Kürtőskalács (Hungarian Chimney Cake)

Ingredients

• 4 cups (500g) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (1 packet)
• 1 cup whole milk, warmed to about 110°F
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted, for brushing the dough
• 1 cup granulated sugar, for rolling
• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts, for topping
• 2 tbsp ground cinnamon, for topping
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, for topping (optional, for variety)

Before you cook

• Whisk the warm milk with the yeast and a pinch of the 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes until foamy.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, remaining sugar, and salt.
• Add the foamy yeast mixture, eggs, and 1/4 cup melted butter to the flour and stir until a shaggy dough comes together.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured counter and knead for 5 to 7 minutes until smooth and elastic.
• Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a towel, and let it rise in a warm spot for about 1 hour, until doubled.
• Wrap 6 wooden rolling pins or empty metal cans tightly in aluminum foil and grease the foil well with butter or oil — these will be your baking cylinders.
• Punch down the risen dough and divide it into 6 equal pieces.
• Roll each piece out into a long rope about the thickness of your finger, then flatten it slightly with the rolling pin into a strip roughly 1 inch wide and 20 inches long.
• Starting at one end of a foil-wrapped cylinder, wind a dough strip around it in a tight spiral, overlapping each turn slightly and pinching the ends to seal.
• Repeat with the remaining strips and cylinders, then set them on a baking sheet, propped up on the rim so the dough doesn't touch the pan, and let them rest uncovered for 15 minutes.
• Mix the 1 cup rolling sugar with the cinnamon in a shallow dish if you want a cinnamon-sugar coating baked directly onto the dough.

Steps

1. Preheat your oven to 425°F.
2. Brush each dough-wrapped cylinder all over with melted butter.
3. Roll each buttered cylinder in the sugar (or cinnamon-sugar) dish until evenly coated on all sides.
4. Rest the cylinders across the rim of a baking pan so the dough hangs suspended and can brown evenly on all sides, turning them a quarter turn.
5. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, rotating each cylinder a quarter turn every 3 minutes so the sugar caramelizes evenly instead of burning on one side.
6. Watch for the surface to turn deep amber and glossy, with the sugar visibly bubbled and set — pull them before it goes past deep brown into burnt.
7. Remove the cylinders from the oven and let them sit for 2 minutes to firm up slightly before handling.
8. While still warm, roll each cake in the chopped walnuts, cocoa powder, or coconut, pressing gently so the topping sticks to the caramelized surface.
9. Hold each cylinder upright and gently twist the cake to loosen it, then slide it off the foil.
10. Let the chimney cakes cool for 5 minutes standing upright before serving, so the hollow centers hold their shape.