Mákos guba is a mystical food: it’s dry and soggy, salty and sweet at the same time. It’s a dessert, but it’s often served as a main dish after hearty soups. But one thing is sure: it’s a remarkable member of the Hungarian culinary from the 19th century, and it’s a traditional dish of Christmas Eve supper.

Poppy seed bread pudding can be prepared in different ways, from the cheap, average recipes till the sophisticated artworks of haute cuisine. Though mákos guba is generally made with bakery crescents, advanced cooks quite often choose sweet bread instead, “fanatics” go beyond that and bake their own brioche like pastry. Whatever you use, it has to be stale enough in order to be able to absorb the liquid without getting oversoaked.

The soaking liquid can be plain hot milk sweetened with sugar or honey, or you can cook a créme anglaise, a pouring vanilla custard consisting of milk, sugar and egg yolks. Poppy seeds have to be finely and freshly ground if possible, because the taste of fresh and pre-packed ground poppy seeds can’t be mentioned in the same breath.

Discarding excess egg whites is a waste; therefore, many people (me too) who cook a custard for soaking also use up the egg whites by topping mákos guba with a meringue. The bread pudding can be baked in the oven, or you can toast the drenched slices of crescents/sweet bread in butter on the gas stove.