Kürtőskalács (chimney cake)
Description
The recipe won’t take much time. “Kürtőskalács” translates from Hungarian as “kalach” and “pipe.” They are quite easy to make, and there is plenty of room for culinary creativity. The coatings for this pastry can be all kinds of things: vanilla sugar, coconut and almond flakes, poppy seeds, nuts, cinnamon, powdered sugar—whatever you like. Follow the step-by-step recipe and adjust to your taste. Serve warm or chilled. Perfect with tea.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Prepare the ingredients.
- 2
Step 2
To make the sponge, take 1 tablespoon of water, yeast, 1 teaspoon each of flour and sugar, and mix. Leave in a warm place for 15–20 minutes.
- 3
Step 3
Into a dough mixing bowl, pour warm milk and melted butter, add 1 egg yolk. Mix.
- 4
Step 4
Take the sponge that has, in the meantime, become covered in bubbles and increased in volume.
- 5
Step 5
Pour the starter into a dough-mixing bowl; add salt, sugar, and flour.
- 6
Step 6
Knead the dough by hand; it should turn out soft and elastic. Transfer the dough to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a cloth, and leave in a warm place to rise for 1.5–2 hours. During rising, perform 2 folds, 30 minutes apart.
- 7
Step 7
While the dough “proofs”, prepare a topping of sugar, cinnamon, and ground walnuts. In fact, the topping can vary quite a bit, but the most popular is cinnamon and sugar.
- 8
Step 8
Divide the finished dough into equal parts; I got 10 portions of 60 grams each. Roll the dough into a ball. While working with the dough, keep the dough covered with plastic wrap so it does not dry out.
- 9
Step 9
Roll out the dough into a long “rope.”
- 10
Step 10
Wind the dough onto the prepared tube. For this I used an ordinary wooden rolling pin wrapped in foil. Be sure to secure the edges of the dough, otherwise they may unwind during baking and the shape will be lost.
- 11
Step 11
Brush the prepared pieces with egg white and sprinkle with the prepared topping. Preheat the oven to 180–200 degrees.
- 12
Step 12
Set the prepared pieces raised off the bottom (suspended); they must not touch the bottom of the baking sheet. Bake at 180–200°C for 25–30 minutes.
- 13
Step 13
You can also use a construction like this made from tubes rolled out of aluminum foil.
- 14
Step 14
Remove the finished Kürtőskalács and serve the delicious aromatic pastry at the table.