Monday, September 1, 2014

Kakaós Csiga: Hungarian Chocolate Snails

Since I love Cinnamon Rolls and I love chocolate, a year and a half ago I made some attempts to bake Chocolate Rolls. I was never satisfied with the results, so I decided to stick with Cinnamon Rolls.
Today I came across a Buzzfeed post listing "32 Hungarian Foods the Whole World Should Know and Love." I scrolled through lots of delicious-looking foods, but stopped when I saw a photo of a chocolate roll, labeled Kakaós Csiga (Chocolate Snails).
I wasn't planning to make rolls today, but plans can change!
 After reading a few recipes, it appears that Kakaós Csiga is like Cinnamon Rolls, except with a chocolate filling and powdered sugar sprinkled on top instead of glaze.
I decided to use my own tried-and-true roll dough, as each recipe I looked at had similar doughs.
The typical filling seems to be generous amounts of melted butter spread on the rolled-out dough, topped with a mixture of unsweetened cocoa and sugar. Some recipes called for powdered sugar. Some added a little cinnamon. I used granulated sugar, as in the recipe one person found in a 100 year old Hungarian cookbook.
Someone else told how Kakaós Csiga originated:

Kakaós csiga is a Hungarian pastry that is just over a 100 years old.  Mór Pösch is the first baker that created the kakaós csiga in Göd, Hungary. He created this sweet to celebrate his 33rd birthday in 1908. It is a very popular pastry in Hungary and is enjoyed by kids that grab one from a bakery on the way to school and by anyone just craving a delicious chocolate pastry.
Most recipes call for pouring milk, or milk with added sugar or melted butter, on the rolls part way through the baking. I couldn't determine how much to use, so I left out this part.
The photos I saw show the rolls not touching each other. Apparently it is traditional to turn out the end of the roll to be the snail's head. But I like my rolls really soft, so I spaced them the way I do for Cinnamon Rolls, where they touch each other after baking.
So here's the recipe:

Kakaós Csiga (Hungarian Chocolate Snails)

Make Aunt Betty's Sweet Roll Dough, except use ½ C sugar. After it has risen, pat it out into a rectangle.
Spread 3 or 4 Tbsp. melted butter on top.
Mix together, then sprinkle on top:
6 tablespoons Dutch cocoa powder (unsweetened)
12 tablespoons sugar
It looks like a lot, but it works!
Roll up the dough; slice into ¾-1 inch widths; place rolls on buttered baking sheet. Cover; let rise for about 45 minutes.
Bake in preheated oven, about 20 minutes at 350°F, until lightly browned.
After baking, sprinkle powdered sugar on top.
Delicious!
A note about unsweetened cocoa:
For years I used Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa, in baking and in my daily cup(s) of cocoa. A couple of months ago, I noticed that the cocoa was a slightly lighter color. Also, it didn't taste as rich or complex as it had. Comparing cocoa by expiration dates, I narrowed down where the change took place. I emailed the people at Ghiradelli. In part, this was their response:
In response to your inquiry, our Unsweetened Cocoa has changed.  We are using a different type of cocoa to manufacture the product.
They've left me out in the cold! I've long since stopped using Hershey's or Nestle's cocoa. I'm hoping that Trader Joes or Costco, both coming to the Syracuse area soon, have cocoa as good as Ghirardelli's was, at a similar price. I'm afraid to try cocoa the quality of Scharffen Berger, because it is so expensive.
The cocoa I used in the rolls was some I bought at Sauder's. It has an interesting flavor, but I'm still looking for a replacement for Ghirardelli's Unsweetened Cocoa.