After public demand, we went to the history of the chimney cake, but now we may be more confused than ever. The exact origin of this popular sweet is still blurred.
We continue to discuss the delicious theme, chimney, that we started in our previous article. Have you ever talked about the origin of the name and the appearance of the recipes, but what about the origin of the cake?
Is the chimney cake really a Huungarian sweet?
As with almost every traditional dish, chimneys cake have a history of origin. According to one of the earliest times, even the conquering Hungarians have the divine basic recipe: when our ancestors captured flour and eggs during their raids, the women kneaded the dough. It was wrapped around the horns, and then overheated by the fire, the legend is the name of the chimney.
According to another story, the sweetness of a Szekler woman is due to the ingenuity, and the chimney cake is linked to the period of the Tartarian invasion:
“According to the most popular legend, the origin of the chimney cake is related to the Tatar invasion. As the Tatar armies approached after the initial resistance, the population of Szeklerland looked better to escape. There were some who fled to the mountains, while others found refuge in the caves of Budvar and Rez. And the Tatarians, knowing that they were not able to attack or lure those in the safe and inaccessible hiding place, decided to steal the Szekelys. This was the case for a long time, until the Tatar and the Szekely ran out of food. Then a clever Szekler woman tied up the remaining flour, mixed it with ash, and baked huge cakes that were dragged onto the dorong or high posters and pointed to the Tartars: “Look how good we live here while you are hungry.” they hungered, they went away annoyed. ”
The Hungarian nobility was already in the 18th century. They’re discovered themself in the 19th century
Thanks to the continuous transformation and perfection of the recipe, the chimney cake is already in the XVIII. It became one of the popular pastries of the Hungarian nobility by the 19th century. The chimney was served to the guests mainly in weddings or other church holidays.
The XIX-XX. By the 19th century, the chimney cakehad already had a serious fan camp, and it was not only the privilege of aristocracy, it was also common among the people. Although it was originally considered to be a festive sweetness, it has become an ordinary cake over time. By the way, Nyisztor Tinka – Weekdays and Holidays: His work on Ethnography of the Moldavian Hungarians also testifies:
“… The charcoal is pulled out of the tank, pulls out the chimney cake oven and makes a cakes. It used to be made for the baptismal feast and other festive occasions in Pusztina…. beside it there was a panic and a chimney cake, nowadays they only bake ”pancakes” made of noodles. ”
When the great chimney cake was passed to the top
Although the chimney cake has been an integral part of Hungarian gastronomy for centuries, it has been a four-year international debate around it. It happened that in 2015, Romania’s candidate for the post of Minister of Agriculture wanted to register the chimney cake in the European Union as a Romanian sweet, which caused serious storms both in Hungary and in the Szeklerland.
That is why the Hungarian Hungaricum Committee continued the process of declaring one of the unique Hungarian cakes to be a hungaricum at an unprecedented speed. As a first step on January 29, 2015, the confectionery was picked up at the Hungarian Depository, and with the end of the year the chimney cake became a hungaricum only during a two-week negotiation process on December 3, 2015.
According to the official justification, the Hungaricum trademark was awarded with the speed of hungarian, because the Hungaricum Committee regards this candy as part of the Transylvanian, Szeklely and Hungarian identity. In the Commission’s view, the chimney cake reflects the creativity of the old kitchen and is a symbol of Hungarian identity in Transylvania. But whatever it is, it is indisputable that the chimney cake is very, very delicious!