It wouldn’t be a traditional Hungarian Christmas without bejgli! The delicious pastry log is a favourite with everyone – especially when the filling is generous and the pastry thin. If the wish is to pamper your guests with something other than the usual poppy seed or walnut varieties, this chestnut – dried fruit version will not disappoint!
Ingredients:
Pastry: (2 logs)
- 300 g flour
- 3 g salt
- 30 g powdered sugar
- 120 g butter
- 90 g milk
- 6 g yeast
- 1 egg yolk
Filling:
- 400 g chestnut paste (flavoured with rum and powdered sugar to taste)
- 160 g finely chopped dried fruit
Combine the ingredients for the pastry thoroughly, then place the dough on a board in two identical mounds. Wrap in plastic foil and allow to rest in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. In the meantime, prepare the filling, removing the pastry dough from the refrigerator one half hour before use. Combine the chestnut paste with a small quantity of rum and powdered sugar, as desired. Finely chop the dried fruit.
Roll out the pastry dough into two rectangles. Spread the chestnut filling over the dough and sprinkle with the dried fruit pieces. Folding the edges of the dough up carefully, roll the bejgli into two logs. Brush with egg yolk and allow to rest, then brush with egg white. Once the egg is dry, bake for 35 minutes at 180 degrees.
Tip:
Bejgli should always be made with clean hands and the resting time for the dough copiously respected! To give the surface that shiny, marbled look, brush first with egg yolk, allow to dry, then brush with egg white, placing the pastry in the oven only when the glaze has dried completely.
