Chimney Cake Making Class

Again I was woken by the noise of dustbins being moved, but at least it was at 6.30 today - and I had slept until then 😀.

I had a leisurely morning, writing and editing photos. At around 12.30, I left the apartment to go to a cooking class I'd booked.

It was a bit of a mission to find the cookery school! The first tram I got on was going the wrong way. I got off the second a couple of stops early. The third got me to my destination, but I still got lost. What should have been a 5-minute walk turned into 20 minutes 😀. As usual, I had left myself plenty of time, so I still got there early!

The class was a Chimney Cake workshop. I thought that these cylindrical pastries, known as Trdelnik in Czech, are a local delicacy, but apparently, they are Hungarian! Our teacher was Lucy, and our group was made up of a school group from Switzerland, an Austrian couple, two ladies from Basingstoke, and me.

It was a fun class, and very interesting to learn the technique. The dough had been pre-made for us as it had to prove, but we kneaded and shaped it under Lucy's expert tuition. We then wrapped it around special wooden moulds on long skewers, re-rolled our cakes to close all the gaps, brushed them with oil, coated them in sugar, and put them in a specially designed proving oven. They rotated on their skewers until they were doubled in size. We then transferred them to a hot oven, where they cooked on a rotisserie until they were dark brown. We then had a choice of toppings to add. I chose walnuts, as the least sweet option. Lastly, it was the tricky task of removing the cake from the mould and leaving it to cool. Several boys in the school group lost theirs at this stage! Once cool, we were able to bag our cake, get our certificate of competence, and leave the class. I took my certificate because it had the recipe on the back - not that I have the necessary equipment to make them at home!

I ate mine later sitting in a park. It was nice, but I wouldn't be in a rush to have another! They are sold all over the city, often filled with combinations of fruit syrup, nutella, ice cream, and whipped cream. They look extremely sickly!

From the class, I walked through New Town down to the river, passing so much amazing architecture on the way. Prague sustained very little damage during World War II, and in the early 1990s, its historic centre was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Both of these factors have preserved Prague's historic buildings.

At the river, I stopped to photograph Tancici Dum, also known as the Dancing House. It's an extraordinary piece of modern architecture, looking almost as though the building is twisting and swaying! Designed by architects Vlado Milunić and Frank Gehry and completed in 1996, it was inspired by the famous dancing partnership of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The solid, curved stone tower represents Fred, while the glass tower appears to lean towards him like Ginger in a flowing dress. The building stands on the site of a house destroyed during the bombing of Prague in 1945, and its construction was supported by former Czech president Václav Havel, who had lived nearby. Unsurprisingly, such an unconventional design caused quite a controversy when it was first built, particularly among Prague's beautiful historic architecture, but it has since become one of the city's best-known modern landmarks. I didn't venture inside, but I've discovered that it houses offices, a hotel, an art gallery and a rooftop restaurant and terrace offering panoramic views of the city. For me, the attraction was definitely the exterior. It's such a wonderfully quirky building, and a fascinating contrast to the medieval Prague I've spent so much time exploring!

My next stop was at the Globe Bookshop and Café, an English book seller with a highly rated restaurant. I enjoyed looking round, but I didn't need anything to eat or drink at this stage. Canni messaged me to ask if I wanted to meet up, but we were in different parts of the city and it didn't work out. She leaves for Vienna in the morning. I wished her well and hope that our paths cross again one day.Read more