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

1. For the dough, the granulated sugar is added to the lukewarm milk, and then comes the yeast.
2. Crush the flour with the sugar, margarine, and fat, then add the eggs and yeast, then knead.
3. Cover it in a saran wrap and let it rest for 1 hour in a cool place.
4. Until then, prepare the filling: start to heat the milk in a pan, and when it is already steaming, set it aside and mix it in the milk powder.
5. Then add the vanilla sugar, the desired amount of sugar, a pinch of salt, the flour, and the coconut shavings.
6. Put it back on the stove and cook while stirring until it thickens.
7. Set it aside and wait for it to cool.
8. After resting, knead the dough on a floured board and divide it into two equal parts.
9. One portion of the dough is spread out on a floured baking paper into a rectangle about 3-4 millimetres thick.
10. Spread out half of the cooled filling, sprinkle it with chopped pieces of chocolate, and roll it up tightly.
11. The resulting roll, along with the baking paper, is transferred to the baking sheet, the top is coated with eggs and pricked in several places with a fork so that the steam can escape.
12. Do the same with the other portion of the dough.
13. Place the rolls in a preheated oven at 175 degrees Celsius, where it is ready in 35-40 minutes. Once baked, wait until it has cooled completely and only then slice it.