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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. Curt says

    October 11, 2007 at 4:10 pm

    These look and sound great... All the caramelization with lots of exterior.. I love the open coals thing; anything grilled has to be good! Nice photos. I'm ready to try one!
    Reply
  2. Ruby says

    October 11, 2007 at 4:13 pm

    I would LOVE to try this Nicole. I love sweet bread and what a fascinating way to make it! Thanks for the thorough descriptions and photos. I would like my order plain, they way you ate it!
    Reply
  3. Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy says

    October 11, 2007 at 5:07 pm

    Yum, cinnamon was my favorite, but they didn't have coconut, so that's a must-try! I liked that it wasn't completely sweet (the bread) so you could just keep unrolling it and scarfing it down. :) I can't wait to see more Transylvanian pics...what were you doing there?
    Reply
  4. Coleen B says

    October 11, 2007 at 5:14 pm

    As always, I enjoyed your photos. I especially liked the one of the old woman sitting on the bench with the flowers! The kurtoskalacs looked so yummy. Thanks for sharing your experience.
    Reply
  5. Peter says

    October 11, 2007 at 7:28 pm

    Great find...there ARE foods out there yet to be discovered!
    Reply
  6. bethany actually says

    October 11, 2007 at 7:37 pm

    Oh my GOSH those look delicious. Hmm, maybe I should go eat lunch. Glad you're home safely!
    Reply
  7. Terry B says

    October 11, 2007 at 9:09 pm

    The kurtoskalacs look amazing, Nicole. And you look quite happy unraveling that one. Do they have a smoky taste at all, being cooked over open coals? Oh, yeah. And welcome back! You've been quite the vagabond of late.
    Reply
  8. Jason says

    October 11, 2007 at 9:15 pm

    Kind of like a fruit roll up or "fruit by the foot," except it's not sugary fruit, but sugary bread. I dare you to make those.
    Reply
  9. Sandy says

    October 11, 2007 at 9:51 pm

    I am wondering how I could do that. Sounds so good, and I am with you, I think that just sugar would be best. By the way, do they celebrate Halloween in Transylvania?
    Reply
  10. Jason says

    October 11, 2007 at 10:54 pm

    By the way, don't forget to purchase a Radioactive Kangaroo shirt. You know you want one.
    Reply
  11. Deborah says

    October 12, 2007 at 1:02 am

    What an incredibly yummy treat! So, you're going to teach us how to make them, now, right? :)
    Reply
  12. Kalyn says

    October 12, 2007 at 2:31 am

    What could be more fun than traveling around and discovering delicious foods that you've never heard of before! Sounds wonderful. (And no dieting while you're traveling so I could just gobble them up!)
    Reply
  13. Nicole says

    October 12, 2007 at 6:16 am

    Curt: I figured you'd get a kick out of this because of the grilling aspect :-) Ruby: You would definitely like these! Sara: I agree that the cinnamon was pretty tasty! The problem with mine was that they rolled it in just straight cinnamon and it was a little overpowering for me. The coconut was good because it was unsweetened dried coconut, a nice balance to the sugar coating. Coleen: Thanks! Peter: There were also lots of foods in Romania that I deliberately chose not to discover, such as sour tripe soup :-) Bethany: Yep, managed to make it out of Transylvania without a scratch (or a bite)! Terry: The funny thing is that they didn't taste smoky at all! Jason: I'm still working on some of the other things you've 'dared' me to make! I just have to remember what they were... Sandy: If you do some research online, there are a few suggestions for making these at home. Let me know if you end up attempting it! :-) Deborah: Well, I've actually seen a few recipes online for these but I'm not really sure what to wrap the dough around. I think this will be one of those things that will only be enjoyed on trips to Hungary or Romania or at Hungarian festivals :-) Kalyn: We 'discovered' some not-so-delicious foods while in Romania, too! But I prefer to focus on the yummy things :-) Other than the sweets (we tried a few other pastries that were wonderful, too!), my favorite food was the soups. They make these delicious 'sour soups' that I need to research and figure out how to make! After a couple of "interesting" restaurant experiences, I mostly stuck to soups, chicken schnitzel and fries. Oh, and lots of pickles! The problem was that it was an organized group tour so we ended up eating lots of meals together as a group. I didn't have much of a chance to research and find the best places to get the best food. One of the specialties is stuffed cabbage rolls. One time I had them and they were awful. The next time, they were wonderful! I guess I should write another post about the food rather than try to cover everything in this comment ;-)
    Reply
  14. Toni says

    October 12, 2007 at 6:28 am

    Nicole - This is my first "trip" to your blog, and what a delicious way to start! I love traveling, and my grandmother was from Transylvania! (No, not REALLY a vampire!) ;-) I've never heard of these pastries, though. Unfortunately, she didn't bring this recipe with her and make it a part of our family tradition. Too bad, because they look like they'd be fun to unravel and eat!
    Reply
  15. Nicole says

    October 12, 2007 at 7:36 am

    Toni: So glad you stopped by because now I've discovered your wonderful blog! Maybe you know a little about the yummy 'sour soups' that I ate while in Transylvania?
    Reply
  16. Katiez says

    October 12, 2007 at 1:05 pm

    Those look warm, flaky and yummy! That's the very best part of travel - discovering unique fantastic foods! I'd eat a whole big one, no problem...
    Reply
  17. Danielle says

    October 12, 2007 at 3:45 pm

    Aren't they good? Dave and I had so much fun eating them when we wandered around fairs in Hungary! There's actually a book about a Hungarian/Transylvanian bank robber that you might like, which talks a bit about Transylvania's nationality issues.
    Reply
  18. Alanna says

    October 15, 2007 at 11:36 am

    Fascinating! I've been pouring through some 'ethnic' cookbooks and find myself continuously saying, They did THAT with yeast and flour and a handful of other ingredients. Amazing stuff, yeast. And ingenuity.
    Reply
  19. andreea says

    March 20, 2008 at 8:09 am

    how wonderful. not only did i get to dicover your blog but you have also posted on one of my all time favorite sweets from transylvania. i am personally from brasov, but now in belgium so these have become a rare delicacy. we drive on purpose to one of those street vendors every time i am home :) delicious!
    Reply
  20. Richard Reman says

    March 29, 2008 at 5:01 pm

    Hi Nicole, As a Transylvanian native myself, it brings me great joy to hear you tried our famous kurtoskalacs. I wanted to give you a quick suggestion on trying to make this pastry. One way mom still makes it is on a smaller scale. If you can find some, you can use the stalk of corn (dried and about one foot long) to roll the dough onto. This may be a bit difficult to come by however and you may have to get creative. However since the opening is only about 2 inches wide, you get a mini kurtoskalacs when you are done. Here is the interesting thing to do with it. Fill the hole with whipped creme, preferably home made instead of store bought. We have these every once in a while, and they turn out delicious. enjoy
    Reply
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