Trdelnik- Czech Chimney cake in Prague!
Even though Prague is beautiful all year round, the holiday season here is special. Cobblestone streets glimmer beneath fairy lights, and the city's Gothic and baroque facades look straight out of a Christmas postcard.
As i walk through Prague’s delightful Old Town and take in the whirl of Gothic and baroque buildings, my senses are assaulted by the scent of baked dough fused with caramelized sugar and cinnamon.
The heart of the magic is the markets in Old Town Square with its giant tree and Wenceslas Square offering mulled wine, gingerbread, trdelník, and handmade gifts amidst carols and festive cheer. All around Prague’s Old Town, I could see these twirling cylinders through open windows, as dozens of local trdelník-mongers turn out their batches for the day.
Trdelník is a sweet, spit-roasted pastry popular in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary, known as a "chimney cake" for its hollow, cylindrical shape,topped cinnamon sugar and stuffed with Nutella inside. But this sweet pastry isn't originally Czech but comes from the Hungarian/Transylvanian region, a spit cake called Kürtőskalács, brought to Skalica, Slovakia, in the 18th century and popularized as a Czech street food later, especially in Prague where the modern, often ice-cream-filled versions are a tourist phenomenon.
The earliest known mention of a similar pastry appears in a manuscript found in Heidelberg, Germany. A recipe for a version of the pastry also appears in a Transylvanian cookbook. Around this time, a retired Hungarian general and poet, József Gvadányi, is credited with introducing the recipe to the Slovak town of Skalica via his Transylvanian cook.
The root of this word, trdlo, is the name of the wooden tool the cake ingredients are wrapped around during baking which gives it its traditional hollow shape. Nowadays, trdelník has become very popular around Christmas and especially by foreigners which is why the locals sometimes call it a tourist trap.
There are literally dozens of trdelník shops in Prague where locals and visitors alike can break bread together as simply put, the trdelník lends itself to all cravings and that's how it earned a beloved spot in Prague dessert culture. So Enjoy your meal- "Dobrou chut’ and Veselé Vánoce a šťastný nový rok! (Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!)
Note:(pics from internet for illustration only)
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