Cocoa snail

Yesterday was 24th of February, the last day of the Carnival time in Hungary and the day of “jégtörő Mátyás". (Jégtörő Mátyás means icebreaker Mathias). (Anyway King Mátyás Corvinus was crowned in 1458, exactly 550 years before on the ice of River Danube).

According to the Hungarian folklore's suspicion in case Jégtörő Mátyás doesn't find any ice, he makes it. It means if the weather is not cold: winter will go on. In case he finds ice, he breaks it. If it's freezing: winter will be over soon. Yesterday we had sunny weather +18 Celsius degree. I really enjoyed this early spring, but I’m afraid the winter will came back and still go on for some time. Although, we have another tradition and folklore figure on this day. Her (or his?) name is "Kiszebaba". People dress up a straw doll in wedding cloths (called Kiszebaba) and it is burnt or thrown into the water. It symbolizes the will to keep death, sickness and winter property at a comfortable distance. Yesterday I was folk dance house, there I also made Kiszebaba, hence I dare to hope that spring is really coming soon :)

So the carnival time is over and the period of fasting is coming. I’m half Jewish and half protestant, but I’m not religious, hence I don’t keep the religious traditions and I don’t fast. So maybe on next few weeks, I will share with you those foods, which are forbidden during the Fast if you are religious, so excuse me in advance for it.

Actually the snail is my "Today's recommendation", it called “csiga” in Hungarian, (pronounced as ‘chi-ga’) and I hope it isn't forbidden to eat during the Fast time :)

I’m sure that if you hear the word SNAIL in the name of a food, you associate with it a French food. Well, we also have a traditional snail, but the Hungarian snail is a pastry stuffed with different flavors. You can find it in any of the Hungarian bakery shops. I prefer it filled with cocoa. It called "Kakaós csiga", which always reminds me my childhood, we usually have “kakaós csiga” with “school milk” for breakfast in the school once a week :))))

Honestly I don't used to like preparing dough with yeast by myself, but since I've got a bread baker I fallen in love with yeast cake recipes and I start knead everything in the bread baker machine.

Let's take a look the recipe of the home made kakaós csiga ! :)

Ingredients:

for the dough:

50 dkg flour, 7 dkg soft butter, 1-1,5 dkg fresh cake yeast, 3 dl milk, 1 egg yolk, 4 tbs sugar, 1 café spoon salt

for the filling:

circa 1 or 2 tbs butter and cocoa powder mixed with icing sugar (to taste)

Prepare:

1. Mix and knead the ingredients in the bread baker, or if you haven't got bread baker, than mix yeast and 1 tbs sugar in lukewarm milk. Let stand until other ingredients are mixed. Mix yolks with butter and yeast mixture. Add flour and knead well and let rise for an hour in warm place.

2. Flour the board and roll out thin the dough. Smear the dough with butter and stuff with cocoa and icing sugar mixture and roll up like a sheet of paper. Cut up about 2 centimeter thick pieces. Place into the tin. (Use greaseproof paper, like me).

3. Bake in preheated oven about at 175 Celsius for 25-30 minutes. When the snails are half-baked, then sprinkle them with some milk mixture with butter, and then return it to the oven and continue the baking.

4. The snails are ready. Serve and enjoy!

Bon Apetit