Kürtőskalács—known in English as chimney cake—is a sweet Hungarian pastry with roots in Transylvania. Although I’m not Hungarian myself, part of my family is, and kürtőskalács is my favorite street food when visiting Hungary. For years, I’ve wanted to bring a taste of Hungary home, and this is my attempt at homemade kürtőskalács.

Traditionally, kürtőskalács is baked over coals on rotating spits. Since I don't have a professional setup, I use a standard oven with Tescoma Trdelník forms.

Ingredients for the dough

• 500 g flour
• 7 g yeast
• 75 g granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 100 g butter
• 200 ml lukewarm milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon salt (not sure yet, maybe not needed)

Ingredients for the topping

• 100 g granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• extra butter for brushing

Preparation of the dough

1. In a small bowl, mix the yeast, one tablespoon of sugar, and lukewarm milk. Let this sit for 10 minutes until foam forms. If the milk is too cold or too warm, or if the yeast has expired, it will not be activated and you won't see foam appearing. Without foam, the next steps are useless; the dough will be far too sticky.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, remaining sugar, and salt.
3. Add the eggs, vanilla, melted butter, and the foamy yeast-milk mixture to the flour.
4. Knead the dough until it is smooth, elastic, and not sticky (about 10 minutes by hand or with a dough hook).
5. Cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, until it has doubled in volume.

Shaping

6. Once the dough has risen, place it on a lightly floured work surface. Roll it out into a rectangle about ½ cm thick.
7. Cut the dough into long strips 2 cm wide.
8. Wrap each strip around your greased (oil or melted butter) spit, overlapping the strips slightly so that a spiral is formed without any gaps.
9. Press the dough on the spit to seal the seams.
10. Brush the entire surface with melted butter.

Baking

11. Sprinkle a generous amount of sugar over the buttered dough. Roll the dough on a baking sheet to cover all sides evenly.
12. If desired, mix cinnamon, nuts, or coconut with the sugar for extra flavor and texture.
13. Place the spits on the holder so that the cakes do not touch the bottom.
14. Bake them in a preheated oven at 200 °C. Bake for about 15 minutes, until golden brown and the sugar is caramelized. Turn regularly for even browning and to prevent the dough from sagging.

Finishing

15. Brush the kürtőskalács with some more melted butter immediately after baking and roll it through the coating of your choice (cinnamon-sugar, nuts, coconut, cocoa, etc.).
16. Carefully remove the kürtőskalács from the spit while it is still warm.
17. Serve warm and crispy. Kürtőskalács is best eaten fresh from the oven.