A few years ago, a very dear friend gave me a Hungarian cookbook that had once belonged to her grandmother. My gram was Hungarian, but never met a recipe she wanted to follow or write down, so this book has been my next best reference whenever I get homesick for the meals she used to make.
That goes some way towards explaining how I found myself paging though it on a recent 25 degree day, sick and cold and thinking of nothing but the comfort of soup with dumplings. However, a yellowing bookmark was still tucked into its pages marking off the recipe for Hungarian Love Letters and, what can I say? The antihistamines had me lulled into a sentimental mood, and with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, the next thing I knew I was baking.
Though the idea of rolling out dough into very thin sheets initially filled me with serious dread, I have to say that this dough was fascinatingly easy to work with. It doesn’t stick (as long as the counter is floured) while rolling or even hint at breaking when picked up. I was not moved to foul language even once during the assembly process. So bake with confidence! If I can do it, I suspect most will have no issue.
Why, yes, that *is* a lot of butter; it will be worth it.
I also used my food processor a lot. I’m sure you can make this with a pastry cutter and a box grater just like grandma used to do in the old country but (see above about the foul language) I’m glad I had mechanical assistance.
In the golden light of the late afternoon, when all that flaky goodness was served with hot tea, it felt like a love letter indeed.
Hungarian Love Letters/Szerelmes Level
adapted from Flavors of Hungary : Recipes and Memoirs
For the pastry
2 2/3 cups AP flour
1 1/4 cups butter, cubed
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
1/2 cup cold milk
For the filling
3.5 oz walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup raisins
2 lbs green apples
1 egg, beaten, for wash
Place flour and butter cubes in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until butter is broken down into coarse bits. Beat egg and yolk into the milk and, with the processor running, add this mixture to the flour and butter. Turn dough out onto the counter and work any remaining dry bits in with your hands until a smooth dough is formed. Divide into three equal pieces, flatten each into inch-thick ovals, and wrap with plastic. Refrigerate for three hours.
In a medium bowl, mix walnuts, sugar, graham cracker crumbs, and cinnamon. Peel, core, and shred apples. Preheat over to 350F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment. Remove chilled dough one piece at a time and roll out into a thin sheet (mine was 11×14). Place dough on baking sheet and top it with two-thirds of the nut and crumb mixture. Sprinkle raisins evenly over top. Roll out and top with second layer of dough. Squeeze excess juice from shredded apples and distribute over the top of the second dough sheet, then sprinkle remaining nut mixture evenly over the fruit. Roll out the final piece of dough and lay it over top.
Using a bench knife or similar, square up the edges of the dough and discard excess. Generously brush pastry with egg wash. Using a fork, punch lines into the top of the pastry. I divided mine into 12 squares and punched out the lines along those division, to vent the pastry and aide in cutting them through after baking.
Bake for 35 minutes or until evenly browned. Place on a wire rack and cool completely. Serving this with a bit of freshly whipped cream would not be a bad idea.
This is absolutely divine. the pastry, graham, walnuts, raisins and apples.
WhenI’m homesick I make pierogi :) Interesting recipe!
I tried my hand at pierogi making once and would love to do it again. Do you have a favorite recipe?
I actually made this and it was WONDERFUL!. The crust was light and flaky and the sweetness was just right. It was a little time consuming, but so worth it! Thank you for posting.
Excellent!! I’m so glad you came back to report your success. I had kind of a similar reaction to the pastry when it came out of the oven all browned and flaky. I think I’m might have even said out loud to no one in particular, “It worked! It worked!” since this was the first time I’d tried it.
Is there any way you can describe what the dough was like before the 3 hours of refrigeration? I tried making these last night but had to stop at the refrigeration point. I’m hoping my dough turns out right and that it was ok to refrigerate overnight. Thanks!
Hi Jayel. I expect you will be fine. This will be a lot like any pastry dough, but slightly…drier, I guess I’d say. Even the large-but-thin sheet was really easy to pick up and move without it tearing or bunching. I would try and roll your dough right out of the fridge and if it’s simply too hard, let it lose just a bit of it’s chill and roll as soon as you can get it to cooperate. Also, flour your pin and counter as needed.
Before I put the dough in the fridge I’d say it was much like any pie crust dough.
[…] I saw these pastries over at Wonderland Kitchen, I knew I had to try and make them. They’re such perfect looking packages of yumminess! They […]
Awww, nagyon kellemes volt belefutni ebbe a receptbe :) // I was very happy when I find this receipt. :)
Is the butter cold or room temperature when you mix it for the dough?
Hi Tiffany: The butter is very cold, just as if you are making a pie crust.
Thank you!
My pleasure. Please let us know how they turn out for you if you try the recipe.
I definitely will! I haven’t got a food processor, so it should be interesting!
Hi, this looks amazing! I’m wondering what you actually do with the edges? Just trim them all so they are even or do you actually pinch them closed so the filling doesn’t ooze out?
Thanks, Debra. My top layer was a little larger than the rest (and they were all naturally uneven from the rolling), so I just cut straight down along each edge with my bench knife to remove the excess dough. This did effectively gently pinch it closed at the same time (more or less–you can see in the photo above that it poofed back up somewhat) and provide neatly squared off edges.
I, too, have a copy of the “Flavors of Hungary” by Charlotte Slovak Biro. My father’s family is Hungarian and I grew up eating a lot of good Hungarian food curtesy of my grandmother who loved to feed us! : ) In the copy of the cookbook that I have, it lists the amount of sugar as 3/4 c. and the raisins as 1/2 c. Do you think it matters much? (my grandmother and aunts never wrote their recipes down either, hense my reason for buying this cookbook, too)
That’s what my cookbook says, too. I probably just balked at the amount of sugar (kinda silly, considering all that butter) and so made that substitution.
Can I substitute the AP for a non-gluten flour? Any I shouldn’t use? I was thinking of coconut flour
I’m not sure how well a non-gluten flour would serve you here (no experience), esp. since it’s such a flaky product. If you experiment, however, I’d love to find out about successful options!
My Mum used to make this for my dad at xmas time. When she made it, it took her about 5 hours. She had a few more steps than your recipe… the pastry was folded over on itself and pinned out again to make it flakier, there were 3 levels with just apple and and zest on the top layer, and the pastry criss-crossed on the top layer. She also baked the bottom 2 layers halfway before putting the apples (sliced 1/8th inch thin), zest, and top layer on. Like yours the top pastry was washed with egg white, but you could see the apple slices through the pastry because it was so buttery and so thin ie if the apple slices were words, you could read them.