3 easy Hungarian desserts for your busiest weekdays – RECIPES

Sometimes all we need is a little break from the hectic pace of our everyday lives. Baking or enjoying a sweet treat can come in quite handy when we find ourselves stuck in the greyness of the weekdays. However, most people do not have hours to spare baking fancy multi-layer cakes, right? Here are some easy-to-make dessert ideas that Hungarians adore! These desserts might not be as iconic as the Dobos cake, but they are often the stars of family gatherings and other events.

Bocimobil

The so-called bocimobil can be one of the best options if you would like to bake something for the kids. The word ‘boci’ translates as calf, thus it is only natural that the dessert itself has the pattern of a cow. We can assure you that this dessert will win your heart if you are a lover of Hungarian cottage cheese (túró). Here is the recipe from Mindmegette:

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 1 egg
• 11 tablespoons of cooking oil
• 15 tablespoons of flour
• 11 tablespoons of sugar
• 250 ml of milk
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda

For the cream:

• 250 g Hungarian cottage cheese (túró)
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon of semolina
• 1 packet vanilla sugar
• 5 tablespoons of sugar
• a few drops of lemon juice or grated lemon zest (whichever you prefer)

Preparation:

Mix the ingredients of the dough with a whisk until lump-free. Pour into a baking pan. There is no need to butter or flour the pan, as the dough is oily enough. Then, mix the filling ingredients and scoop them on top of the cake with a spoon to form the cow pattern. Place it in a preheated oven (180-200 degrees Celsius) and bake for 20-25 minutes. If you want your cake to rise properly, you should avoid opening the oven door while baking.

Sport bar

If you have been to a Hungarian shop or supermarket, you have surely seen the iconic Sport bar chocolate wrapped in iconic green and yellow packaging. Well, this sport bar dessert was inspired by the very same chocolate. This dessert is so effortless to make that you do not even have to turn the oven on. Moreover, you probably have the ingredients in your household already. Trust us, it could not get any easier than this one. You can read the original Hungarian recipe on Nosalty.

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 500 g plain biscuits
• 250 g butter
• 200 ml milk
• 200 g cane sugar
• 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 20 ml rum flavouring
• 1 vanilla pod

For the top:

• 150 g dark chocolate
• 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil

NOTE: This recipe can be easily turned vegan by using plant-based butter, and the taste remains just as good.

Preparation:

Grind the biscuits, then mix in the cocoa powder and the vanilla. Heat the butter, milk and sugar until the sugar is completely melted. Add the warm milk mixture to the biscuits, along with the rum flavouring and mix thoroughly. Roll out the dough into a baking tin lined with baking paper. When choosing the baking tin, you should consider how thick you want your slices to be. Leave to dry in a cool place (you can put it in the fridge too, but do not freeze it) for 1-2 hours. After that, melt the chopped chocolate over a steam and add the oil. Coat the top of the dessert and wait for the glaze to set. After the glaze is completely set, you can slice your sweet treat and enjoy it.

Mákos guba

Mákos guba, or poppy seed bread, is the definition of the traditional Hungarian comfort food. Growing up, our grandmothers prepared freshly made mákos guba for dinner. Again, this recipe does not require many ingredients. Moreover, it can be a leftover saver if you already have some crescent rolls (kifli) at home that you would like to use. The recipe is very simple and takes a maximum of 30 minutes to prepare:

Ingredients:

• 1 litre of milk
• 2 packets of vanilla sugar
• 1 lemon
• 200 g ground poppy seeds
• 150 g icing sugar
• 9 crispy crescent rolls (kifli)

Preparation:

The first step is to start heating the milk. Add the vanilla sugar and the grated zest of the lemon, which has been thoroughly washed and wiped. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat. Mix the ground poppy seed and icing sugar well. Then, slice the crescent rolls and start layering in a baking dish. Lay down a row of the rolls, drizzle a generous amount of vanilla milk over them, and then sprinkle the poppy seed mixture on top.

Continue layering until all the ingredients are used up, then bake in a preheated oven at 185 degrees Celsius for 20-25 minutes. You may serve it with icing sugar sprinkled on top. However, every home has its traditions: some like to eat mákos guba with vanilla cream, jam, or honey on top.

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