📷 CC BY-SA 4.0 · Benreis · via Wikimedia CommonsDessert · Czech Republic · Prague
Trdelník (Prague Chimney Cake) 🥖
The golden spiral you smell on Prague's Old Town lanes: a rich yeasted dough wrapped around a wooden rolling pin and baked until the outside is shatteringly crisp and the inside stays pillowy. Hot off the spit it is rolled in melted butter and a crunch of walnuts and sugar — cinnamon, cocoa or vanilla sugar — and eaten on foot, grease on your fingers. Though now a market-square classic, chimney cakes are older than tourism, rooted in villages of Moravia and Slovakia. The version with Nutella or ice cream is a modern indulgence; the original nut-sugar one is the souvenir that actually tastes of the place.
Method
-
1
Mix flour, 40 g sugar, yeast and salt; add yolks, melted butter and warm milk and knead 8-10 minutes into a smooth, soft dough.
-
2
Cover and rise in a warm place 60-90 minutes, until doubled.
-
3
Roll out on a floured surface into a rough rectangle about 0.5 cm thick.
-
4
Cut into long strips about 3 cm wide.
-
5
Wrap each strip around an oiled wooden rolling pin or metal chimney mould in a tight spiral, overlapping slightly; pinch the ends.
-
6
Let them rest on a tray 20 minutes.
-
7
Brush with oil and bake in a 200°C oven (ideally turning once) 15-20 minutes until deep golden and crisp; or grill near coals, turning, as traditionally.
-
8
While hot, brush generously with melted butter.
-
9
Mix the coating sugar with cinnamon and roll the cakes in it, then in chopped walnuts. Eat immediately.
Comments
Sign in to join the discussion.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your experience.