Is called “Kürtőskalács”is of Hungarian origin but was born in Romanian Transylvania. No, he is not a vampire or even a hero from times gone by, but the (more or less) unpronounceable name of a delicious dessert.
Driving along the roads of this region of Romania, it is not uncommon to come across kürtőskalács stalls: tasting it freshly baked on the roadside is unparalleled. When the crunchy crust is hot, the soft interior is even better.
The shape is that of a sweet bread roll, enriched on the surface with caramelized sugar, with the addition of vanilla, nuts, cocoa or cinnamon depending on taste. The dough must rise for several hours, then it is wrapped around a wooden roller and cooked by rotating it on a special grill. You eat it by unrolling it!
It was invented by the Hungarian minority established in the “Terra Siculorum”, a territory inhabited mainly by the Siculi of Transylvania, in Hungarian “székely”, a Hungarian ethnic subgroup of eastern Transylvania which, no, has nothing to do with the Siculi of Sicily.
There is a rumor that in the distant past the inhabitants of a local village had been attacked by Mongolian troops and that in those unfortunate circumstances, the women of these people had prepared the delicious dessert in a hurry, mixing flour and water with ash, so to churn out larger quantities.
By showing the sweets to the invaders, they convinced the latter that they still had large supplies of food, and could therefore resist their siege for a long time to come. Thus, legend says, the Mongols, exhausted by hunger, decided to leave.
The first known recipe for this dessert also comes from Transylvania, described in the cookbook of Mària Mikes, Countess of Zabola. The original recipe differed in various ways from the one currently known, which dates back approximately to the first half of the 20th century.
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Nowadays kürtőskalács has gained great popularity even outside eastern Transylvania and is now known in many other countries, from Hungary to Germany, from Austria to the Czech Republic.
Lately it has also been spreading in Italy where it is called “camino dolce” or “chimney cake” due to its peculiar shape. Such a delight deserves a taste!
SOURCES: kurtoscake/hcaphoenix
