Street food in Budapest, Hungary. Chimney cake is the most popular street food in Budapest!

Chimney cake is the English name used for the traditional Hungarian / Romanian product called Kurtoskalacs or as it is called in Czech & Slovakia, Trdelnik.
Chimney cake, also known as Kürtőskalács in Hungarian and Trdelník in Slovak and Czech, is a traditional sweet pastry made from yeast dough and baked around a cylindrical cooking roll. Once baked, it forms a hollow, golden-brown shell that resembles a chimney—hence the name. When the hot pastry is removed from the baking roll, steam often rises from the center, adding to its chimney-like appearance.
The name “Chimney Cake” became popular outside Central Europe because it’s easier to pronounce and market than its original names, especially in non-Hungarian-speaking regions.
Chimney cake originates from Transylvania, a region historically associated with Hungary but now part of Romania. The roots of the pastry are tied to the ethnic Hungarian communities living in this region. Today, it remains a beloved street food across Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.
Although debates continue between Hungarians and Romanians about the exact origin of Kürtőskalács, there’s no doubt it has deep historical ties to Hungarian culinary tradition—particularly among ethnic Hungarians in Transylvania.
A chimney cone is a modern twist on the traditional chimney cake. Instead of the usual cylinder shape, the dough is wrapped and baked into a cone, then filled with ice cream, cream fillings, or savory ingredients.