Rotisserie ovens are primarily designed to cook meats; they have skewers that continuously rotate the meat above a heat source. While these ovens are not usually associated with making dessert, you can bake a type of cake, called a chimney cake, in a rotisserie oven. Chimney cakes originated in Romania, where they are still popular, and are designed to be cooked over a spit. The finished pastries resemble a chimney in shape, which accounts for the name, and thay have a light, crispy texture and sweet taste.
Step 1
Wrap the skewers of the rotisserie with non-stick aluminum foil until the diameter of each skewer is at least 1 1/2 inches. Crinkle down the foil to secure it to the skewers.
Step 2
Paint melted butter over the foil with a pastry brush to make releasing the chimney cakes easier. Use some of the 1/2 cup of melted butter to do this and reserve the remaining butter.
Step 3
Measure 4 cups of flour and 1/4 cup of sugar. In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the flour, 1 teaspoon of the sugar and 2 tablespoons of active dry yeast.
Step 4
Warm 1 cup of milk in the microwave until it is lukewarm. Add it to the yeast mixture and mix well. Allow this mixture to rise for 30 minutes.
Step 5
Combine the remaining flour and yeast mixture together. In a separate bowl, beat the egg with the melted butter. Stir in the remaining sugar until dissolved. Mix the wet ingredients with the flour and yeast to form a dough.
Step 6
Knead the dough for 5 minutes, sprinkling flour over it as necessary to keep it from sticking to your hands. Allow the dough to sit for 1 hour to rise.
Step 7
Combine 1/4 cup of sugar with 1 tablespoon of cinnamon. If desired, you can grind 1/2 cup of walnuts in a food processor and add it to the mixture. Sprinkle this mixture over a piece of waxed paper to use as your topping.
Step 8
Divide the dough into three or four balls over a piece of wax paper sprinkled with flour. Roll each ball, using your hands, into a long rope. Flatten these ropes into long strips, about 1/2 inch thick, with a rolling pin.
Step 9
Wrap each strip around the foil-covered skewers of your rotisserie oven to form a cylinder the length of the skewer. Tuck under the ends of the dough to keep them from coming apart.
Step 10
Paint the cakes using some of the melted butter and the pastry brush you set aside from coating the foil of the skewers.
Step 11
Preheat your rotisserie oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 12
Insert your skewers and bake until the cakes begin to become golden brown, about 5 minutes.
Step 13
Remove the skewers. Paint the cakes with the remaining melted butter. Roll them in the sugar topping until coated.
Step 14
Place the cakes back into the oven and bake until they are golden brown, an additional 5 to 6 minutes.
Step 15
Remove the skewers and slide the cakes off of them. Serve the cakes hot; the steam appears to be the "smoke" from the chimneys.
Tips and Warnings
- You can use regular aluminum foil and spray it liberally with non-stick cooking spray, then paint it with the butter to ensure the chimney cakes release easily. This recipe makes between three and five cakes, depending on the size of your skewers.
- Use caution when handling hot skewers; wear oven mits to avoid being burned.
Things You'll Need
- Rotisserie Oven
- Non-stick aluminum foil
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- Pastry brush
- 4 cups flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 cups melted butter
- Waxed paper
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- Rolling pin
Posted in: Cooking Style