Karcagi Ferdinánd – this is the name of these soft vanilla-butter snails that stick together into a round cake form during baking. It’s wrapped in mystery who the pastry was named after, a possible nominee could be Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Ferdinánd’s recipe came from Upper Hungary (Felvidék) and was baked and served for the first time in a wedding reception in Karcag in 1923.

Karcag is a smaller town in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county and the center of the Nagykunság (Great Cumania), which is a part of the Kunság, a historical and geographical region named after a nomadic tribe who formed a confederation with the Kipchaks that settled the area. Mutton stew and Ferdinánd are the typical and well-known dishes of the local gastronomy.

Karcagi Ferdinánd resembles wasp nest, but instead of walnut the rolls are filled with vanilla flavoured butter. The snails are not baked separately, but placed close to each other to form a cake after they are done.

Ferdinánd is baked in a rondeau pan; because of the high butter content of the pastry springform round cake pan wouldn’t be a good choice since it tends to leak, and it would be a sin to let even a drop of melted butter go to waste.  Brushing the top with hot sweetened cream after 30 minutes of baking is an important step as cream makes the pastry particularly soft and spongy.