Poppy seed bread pudding (Mákos guba)
Poppy seed bread pudding ( In Hungarian: Mákos guba) is a typical Hungarian dessert. It was originally a Christmas holiday food and was baked in the belief that many poppy seeds will bring good luck and money in the new year. Nowadays, this dessert is made all year round. Dry crescent rolls are mostly used in their preparation, but it is made from baked dough prepared traditionally.
In modern times, many households serve vanilla sauce with poppy seed pudding, making this very delicious, sweet dessert even more refined.
The contentious poppy seed
Poppy seed is a very popular ingredient in Hungary, where it is used as a filler in many dishes, particularly sweets. Other nations, however, restrict its commercialization, and it may only be bought through pharmacies. Despite the fact that opium is acquired from the plant’s unripe cocoon and that poppy seeds have nothing to do with the drug’s manufacture, their intake is nonetheless restricted in some nations for drug-related reasons.
Poppy seed's physiological effects
According to traditional medicine, the high phosphorus concentration of poppy seed oil increases calcium absorption and assimilation into the bones. Poppy seed is strong in calcium and includes a lot of E, C, and B vitamins. It also includes a lot of zinc, which is a cofactor for enzymes that regulate growth and development and plays an important role in immune system support.
The superstition of the poppy seed
Many traditional folk customs in Hungary guaranteed that unmarried females were more readily married. A superstition holds that poppy seeds must be ground on Christmas Day, as marriage will shortly follow. According to superstition grinding poppy seed is beneficial if only for the fact that people who eat poppy seeds, beans, or pumpkins at Christmas will get a lot of money.
Poppy seed bread pudding is not the same anywhere
This cuisine dish may likewise be cooked in as many different ways as there are residences. There are housewives who prepare it without vanilla sauce, others who bake it for a few minutes at the end, and those who just combine poppy seeds, milk, and crescent roll bits. We strive to regulate the juiciness, sweetness, and poppy seed quantity to our liking. I really enjoy poppy seeds (I’m a lover of them) and I believe that eating more poppy seeds twice or three times a year doesn’t hurt!
Poppy seeds, grinded
With a dedicated grinder, you can get exceptionally high-quality ground poppy seeds. Grinding means that the seeds are not just chopped into little bits, but also to extract the oil and obtain a creamy paste as a consequence. Our filling (or in this example, the sugar poppy seeds covering the bread pudding) will be silkier and more flavorful. Of course, if you don’t have access to such a special grinder, you can use our coffee or spice grinder or perhaps a mortar and enjoy the incomparable taste of poppy seed!
Ingredients:
- 8 dry crescent rolls
- 4 cups of milk
- 150 g of ground poppy seeds
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar
- 6 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp vanilla sugar or 1 tbsp extract
- 6 eggs
Steps:
- Cut crescent rolls into slices.
- Mix the ground poppy seeds with the powdered sugar.
- Separate eggs, Stir well yolks with sugar, and vanilla sugar. Boil the milk and mix slowly with the egg yolk mixture.
- Whip egg whites.
- Layer on a baking tray the crescent roll slices, the sweet poppy seeds, and the milky egg yolk. Pour on the top the whipped whites.
- Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 10 minutes.
- Serve with vanilla sauce to taste.
Watch our video about this recipe: