Beigli! Its name comes from the German word beugen ("bend" in English).
Beigli originates from Germany and in Hungary it became a custom to bake Beigli for Christmas in the 19th century during the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Beigli (or sometimes spelled bejgli) is a real Hungarian Christmas treat.
The beigli’s predecessor was probably the Silesian filled challach that was already known in the 16th century. Though it’s more likely that it emerged from the famous Bratislava horseshoe. The first Bratislava horseshoes filled with ground walnuts and poppy seeds were baked in 1559 and became very popular.
This pastry is ubiquitous around Christmas time and you can buy it in any shop or bakery. It is basically a rolled up crust with lots of filling. Walnut and poppy seed are traditional, but nowadays, you can find them filled with chestnut puree or even Nutella.
The two kinds of filling fit in the symbolism of Christmas perfectly because poppy seeds symbolize wealth and fertility, while walnuts protect against bewitching. Today there are many different fillings like chestnuts, marzipan, and even apple, coconut and hazelnut fillings can be found.
Beigli is the theme of the 23rd edition of the Sweet World and if there's something that really annoys me a lot, is the fact of having more than 600 cooking books and, when I need a recipe, that I'm pretty sure to have in one of them,... I can't find it!!
Anyway!! After flicking throughout a few books and not finding any recipe, I did some research on the Internet and I found Beigli recipes with yeasted dough, others with a kind of pastry dough. I found fillings of poppy seeds, walnuts and I also found fillings that called for applesauce and I couldn't decide between any of them.
As I know that Inês has a fantastic "photographic memory", I asked her if she could remember seeing a Beigli recipe in any of our books (yes! Inês is as mad as myself about cooking books and we have, pretty much, the same amount of books...).
Of course, Inês was able to remind me of a few books where I would find a Beigli recipe or something similar and!!! BINGO!!
I found two recipes that pleased me but, when I opened the "It's Always About the Food" book by the fabulous Monday Morning Cooking Club, I couldn't resist this recipe!!
It's not called Beigli! It's called Fladen and, it's made with a fabulous pastry, and it features not one, but three of the fillings that you'd find in the most traditional or more modern versions of the Beigli and I thought: Why making a rouldade filled only with one of the fillings, when I can have something much more interesting?
A Fladen filled with a poppy seed filling, a walnut filling and a fabulous apple compote filling!
It might not be the most traditional Beigli recipe but, let me tell you: It's for sure the most delicious Fladen you'll ever try!
The beigli’s predecessor was probably the Silesian filled challach that was already known in the 16th century. Though it’s more likely that it emerged from the famous Bratislava horseshoe. The first Bratislava horseshoes filled with ground walnuts and poppy seeds were baked in 1559 and became very popular.
This pastry is ubiquitous around Christmas time and you can buy it in any shop or bakery. It is basically a rolled up crust with lots of filling. Walnut and poppy seed are traditional, but nowadays, you can find them filled with chestnut puree or even Nutella.
The two kinds of filling fit in the symbolism of Christmas perfectly because poppy seeds symbolize wealth and fertility, while walnuts protect against bewitching. Today there are many different fillings like chestnuts, marzipan, and even apple, coconut and hazelnut fillings can be found.
Beigli is the theme of the 23rd edition of the Sweet World and if there's something that really annoys me a lot, is the fact of having more than 600 cooking books and, when I need a recipe, that I'm pretty sure to have in one of them,... I can't find it!!
Anyway!! After flicking throughout a few books and not finding any recipe, I did some research on the Internet and I found Beigli recipes with yeasted dough, others with a kind of pastry dough. I found fillings of poppy seeds, walnuts and I also found fillings that called for applesauce and I couldn't decide between any of them.
As I know that Inês has a fantastic "photographic memory", I asked her if she could remember seeing a Beigli recipe in any of our books (yes! Inês is as mad as myself about cooking books and we have, pretty much, the same amount of books...).
Of course, Inês was able to remind me of a few books where I would find a Beigli recipe or something similar and!!! BINGO!!
I found two recipes that pleased me but, when I opened the "It's Always About the Food" book by the fabulous Monday Morning Cooking Club, I couldn't resist this recipe!!
It's not called Beigli! It's called Fladen and, it's made with a fabulous pastry, and it features not one, but three of the fillings that you'd find in the most traditional or more modern versions of the Beigli and I thought: Why making a rouldade filled only with one of the fillings, when I can have something much more interesting?
A Fladen filled with a poppy seed filling, a walnut filling and a fabulous apple compote filling!
It might not be the most traditional Beigli recipe but, let me tell you: It's for sure the most delicious Fladen you'll ever try!
