No walnut? No Problem! Life beyond the walnut bejgli

November is around the corner, and that means the Christmas preparation period is officially starting. However, walnut production in Hungary only reaches half of the average of the last 10 years.

This year, 3,500 tons of walnuts were produced nationwide, which is half the average of the last decade. Accoding to 24.hu, the biggest damage was caused by pests and frost in May. Because of these and the rapidly rising cost of human resources, the price of walnuts is constantly rising.

As a result, the consumer price of quality walnut kernel may rise to over HUF 4,000 in the weeks before Christmas.

There is nothing to worry about, though, as there are plenty of other fillings to fill bejgli, the classic Christmas dessert in Hungary. The most obvious choice for the filling is poppy seeds. However, with the exception of poppy seed and walnut filling, there are plenty of options from which everyone can choose the one that best suits their taste. The possibilities are endless. Just to name a few: cherries, cottage cheese with raisins, almond marzipan, chestnuts, apple cinnamon, cocoa, and my favourite: coconut. Let’s look at the recipe for this.

Ingredients (for 2 rolls):

• 500 grams of fine flour
• 100 grams of margarine
• 60 grams of fat
• 40 grams of powdered sugar
• 10 grams of yeast
• 200 millilitres of milk
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 larger egg

The filling

• 50 grams of milk powder
• 200 grams of coconut shavings
• 2 packets of vanilla sugar
• 20 grams of butter
• 250 millilitres of milk
• 1 tablespoon fine flour
• 1 pinch of salt
• 50 grams of sugar
• 50 grams of chocolate.

Plus 1 egg for coating.

Directions