Mucenici Moldovenesti (Romanian Walnut-Coated Pastries)
Every year on the 9th of March, Romanians celebrate a tradition that evolved from the story of the forty martyrs of Sebaste, which is now in present-day Turkey.
The forty were Roman soldiers in the year 320 who were openly Christian and they were left out in the cold to freeze to death or recant their Christianity. The celebration of the forty martyrs commonly kick-starts the agricultural year and is a day when traditional Romanian smallholders clean up with households and courtyards and burn all the rubbish.
These sweet pastries, typically in the form of a figure eight (said to represent the human body), are made and eaten around the country on the 9th of March, although their form differs from region to region. Moldavian ‘mucenici’ are larger and coated in nuts and honey, whilst their Dobrogean counterparts are smaller and boiled in water, sugar, walnuts and cinnamon.
I had only eaten them once before, and those were ones from a shop and a bit bready and dry, but I was very pleased with how these ones turned out – soft and fluffy inside, with a slight crispiness to the exterior, and of course the crunch of the nuts and sticky goodness of the syrup.
The rolls are incredibly fluffy, have a subtle honey flavor and are covered in a generous layer of walnuts. Delicious!
Mucenici Moldovenesti (Romanian Walnut-Coated Pastries)
Ingredients
The dough:
- 250 ml whole milk
- 7 g dry yeast
- 75 g sugar
- 2 eggs
- lemon zest
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 500 g cake flour type 000
- 70 g butter
For the assembly and serving:
- 1 egg
- 50 ml honey
- 100 g ground walnuts
Instructions
The dough:
- Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature. Warm the milk slightly.
- Mix the lukewarm milk with the dry yeast and set it aside for 10 minutes to activate the yeast.
- Add the eggs one at a time, whisk, then add the flavorings (vanilla essence and lemon zest).
- Gradually fold in the flour and knead for a few minutes by hand.
- Add the soft butter and continue kneading until you have a compact and very elastic dough.
- If you have a planetary mixer, follow the steps above and knead with the dough hook. I can honestly say that for me, who has been cooking for need and pleasure for so long, a planetary mixer is lifesaving. So, I highly recommend a planetary mixer, whether it’s Kitchen Aid (number one in the top), Thermomix (which is so much more than a planetary mixer) or a different brand.
- Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl/food container and leave to rise for 1 hour or until it doubles its volume.
- When the dough has doubled its volume, turn it out onto a floured surface, shape it into a ball and divide it into equal parts, which you then shape into balls.
- Punch a hole in the middle of each dough ball and widen it until you get a donut shape. Twist the donut into a figure eight. This is a Moldavian mucenic. Place them in a baking pan lined with parchment paper, leave at room temperature for another 20 minutes. You can also shape them according to the attached photo.
- In the meantime heat the oven to 180° C/ 356° F, no fan
Assembling, baking & serving:
- Brush the rolls with egg and bake at 180° C/ 356° F for 30-35 minutes.
- While they are still warm, brush them with honey and sprinkle with ground walnut mixed with some sugar (optional).
- A glass of cold milk is the lifelong friend of these Moldavian rolls!
- Enjoy!
Notes
