A few days ago was our annual family reunion; a great occasion to see everyone and enjoy some fun times with relatives and friends. Time flies fast and there are always a few stories to tell and a few jokes to share. All of us customarily bring out a dish of our choice to share. For the last few weeks, we circulated a list of foods just to avoid duplication or missing something important, like for example a vegetable salad. Not a joke, most wanted to bring out sweets!
Not to be outdone, my contribution to this event is regularly either a cake or a pastry. Since the gathering is held in an open park environment, my selection usually quickly narrows down to a dessert that has to be able to hold up to summer heat. As a rule, the final choice ends up being some old fashion dessert, a recipe that endured the test of time.
This year that was Flódni, a traditional Hungarian desert. The origins of the recipe reaching as far as medieval times and in present form, was developed by eastern European Jews originating from Carpathian Basin. It is a rich, flavorful and above all, an addictive cake! Once you try it, you can’t stop eating it. Like most of good and well known European cakes, Flódni is neither easy nor fast to make. It will take 4-6 hours but at the end you will be glad you did it. It is a special cake for a special occasion and a family reunion is a perfect cause to make your time worthwhile. Think about it, you can not buy cake like this, except perhaps in Budapest.
Flódni was definitely winner at our family party. I made a fairly large size yielding about 55 bars 25 mm x 50 mm (1″ x 2″) and it was gone quickly. Quite a few relatives came to me to personally express how delicious the cake was and how much they liked it, that made my day. There is no better feeling than sense of gratitude being surrounded with your family, sharing memories and the latest stories. Making something for them all, that they like and cherish, is priceless.
The recipe has been adapted from one of my favorite baking reference books “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague“.
| Prep Time | 3-4 hours |
| Cook Time | 60 minutes |
| Servings |
bars
|
- 420 g all purpose non bleached flour
- 60 g powdered sugar
- pinch sea salt
- 228 g unsalted butter cold, cut into 12 mm (1/2") cubes
- 118 ml water
- 2 egg yolks large
- 1 kg apples Golden Delicious or Granny Smith, peeled
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp lemon juice fresh
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 230 g walnuts coarsely chopped
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 118 ml water
- 140 g poppy seeds ground
- 67 g granulated sugar
- 60 ml water
- 1 egg yolk large
- 1 tsp heavy cream
Ingredients
Dough
Apple Filling
Walnut Filling
Poppy Seed Filling
Glazing
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|
- Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Toss the butter cubes until fully coated. Use a pastry blender to cut in the butter until mixture reassembles a coarse meal.
- In the small bowl mix together water and yolks.
- Add water mix to the flour mixture and stir with fork until a soft dough ball is formed. You will need help of your hands at some point but try to minimize contact with the dough. Add little more water if necessary.
- Divide the dough ball into four equal portions. From each portion create a 130 mm x 100 mm (5" x 4") rectangle. Wrap each portion in a plastic wrap and refrigerate about 1-2 hours. Shaping in a rectangle will help you later with rolling the dough out.
- Cut into 6 mm (1/4") slices about 60% of the total number of apples. For example if you had 6 apples, slice 4 of them. Slice on all sides till you get to the core.
- Grate the reminder of apples on the large holes of a box grater.
- Combine the sliced and grated apples, honey, lemon juice, and cinnamon in a large sauce pan. Cover the pan and place over medium low heat. Heat until apples give off some juices. Uncover and cook until sliced apples become tender, about 8-10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Transfer to a bowl and cool completely.
- Process the walnuts and sugar in a food processor until nuts are chopped finely.
- Put the walnut/sugar mix together with water into a medium size saucepan. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to boil over medium heat. Continue cooking until a thickened, moist paste is formed, approximately 3 minutes. Don't make it too thick. When cooled off it will become hard and unworkable. Transfer to a new bowl to avoid overcooking and let cool.
- Grind the poppy seeds in small 1/4 cup batches using coffee grinder.
- Into a small size saucepan, add together poppy seeds, sugar, and water. Stir constantly, cooking over medium heat until the water is absorbed and the mixture has thickened into a moist paste, approximately 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.
- Preheat the oven to 205 °C (400 °F) with a rack positioned in the middle of the oven.
- Butter the inside of 30 cm x 20 cm (11 1/2" x 8") baking dish with toll sides.
- On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the first dough portion into a 30 cm x 20 cm (11 1/2" x 8") rectangle. Transfer to the baking dish and spread evenly with the apple filling.
- Roll out the second dough portion into a 30 cm x 20 cm rectangle and place over the apple filling, pressing lightly to make it as flat as possible. Spread the walnut filling on top.
- Roll out the third dough portion into a 30 cm x 20 cm rectangle and fit over the walnut filling, press lightly. Spread the poppy seed filling.
- Roll out the third dough portion into a 30 cm x 20 cm rectangle and fit over the poppy seeds filling, press lightly. Pierce the top dough all over with a fork.
- Beat the egg yolk and cream in a small bowl and brush over the top dough.
- Put the cake in the oven and bake for 10 minutes on 205°C (400°F). Reduce the oven temperature to 175 °C (350 °F) and bake until the top is golden brown, about 50 minutes.
- Transfer to a wire rack and cool in the baking dish for about 15 minutes. Run the sharp knife around the edge, inside the dish. Place a baking sheet over the top and unmold the cake by inverting it. Now place the cooling rack over the cake and invert it back to right side up. Cool completely, at least 2 hours and ideally wrap in plastic wrap and let it sit overnight.
- Using a serrated knife trim off the edges. Cut the dessert into 12 bars and serve at the room temperature.
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