Aranygaluska is a Hungarian Jewish dessert, generally baked for Purim. The name aranygaluska literally means “golden dumpling” and by the 1880s, this dessert was being referred to in Hungarian literature. Hungarians who immigrated to the US brought this dish with them, which became popular nation-wide when Hungarian and Hungarian Jewish bakeries began selling it in the middle of the 20th century.
The recipe for aranygaluska, which was referred to “Hungarian Coffee Cake”, was published in the United States in 1972, by Betty Crocker. Nancy Regan popularized this dessert when she served it in the White House for Christmas.
Aranygaluska is often confused with monkey bread, in which the balls of dough are not dipped in ground walnuts and sugar, but only in butter. Aranygaluska consist of balls of yeast dough that are dipped in melted butter, and then rolled in a mixture of sugar and ground walnuts, assembled into layers before being baked till golden. It’s usually served with vanilla custard, but Jews eat it with white wine apple sauce.
2 Comments