Cultures all around the world have been using desserts and pastries as a way to express artistry and skill for centuries. This has never been more prevalent than with the dessert chefs in countries in and around Europe. The designs of desserts and pastries have been elevated greatly in many of those areas. Some of the pastries, cookies and sweet delicacies take on the appearance of finely produced works of art. They sometimes are used as centerpieces for tables or other displays. Large competitions and expositions are regularly held for people who can create desserts that look and taste amazing. One area that some people might not realize partakes in this is Hungary.
It turns out that Hungary has a dessert traditional unique to the country. It combines some traditional art forms with conventional gingerbread cookies made in the area for hundreds of years now. Hungary is known for embroidery. It was originally seen on clothes, handkerchiefs and blankets long ago. It developed into a standalone art where people would just embroider fabrics with the intention of hanging them on a wall like a painting. Those skilled embroiderers took great pride in every piece that was completed no matter how small or simple the design.
Chefs found a way to translate the beauty and delicate designs of the embroidery to dessert dishes. Skilled chefs are using icing to replicate the look and feel of traditional Hungarian embroidery on cakes and cookies. The results are striking and impressive. They look like the type of dessert cookies that would be served exclusively to royalty or billionaires although they are readily available in some shops. A woman named Judit Czinkne Poor has mastered the technique. She is often identified by her online handle Mezesmanna. She has managed to make several videos showing exactly how she creates these delicate Hungarian masterpieces from scratch.
Judit starts with a base cookie made from gingerbread. She sometimes uses basic rectangular cookies but also branches out with circular or heart-shaped ones. The cookies are frequently coated with a base layer of black or white chocolate that is allowed to harden. She works on top of that surface. Judit does not use any special tools. She works almost exclusively with piping bags that have the smallest opening possible at the tip. She also sometimes employs small brushes to help created feathering or painterly effects.
The process starts with Judit laying down a very broad and basic design on the cookie. The base could be just a few lines or spirals that do not seem to have any form in the beginning. She then goes on to start building up more complicated aspects of the design. A line becomes rows of small arches punctuated with tiny dots. She has dozens of pasty bags ready loaded with a rainbow of colors. Some of the color differences are very subtle but do make a difference in the final cookie. She meticulously adds more and more detail to the cookies emulating Hungarian embroidery designs that she saw repeatedly while growing up in the country.
The interesting thing about the videos is that you notice she is not using any tricks or shortcuts. Judit is relying on just her creativity, steady hand and icing recipe. It can take a long time for her to finish a single cookie. The results, however, are beyond belief. The final cookies do look like doilies, lace or embroidered cloths. She even sometimes paints images on the cookies using a wet-in-wet technique to get a watercolor-like appearance. Few people in the world can match her skill and dedication. Judit has even made larger and more elaborate embroidered designs on top of wedding cakes.
Egy új videó.Csodás hétvégét!Köszönöm, hogy megosztjátok.New video.Have a wonderful weekend!Thanks for sharing.
Posted by Mézesmanna on Friday, February 26, 2016