Vegan Chimney Cakes (Kürtöskalács)
These vegan chimney cakes (Kürtöskalács in Hungarian or Trdelník in Czech) are a delicious soft and fluffy sweet yeast bread with a crispy cinnamon sugar exterior.
Servings 5 chimney cakes
Equipment
- 5 tall empty drinks cans (such as Red Bull or beer cans)
- Stand mixer with dough hook
- aluminium foil
Ingredients
Dough:
- 350 g (3 cups) white bread flour
- 7 g (2 ¼ teaspoons) instant/fast action yeast
- 40 g (3 ½ Tablespoons) caster or granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 200 g (¾ cup + 4 teaspoons) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy)
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 40 g (3 Tablespoons) vegan block butter softened
To Coat:
- 50 g (¼ cup) vegan butter melted
- 100 g (½ cup) caster or granulated sugar
Cinnamon Sugar:
- 100 g (½ cup) caster or granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
- To make the dough, place the bread flour in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the yeast to one side and the sugar, salt and bicarbonate of soda to the other, stir to combine.350 g (3 cups) white bread flour, 7 g (2 ¼ teaspoons) instant/fast action yeast, 40 g (3 ½ Tablespoons) caster or granulated sugar, ¾ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- Add the milk and the vanilla and mix to form a shaggy dough. Knead with the mixer or turn out onto an un-floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. The dough should be fairly stiff but tacky to the touch.200 g (¾ cup + 4 teaspoons) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy), 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- Add the softened vegan butter. Continue to knead until the butter is fully incorporated and the dough is smooth and elastic. It may seem greasy and messy at first but keep kneading and I promise you the butter will all mix in and the dough will become smooth.40 g (3 Tablespoons) vegan block butter
- Once the butter is fully incorporated the dough should look smooth and silky but will be very sticky. If you are kneading by hand, use a bench scraper to scrape it off the worksurface.
- Oil your hands and shape the dough into a ball, place it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and set aside to rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours.
- While the dough is rising, roll the empty drinks cans up in squares of tin foil and fold over the top and bottom so they are fully encased. Try and ensure that the foil doesn't become too crinkled and make sure they can still be stood upright without wobbling.
- Preheat the oven to 200℃/180℃ fan/400℉/gas mark 6.
- Punch down the risen dough and divide it into 10 pieces. Roll each piece out using your hands into a long, thin rope.
- Leaving a couple of centimetres gap at the bottom and tucking the end under, start to coil one of the strips of dough around a can. Don't overlap the dough, the coils should lay side by side, and don't pull the dough too tight otherwise it may tear as it bakes.
- When you reach the end of the first strip of dough, press the end of another strip into the first end then continue to coil it round until you reach the top of the can. Trim off any excess dough then tuck the end under. Roll the can on the countertop to flatten the dough slightly.
- Repeat this process with the rest of the cans then lightly brush the dough with melted butter then roll in the sugar.50 g (¼ cup) vegan butter, 100 g (½ cup) caster or granulated sugar
- Place the wrapped cans standing upright on a baking sheet, make sure they are well spaced apart to give them room to expand in the oven.
- Bake for 20-23 minutes until nicely browned all over. Rotate the cans after 15 minutes to ensure even colouring.
- Mix together the sugar and cinnamon and place it in a wide dish or tray. Brush the hot chimney cakes with more butter then roll them in the cinnamon sugar to coat.100 g (½ cup) caster or granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- Allow to cool for a few minutes until they are just cool enough to handle, then use a butter knife to loosen the dough around the very top and bottom of the can before sliding the cakes off. Serve asap.
Notes
- See post above for tips, details and step-by-step photos. If you have a question about the recipe I may have already answered it above!
- USE SCALES. As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scales rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
- Instead of forming the dough into long ropes to wrap around the cans, you can also roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle then use a pizza cutter to cut it lengthwise into strips.
- Storage: serve these vegan chimney cakes hot from the oven or within a few hours of baking.