Krémes, A Hungarian Pastry and a Traveler's Tale

a small work of fiction

Day One: We finally arrived in Europe. It's been a long trip and I'm tired. We're stopping at a late night coffee shop and then going to bed.

Day Two: Coffee shops here aren't anything like at home. We chose one named New York Cafe with the name, of course, sending our thoughts back to America. Weren't we surprised when we entered the castle-like building, stone faces lining the building, watching our every move. We were immediately humbled by the towering archways gilded in gold and the scarlet red velvet chairs dotted with tourists, like ourselves.  Our guide explained that artists and writers throughout history frequented the stunning coffee house. It put those in my home town to shame.

Our tour guide is calling us so I have to keep this entry short. The oddest thing happened upon leaving last night. A waiter grabbed me and whispered "Go to Eger." I checked and it's actually a town in Northern Hungary. Go to Eger, huh? Hmmm I wonder if he mistook me for someone else.

Day Three: I convinced my sister to ditch our tour group for the day. I really wanted some time to myself any way.

After a long bus ride, over two hours, we are here. The scenery and country side was breathtaking. I brought along our tour book....Wineries, Turkish Baths, a place called Valley of Beautiful Women, Art Museums, Castles...mountains. I'm so glad I convinced her to bring our overnight bags. Did I just see that waiter? 

Day Four: It was the waiter! He recognized us and took us on our own personal tour of the area. He's quite engaging, although at times his stare is pretty intense.  He took us to a cafe and we ate what looked like a Napoleon. He said it was called krémes. It had the flakiest pastry crust filled with the most heavenly vanilla cream one could imagine. It was rich and smooth and not overly sweet like in most of our bakeries at home. I wonder if they'll give me the recipe. I'm sure it's a diet killer, but who cares? I'm on vacation holiday. He told me some bakers leave the bumpy side of the pastry facing up so it looks like the Carpathian Mountains.

His name is András by the way...such a great name. It makes me smile. I keep whispering it to myself when he's not looking. 

Day Five: I never want to leave. My sister begged me not to go but this is just too good of an opportunity to pass up. She'll be fine on her own for a day. András has an old family castle about a half hour from here. He asked me to spend the day with him. He said it's a bit in ruins but would be the perfect setting for some alone time.

Day Six: Something's not quite right. I'm not sure what happened last night....so much wine. It was Bikaver...or Bull's Blood was the English translation. The day was wonderful and the ruins of the castle were amazingly romantic. We talked all day but then the night came. The fireplace still worked and he brought blankets. As the moon rose, though... crazy, my memory's a bit sketchy. I just don't feel right. Something happened. I'm really missing my sister. There's an awkward silence now between us. I don't understand. There's the scratches too. He said it was from hiking yesterday, rubbing up against a thorn bush but I'm sure I would have remembered.

Day Ten: My sister still looks worried. I told her I'm more than fine. The scratches have healed and András is history. We are back with the tour group and heading to another region. I still don't feel like myself but I'm sure it's all the traveling. I'm not used to it.

Day Thirty Four: I can't help but stare at the full moon. It reminds me of that night, back in Europe. It's been twenty eight days exactly since I've last seen him. 

Day Thirty Five: What happened last night? 

Day Thirty Seven: The Cafe in Eger sent me a copy of their recipe for the krémes, compliments of András. He enclosed a short note. "Missing me the other night?"

Day Forty: I made the krémes. They were amazingly good. I did miss him the other night.

Day Fifty: Can't sleep. The neighbor's got a new dog that won't stop howling. I miss Europe.

Day Sixty: Got a strange text.. C U Soon ;) Still can't sleep...those dogs!

Day Sixty Three: Covered in scratches and bite marks. What happened?

Thankfully the night was quiet.

....the only other trace she left behind was the recipe...

A missing person's report has been submitted....

In other news, The strange disappearance of one neighborhood's dogs....

We will return after this break......

The Ingredients

1 Sheet Puff Pastry, thawed

1 1/2 cups Half and Half

1/2 cup Whole Milk

1 Vanilla Bean, split, seeds scraped out

5 Egg Yolks 

2/3 cup Sugar

1/3 cup Flour

1 cup Butter, room temperature

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Roll out the sheet of puff pastry with a bit of flour to approximately the size of two sheets of paper (8 1/ 2 x 11)

Divide equally into two even sheets of dough.

Place the pastry sheets on parchment lined baking sheets.

 Bake about 15-20 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown.

Let cool completely.

With a pairing knife, split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Gently run the blade down the inside of the bean, scraping the seeds from their pod.

Add the seeds and the scraped vanilla bean halves along with the half and half and the milk to a sauce pan.

Heat over medium.

Just as little bubbles start to form and whisps of smoke rise from the cream, pull it off the heat.

Do not let it boil.

Meanwhile, combine the eggs and the sugar and beat until the yolks are pale yellow and light and fluffy.

Add the flour and mix well.

Now, with a small measuring  cup, pour small amounts of your steaming milk into the whipped yolks as you constantly whip the mixture.

(Discard the vanilla bean pods.) 

Start by adding a third cup of the milk.

Whip.

Add another third cup.

Whip.

Do this several times, constantly whipping.

Once the mixture is combined, pour it back into the sauce pan.

Use medium heat and whisk while your mixture warms and thickens.

Once it is thickened (between 2-5 minutes), set the mixture aside in a bowl covered with plastic wrap so a film does not form on the top of your cream.

Let cool completely.

Cube the butter and place it in a mixer.

(Your butter must be at room temperature to whip properly. If it isn't, there will be chunks of butter in the finished dessert which is not very appetizing.)

Whip the butter in a mixer until it's light and fluffy.

Slowly add the cooled custard mixture, very small amounts at a time into the whipped butter until everything is well combined.

Choose which baked sheets of pastry will be your tops and bottoms.

Scoop the whipped cream onto one of the pastry sheets and spread it our evenly.

Place the second pastry sheet on top.

Run a spatula along the side of the pastry to smooth the cream.

Slice carefully with a very sharp knife and dust with powdered sugar.