Plum & Grape Hencleș (Transylvanian Cake)
Hencleș is a traditional Transylvanian dessert with Saxon origins. The Transylvanian Saxons were a large ethnic German group that settled in Transylvania, a region of Romania, during the Middle Ages. Most of them emigrated to Germany during the Communist era, but they left a lasting mark on Transylvanian culture and cuisine.
Hencleș is still prepared in many Transylvanian households, usually during the summer and fall months when fruits are in season. Traditionally, Hencleș was made whenever bread was freshly baked in large outdoor ovens, but nowadays, with bread mostly being store-bought, this tradition is maintained by only a few Transylvanians in rural areas.
To make Hencles, some bread dough or cozonac (Romanian sweet bread) is kept by, rolled out, placed in a greased pan (with butter or lard), topped with seasonal fruit, and covered with a mixture of eggs, cream, sugar, and breadcrumbs. It is baked, for a few minutes, left covered by a thin towel, then sliced and served to everyone waiting with bated breath!
Enjoy this traditional Transylvanian cake recipe below!
Plum & Grape Hencleș (Transylvanian Cake)
Ingredients
The dough:
- 150 ml milk
- 4 g dry yeast
- 350 g flour
- 50 ml oil
- 1 egg
- 70 g sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 tsp lemon zest
The semolina cream:
- 5 eggs
- 150 g heavy cream
- 100 g sugar
- 50 g semolina
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 10-12 large pitted plums cut into quarters
- black grapes
Instructions
For the dough:
- Warm the milk (37° C/100° F) and dissolve the yeast.
- Add the flour and the rest of the ingredients and knead by hand (or with the dough hook of a planetary mixer – a crucial gadget for dough!) until you get a stretchy dough.
- Let the dough rise for an hour or until it doubles in volume.
- Roll the dough into a rectangle 0.7-1cm (~1/3 of an inch) thick and place in a tray lined with parchment paper. Place the fruit on top of the dough.
For the semolina cream:
- Whip the eggs and cream. Add the sugar and vanilla essence, and, finally, gradually add the semolina. Homogenize and pour the composition over the fruit.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C/356° C for 30-35 minutes.
- After baking, if you are patient😋, let the hencleș cool, then slice, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Notes
Related: Most Popular Transylvanian Foods to Try Out
Related: Romanian Plum Dumplings
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Related: Romanian Vegan Donuts
Related: Papanasi Recipe
