Hungarian Chimney Cakes come to North London

Photo: Intelligent Travel 

I have just been down to a local community festival in Broomfield Park, London N13 and came across a pastry which I have never come across before. The queue to the stall was long which is what first caught my eye, then I realised after half an hour that it is because the dough based sweet was being cooked in an oven and they could only do about 6 at a time.

These Chimney Cakes (so called as they were originally baked around the chimney pipes) originate from Transylvania and are made from a sweet, bread-like dough which is wound round a wooden handle and put into a specially designed electric oven which revolves the handle as the cake cooks. They are also rolled in sugar then when baked are rolled in flavourings. I had freshly ground walnuts and my husband, coconut.

Kurtoskalacs are the oldest pastry in Hungary and are often served as street food. They are not as sweet and fatty as doughnuts, and are really 'slow' food rather than fast, but we really rather liked them.

I've tracked down a video of a baker making these cakes - hope they catch on here!