Chruściki Angel Wings

Chruściki Angel WingsThis favorite Polish pastry has the reputation of being addictive. They have a perfect tender crunch that makes you reach for another one the same way potato chips do...and they're so good that you find yourself not particularly caring that everything around you is getting covered with powdered-sugar fallout. (Also known as faworki, chrust, chrusty or the Americanized spelling krusczyki).

The word chruścik might be related to an old Polish word for twigs or brushwood, which the simply twisted pastry does resemble. (That is certainly better than the wings of the caddisflies which is the direct translation.) They were originally a Pre-Lenten pastery with a hidden agenda: to help use up all those forbidden foods like eggs, fat and sugar before the holiday period started in earnest. Later they seem to have drifted into other holiday traditions as well: some Polish people remember them as a favorite Christmas treat. In some areas of the United States they're known as "angel wings", correctly suggesting how light and delicate they're meant to be.

There are many recipes for these in various cookbooks and drifting around the Web. They seem to fall into two basic categories: those that contain an artificial raising agent like baking powder, and those that don't. The non-raised ones are probably the older and more traditional version, as baking powder is an innovation of the last couple of centuries. The older recipes rely on air trapped in the dough for the unique, bubbly, flaky texture: the heat of the frying causes the air to explode inside the pastry and puff it up as it fries. Lacking the slightly acid taste of baking powder, this version would probably taste better. Additionally, the sometimes use of alcohol in the recipe enhances the puffing effect somewhat, as the volatile alcohol flashes into trapped vapor when the high heat hits it, inflating the pastry further. [Source: EuropeanCuisines.com]

This class will be taught by the Simply Slavic 2011 Baking Contest Winner, our Polish language teacher, Marta Mazur. Born in the seaport city of Gdynia in Northern Poland, Marta comes from generations of talented bakers. We promise this is not a sit and watch class. Students should bring a take-home container and their aprons so they can get their hands in the dough. Each participant in the class will be taking home not just a recipe, but also tips for success and at least one dozen delicious treats.

The class takes place Saturday, May 5 in two sessions: noon and 2 PM at Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church kitchen at 421 Covington St., Youngstown.

Cost: $25 per person. Class size is extremely limited. Call (330) 726-9992 to register.