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Kurtoskalacs: A Transylvanian Treat!

October 11, 2007 by Nicole 48 Comments

Roasting Kurtoskalacs

I’m back from Transylvania and I just had to share with you my favorite food discovery! We ate these kurtoskalacs twice and I wish I would have had a chance to eat them a few more times!

Kurtoskalacs are a traditional Hungarian pastry and, depending on who you talk to, they are the oldest Hungarian pastry. History and Geography are two of my worst subjects but Transylvania, which is now part of Romania, was once part of Hungary. Or something like that. Anyway, there is still a sizable Hungarian population in Transylvania and these yummy kurtoskalacs, which I believe originate from Transylvania, are widely available.

Kurtoskalacs Stand

So here’s what I was able to determine after eating some of these tasty Transylvanian treats and watching part of the assembly process. They are made with a yeasted dough, similar to a sweet roll dough. The dough is rolled or cut into long strips and then wrapped around a cylindrical mold. Then it gets brushed with oil and rolled in sugar.

Making Kurtoskalacs

Now for the interesting part. They get cooked over open coals, kind of like the way we roast marshmallows.

Making KurtoskalacsThe spirals of dough are watched carefully and turned so that each part gets evenly browned. When they are perfectly caramelized, they are taken off the coals and rolled in a topping such as crushed nuts, cinnamon, coconut or colored sprinkles. They don’t have to be rolled in the additional topping, it’s up to you. They taste great with just the plain caramelized sugar glaze!

After the additional topping is added, the pastry is slid off cylindrical mold and allowed to cool briefly before being placed in a paper bag and sold to the next lucky customer. The regular-sized kurtoskalacs look huge but since they are hollow, looks are deceiving. I could easily eat one by myself 🙂

Purchasing Kurtoskalacs

They also sell them in a smaller size. The small ones are great if you want to sample a few different flavors at once. The first time we visited the kurtoskalacs stand, we bought the small ones and sampled three different flavors: coconut, cinnamon, and pecan. They were all great but I think I liked coconut the best. Our friends tried one with sesame seeds and loved it!

Purchasing Mini Kurtoskalacs

The second time we visited the kurtoskalacs stand, I decided I had to get a large one. This time we tried it plain and I think it was my overall favorite. The sugar coating is just right…not too crunchy and not too sticky. And the bread is light and airy with a texture that reminded me of the inside of a glazed donut.

But my favorite thing about kurtoskalacs is the way they unravel as you eat them!

Nicole with Pastry

Since I wasn’t able to get photos of the bakers rolling the pastry dough onto the molds, I decided to see if anyone had posted a kurtoskalacs video on the Web. Sure enough, one of my favorite bloggers has a great little video clip of the kurtoskalacs being made. Go visit Ms. Adventures in Italy to check it out.

I also found that another one of my favorite foodbloggers has some experience with kurtoskalacs! Check out the photos and description at Habeas Brulee.

As for the rest of my Transylvanian adventures, you can check out my photos on Flickr. I have only uploaded about half of them but the rest should be up by tomorrow.

See you soon!

Filed Under: Desserts, Will Travel for Food

Previous Post: « I’ll Be Back Soon!
Next Post: Salted Caramel Ice Cream and Other Fall Flavors »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. steve says

    February 16, 2010 at 12:11 pm

    chimney cake oven on ebay for sale 16 rollers.cooks 60 cakes an hour chech it out if you want to cook these delicious cakes for home or start your own business
    Reply
  2. Lynda says

    March 25, 2010 at 8:23 pm

    Hi, all, Just returned from Israel where I once again experienced the fabulous Kurtos! They are opening shops all over Tel Aviv, so it's a big deal over there, for certain. I took some pics, but don't think I can add them to this post. Sorry! Happy eating...
    Reply
  3. AiCherie says

    October 29, 2010 at 1:11 am

    Hi Nicole, I really like you pumpkin recipe, will definitely try it tomorrow. Also I'm not sure if you live in California, but you can now get this bread here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/kurtosh-bakery-glendale Thought I'd share the wealth. Have a Happy Halloween. LOVE, AiCherie
    Reply
  4. Diana says

    November 13, 2010 at 7:05 am

    Hi everyone! I know for sure how good is the Kürtös Kalács, I've been practically raised wit it reason why I wanted to start a business. Due to a family problem I could not put it on track so I have to sell the machines. If anyone is interested, it is a very good business indeed, I can provide you a new, full set of electrical machines, recipes and any informations you may need. You can contact me at dianamester@yahoo.com.
    Reply
  5. Karácsonyi says

    January 4, 2011 at 3:59 am

    You can find information of baking, ovens, bussiness. Visit http://kurtoskalacssuto.lapunk.hu for more
    Reply
  6. valeria says

    March 2, 2012 at 7:09 am

    si ma qualcuno ha la ricetta? vorrei farlo...
    Reply
  7. Louise Samuel says

    March 15, 2018 at 6:34 am

    We have helped many vendors around the world, learn how to make this wonderful product. You can learn more about us and our products and training by checking out our web site. This blog is a great introduction to the wonderful Kurtoskalacs.. well done!
    Reply
    • Louise Samuel says

      March 15, 2018 at 6:35 am

      I forgot to leave my web site details! http://www.kurtos-kalacs.com
      Reply
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