This country’s rustic doughnut offshoot is worthy of a trip on its own

Confession time: while some have a fondness for delicate European pastries, say a French eclair or a Viennese strudel, my weakness is the humble Hungarian chimney cake or kürtoskalacs.

Wound around a wooden spool, rolled in sugar, cooked over hot coals and dusted in cinnamon, vanilla and walnut, it’s the spit-roasted dessert that fuels a nation. Such is my passion, I’ve dedicated our second-last day in Budapest – the final port of our 11-day “Passage to Eastern Europe” river cruise aboard Viking Lofn – to finding the best.

Szentendre from the air.Credit: iStock

Which brings me to confession number two: I’ve chosen today’s shore excursion to the town of Szentendre on the hunch that, by leaving the city behind, I’m more likely to find a rustic, regional-inspired chimney cake. My husband, who is an amateur metal sculptor, thinks we are going primarily for the art galleries, which the town is famous for. Hopefully, for the sake of marital harmony, we’ll manage both.

And that’s the trick to selecting a shore-excursion – choose one that suits a dichotomy of interests. Better still if it doesn’t entail a long coach trip (45 minutes to Szentendre), doesn’t take all day (four hours) and offers a mix of organised activities (Margit Kovacs Museum) and ample free time (chimney cakes!).

I smell it before I see it; a sugary aroma that drifts along the cobblestones, skirts the outdoor sculptures and slips between the sherbet-coloured buildings, pulling me ever forward like a cartoon character floating towards a pie.

The ever-tempting Hungarian chimney cake.Credit: iStock

Unlike commercial chimney cakes sold in cities – which often come pre-packaged in plastic bags (the horror) – these caramelised cones of goodness are being spun on wooden “rolling pins” over glowing coals on an 18th-century laneway. Part street theatre, part craftsmanship, our burly armed cook draws a crowd with each spin of the pins.

“Traditionally, we never put ice-cream or fruit in them,” explains our guide Gabriella Farks, as we continue our walking tour of the riverside town. “We prefer them served hot and fresh.”

As we stroll, past the indigo-blue dye shop and a store selling hats made from mushrooms, we tear away at our spiral cakes. Unravelling like a coiled strip of orange peel the texture is at once fluffy and crunchy.

If a brioche and a doughnut had a love child, this would be it.

The love child of brioche and a doughnut.Credit: iStovck

Next stop, the Margit Kovacs Museum, home to more than 300 works, which the artist herself donated to the town. Considered to be the innovator of Hungarian ceramic art, Margit Kovacs (1902-1977) was drawn to the bohemian nature of Szentendre, a hangout for artists and creatives since the 1920s when an artist’s colony was established here.

Inside, we follow a timeline of her life, from her early years as a student to her exhibitions at the Venice Biennale. While her sculptures of peasant women and rural Hungarian life speak volumes, Kovacs’ survival through both the Holocaust (she was Jewish) and Soviet occupation prove that her art was so widely revered it transcended politics.

Time passes easily as we are guided through the Exhibition of the Hands, where copies of Kovacs’ sculptures can be touched by both vision-impaired and sighted visitors. The exhibition On Life and Death is a study in grief drawn from the loss of her own mother. A poignant finale to our brief encounter with this remarkable woman.

Street scene in Szentendre.Credit: iStock

Back outside in the sunshine we have free time to sit at a cafe under a canopy of coloured umbrellas, to marvel at the Baroque architecture, to wander in and out of galleries. And finally, to enjoy an included treat from the well-known confectionary store Szelet Cukraszda.

Soon we’ll be back in Budapest, exploring the delights of one of Europe’s greatest cities, but for now we are content to indulge in this sweet slice of village life, with a serve of art on the side.

Final confession: the writer may have held up the coach sneaking back for a second chimney cake.

The writer travelled as a guest of Viking Cruises.

THE DETAILS

CRUISE
Viking Cruises’ 11-day Passage to Eastern Europe river journey from Bucharest to Budapest, or vice versa, is priced from $7895 a person in a Standard stateroom. Includes return economy flights on 2025 and 2026 journeys if booked before March 28, 2024. Phone: 138 747. See viking.com

FLY
Qatar Airways flies from Sydney and Melbourne to Bucharest or Budapest via its Doha, Qatar, hub. See qatarairways.com