Hollow spit-roasted dough rolled in sugar and walnuts — Prague's iconic street pastry, golden and crisp.
Trdelník is the smell of Prague's Christmas markets: yeasted dough wrapped around a wooden spit, rolled in cinnamon-sugar and walnuts, and roasted over open flame until the outside is crisp and golden and the inside is tender. Originally Slovak/Hungarian and only recently popularised as a Czech street food, it has become inseparable from Prague tourism — though purists debate its authenticity.
Serves 6
Combine flour, sugar, salt, yeast. Add milk, butter, egg, vanilla, zest. Knead 8 min until smooth. Cover and rise 1 hour until doubled.
Combine sugar, cinnamon and walnuts on a flat plate or tray.
Wrap 6 wooden rolling pins or thick cylinders in foil, spray lightly with oil. (Or use specialty trdelník moulds.)
Punch down dough. Divide into 6 portions. Roll each into a long rope about 50 cm long and 1 cm thick.
Wind each rope around a foil-covered cylinder in a tight spiral, pressing gently so the coils touch. Pinch ends to secure.
Brush wound dough with melted butter. Roll in sugar-walnut coating, pressing gently.
Place cylinders on a wire rack over a baking tray. Bake at 200°C/390°F for 18–20 minutes, rotating once, until deeply golden.
Cool 5 min, then slide off the cylinders carefully — they come off cleanly when properly oiled. Eat warm.
Make sure dough rope coils touch each other — they bake together into a chimney shape.
Eat fresh — they go stale within hours.
Fill with Nutella, ice cream or whipped cream for the modern Prague version
Use almonds or hazelnuts instead of walnuts
Add 1 tsp cardamom to the dough for Scandinavian-style version
Best within 4 hours. Reheat briefly in oven 180°C for 3 min — never microwave.
Trdelník's exact origins are disputed — claimed by Hungarians (kürtőskalács), Slovaks (trdelník) and Romanians (kürtős). It became massively associated with Prague through tourism only in the 2000s; older Czechs find this amusing as it isn't traditionally Czech. Nonetheless, it's now inseparable from the city's image.
Wrap thick wooden rolling pins or even glass bottles tightly in oiled foil.
Yes — old-style trdelník is empty inside. Modern Prague versions fill with cream/ice cream.
Per serving · 6 servings total
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