Saturday, January 11, 2014

Kürtöskalács

The real traditional kürtöskalacs is cooked over open fire, but we can also make kürtöskalács in the oven, although it will not be exactly the same. The hungarian kürt means horn which refer to the pastry's shape, while kalács means a sweet bread. This kalács dough is used for the kürtöskalács.
Since this is just an imitation of kürtöskalács, if you have a chance try the real one. It is amazing. There are many types of flavor: vanilla, cinammon, walnut, cocoa, coconut etc.
For more information, pictures go to this site. They may sell kürtöskalács in your country.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Mézes krémes



Mézes krémes means honey creamy pastry. It's from three cake layers made with honey, two flavored filling, plum jam and chocolate glaze. This traditional dessert is durable for a long time kept in the fridge and it's better to prepare them 1-2 day before serving because then it is much softer and tastier.
Be careful with the layers because they broke easily.

Bejgli



Bejgli is a typical Hungarian christmas dessert. Bejgli is a sweet yeast dough which is filled with poppy and walnuts and then rolled up and baked. Poppy might surprise or astonish some people, but in Hungary we like it and make a lot of cake from it.
Bejgli is a seasonal dessert and only made at christmas time, but no christmas can be celebrated without bejgli. The traditional bejgli is filled with poppy and walnut, but modern versions are also exist such as jam, chesnut, chocolate filled bejgli.
This recipe is from my grandmother who makes poppy and walnut filled bejgli for us every christmas. This year we made it together. We made 6 rolls, but this recipe is just for two rolls and the fillings are for one roll.

Kossuth Kifli

Kossuth kifli (Kossuth crescent) is named after Lajos Kossuth (1802-1894), statesman, who tried to gain back the indepence of Hungary from the Habsburg Empire. His plan failed, and he emigrated from Hungary, but he is considered as a national hero.
Kossuth kifli is a crescent formed cake with chopped walnuts. This recipe, differently from the previous recipes, is very simple and fast.


Aranygaluska


Aranygaluska is a traditional Hungarian dessert. It is considered more as a second course after a rich soup such as the goulash soup. Aranygaluska is made from sweet yeast dough balls sprinkled with walnut and butter and served with custard.
This recipe is from my grandmother who learned it from her mother. She makes aranygaluska a lot of time for us and we always eat all of it. This is a type of those irrestible desserts that are hard to stop eating.

Balatoni csók

Balatoni csók is named after lake Balaton, the largest lake in Hungary. Many tourists visit Balaton during the summer because it offers entertainment and recreation for every age group: beaches, fishing, sailing, family programs, festivals, wine tastings, good restaurants.
Balaton, Tibor Mester's photo

Somlói Galuska


Somlói galuska is the favorite dessert of Hungarians. It is a very rich dessert made by tree types of sponge cake (plain, walnut, chocolate) with syrup, custard, walnut, raisins served with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. There are different variation. Some variation are easier to make and need only one type of sponge cake, but this is the original somloi galuska recipe.
The history of sómlói galuska goes back to 1920s, when Károly Gollerits the headwaiter of the Gundel restaurant dreamed this dessert, but the first creator of the sómloi galuska was Béla Szőcs. Somlói galuska became very popular, and it even won a price in Brussel in 1958.
The name of the somlói galuska means "dumplings from Somló". Somló is a wineregion located in the Western part of Hungary. The speciality of the region that it is the only region where grapes are grown on the northern side of the hill. Only white wines are produced in Somló from the following grape varieties: harslevelu, juhfark, furming, olaszrizling, tramini and chardonnay.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Dobos cake

The dobos cake is the most famous Hungarian cake. The inventor of the cake is Jozsef C. Dobos, Hungarian confectioner. According to the legend Dobos' apprentice put sugar instead of salt to the cream when he churned the butter. This accident gave the idea to Dobos Jozsef to create a cake with buttercream. The cake was very new and modern at that time because it was not foamy as the other cakes back then.
In 1885 Dobos introduced his cake in the National General Exhibition of Budapest and soon the cake became very popular through whole Europe. Dobos did not share or sell his recipe, but he developed a container in which the cake could be shipped. He also toured with his cake.
Some confectioners tried to reproduce his cake, but they could not achieve the same result. Finally, when he retired he gave his recipe to the Budapest Confectioner's and Gingerbread Makers' Chamber of Industry. Then the recipe spread out among confectioners and became available for everyone.
The dobos cake stands from layers, chocolate buttercream and caramel topping. It is a quite difficult recipe, so I recommend it for more advanced bakers. Dobos cake worth a try since it was not  accidentally very popular and imitated by so many confectioner in the end of 19th.


Gundel Pancake


Pancake is a very popular dessert in Hungary. Hungarian pancakes, differently from other pancakes, are very thin and are rolled up with jam, cocoa, cinnamon or nutella.
The Gundel pancake is a walnut cream  filled pancake served with chocholate sauce. It is the specialy of the Gundel Restaurant. The Gundel restaurant opened in 1910 by Karoly Gundel and it is still existing today. Moreover it is the most famous restaurant in Hungary and has a very good reputation around the world.
 They serve traditional Hungarian food such as Goulash, Fisherman's soup or goose liver and of course the famous pancake, the Gundel pancake.
The Gundel pancake is a real calorie bomb and it is almost impossible to eat more than one at once, but you will not regret if you try it!