Kürtőskalács
Transylvanian-Hungarian chimney cake with cinnamon sugar
Kürtőskalács, or chimney cake, comes from the Székely Hungarian villages of Transylvania and is now sold at every Budapest Christmas market and summer festival, turning on spits over glowing coals. A strip of sweet yeast dough is wound around a wooden roller, rolled in sugar and baked until the sugar caramelises into a thin, crackling shell; you unwind the soft, steaming spiral as you eat it. At home you can bake it in the oven on foil-wrapped rolling pins or tins. Chef's tip: press the dough spiral firmly into the sugar before baking; loose sugar falls off, but pressed sugar melts into the glassy crust. A common mistake is leaving gaps between the strips, which makes the cake tear apart when you slide it off.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the dough
For the coating
For the moulds
Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Mix 1 ⅛ lb plain flour, ¼ oz fast-action dried yeast, 1 ¾ oz sugar and ½ tsp salt. Add 1 cup lukewarm milk, 2 eggs and 2 ½ oz butter and knead for 10 minutes until smooth, elastic and no longer sticky.
10 minStep 2: Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, until doubled.
60 minStep 3: Wrap 3 thick wooden rolling pins (or tall food tins, 6–7 cm across) in foil and brush with 1 tbsp sunflower oil. Heat the oven to 400°F (350°F fan) with a rack low down.
Step 4: Divide the dough into 6. Roll each piece into a rope, then flatten it with a rolling pin into a long ribbon about 1.5 cm wide and 5 mm thick.
Step 5: Wind a ribbon tightly around a mould, overlapping each turn slightly so there are no gaps, and roll it on the worktop to press the seams together. Press the ends in well.
Step 6: Brush with 1 egg white, then roll in 5 ½ oz granulated sugar mixed with 2 tsp ground cinnamon and 1 ¾ oz walnuts, pressing firmly so the sugar sticks.
Step 7: Rest the moulds across a deep roasting tin so the dough hangs free. Bake for 20–25 minutes, turning every 7 minutes, until the sugar has melted into a shiny, deep amber crust and the kitchen smells of caramel. Brush with 1 ¾ oz butter for the last 5 minutes.
25 minStep 8: Let cool for 2 minutes, then slide off carefully and stand upright. Repeat with the remaining dough. Eat warm.
15 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 10 g
- Carbs
- 82 g
- Fat
- 17 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kürtőskalács take?
- About 75 minutes in total: 45 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of fast-action dried yeast?
- Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
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