Kürtősh, Crows Nest

Following our escapade to Mosman, Ivanhoe, Lenni and I decided to return back to Crows Nest for dessert given the lack of options for dessert along Military Road, Mosman at night (choices were down to Salt Cheese & Meats or Rosso Cavallino, which offered small cakes or gelato respectively). Given the extremely cold nature of the night, we decided to visit Kürtősh, which sells a wide selection of cakes and pastries, and adequate seating away from the external elements.

Kürtősh Cafe

When you first enter Kürtősh, you'll notice the large marble bench tops and the copious amounts of dough waiting to be rolled into the Hungarian pastries known as kürtőskalács, a.k.a. kurtosh (also the name of the cafe) - the pastry is rolled into a long strip, wrapped around a wide spit and glazed before being roasted/baked:

Staff rolling out Kurtosh Pastry

Sample Kurtosh on Display

I first encountered kurtosh (the pastry) years ago when I was travelling around Europe with friends and stumbled upon it in the Christmas markets of Budapest and Prague - it was absolutely awesome! Freshly made and cooked over a charcoal, the pastries were served steaming hot and deserving of its name (kürtőskalács translates to "chimney cake"). Unfortunately, the kurtosh made here in Australia is made in a miniature oven, instead of the traditional charcoal fire, that emits heat from all sides to evenly roast the kurtosh.

The kurtosh comes in a variety of toppings including the usual cinnamon sugar, sliced almond, pistachio, hazelnut-infused sugar, or desiccated coconut. Additionally, Kürtősh offers a kurtosh filled with nutella as well:

Nutella Kurtosh ($9.50)

Side View of Kurtosh

All kurtosh are made and/or cooked to order (sometimes they may prepare some rolls in advance during peak hours) so there is a 15min wait before you're given the tasty pastry. Due to the external glazing, the kurtosh adopts a shiny, crispy surface and when you bite into the kurtosh, nutella oozes out:

Bite-Sized Portion of Kurtosh

Duo Choc Mousse ($4.50/100g) - Almond Biscuit Base Topped with
Layers of Milk Chocolate Praline & White Chocolate Mousse

Lenni opted for the duo choc mousse, which was sickly sweet and led to a sugar overload. I swear I was on a sugar high - read: practically bouncing off the walls - after eating it, along with nutella kurtosh and part of a rich, soft-baked peanut butter cookie that Ivanhoe had (personally prefer their choc fudge cookie more).

Be sure to visit Kürtősh and check out their cakes and pastries. I've tried a few of the cakes before and would recommend their peanut butter & chocolate ganache or their blondie cake (both not on display when I visited this time round).