling them on street corners, carnivals, and fairs.
Kürtőskalács consists of a thin yeast pastry ribbon wound around a wooden cylinder, heavily sprinkled with sugar, thus becoming a helix-shaped pastry which may taper very slightly towards the end. The pastry is baked on a hand-turned, tapered, wooden spit, rolled slowly on the wooden cylinder above an open fire. The dough is yeast-raised, flavored with sweet spices, the most common being cinnamon, topped with walnuts or almonds, and sugar. The sugar is caramelized on the kürtőskalács surface, creating a sweet, crispy exterior, and a soft, smooth interior.
Similar products around Europe [edit]
Kürtőskalács baking on a spit over charcoal fire
A mobile Kürtőskalács shop in Hungary
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Louis Craig Cornish, Transylvania in 1922: report of the commission sent by the American and British Unitarian churches to Transylvania in 1922, Eric Cherry, 1923, p. 45 [1]
- ^ George Lang, The cuisine of Hungary, Atheneum, 1971, p. 112 [2]
- ^ Louis Craig Cornish, Transylvania in 1922: report of the commission sent by the American and British Unitarian churches to Transylvania in 1922, Eric Cherry, 1923, p. 45 [3]
External links [edit]
