Chimney Cake

Hungary

Also known as Kürtőskalács, Trdelník

About Chimney Cake

Chimney Cake is a sweet, spiral-shaped pastry made by wrapping a strip of yeast dough around a cone-shaped wooden or metal spit and roasting it over hot coals or in a special oven. The sugar on the outside melts into a shiny, crunchy caramel crust.

Its Hungarian name is kürtőskalács, and it comes from the Hungarian-speaking Székely Land in Transylvania, now part of Romania. As it bakes, steam rises out of the hollow tube like smoke from a chimney, which gives the pastry its English name.

Once baked, it is rolled in toppings such as cinnamon sugar, crushed walnuts, coconut or cocoa. Chimney cakes are a popular street snack at markets and festivals in Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic and elsewhere.

Ingredients

• flour
• yeast
• milk
• eggs
• butter
• sugar
• cinnamon
• walnuts