Hvorost Rozantsi (Розанцы) are a traditional sweet crisp pastry made out of dough that has been shaped into thin twisted round rose ribbons, deep-fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Across different cultures in Europe, variations of this dessert are known as Angel Wings, Crostoli, Faworki, Raderkuchen, Bugnes, Hvorost and more.
The Russian dessert, Hvorost (Хворост) means Brushwood, which is what the dessert resembles, little twigs of crisp pastry. We grew up eating Rozantsi (Розанцы), which means little roses, and is the same thing as Hvorost, but in a different (rose) shape. So Hvorost Rozantsi are basically brushwood little roses. They are called Rozantsi for short. I think its much prettier to eat little round roses instead of straight twigs.... just saying. You can control how big and tightly wound you want to make the Rozantsi, but you'll get the hang of it as you cook them.
We ate these when there was special events, at large gatherings or celebrations, it seems like there was always a relative bringing a plate of Rozantsi. It takes a bit of time and effort to make these, and they are light and flaky, it seems like the plate disappears in no time! Perfect with a cup of tea, absolutely worth the effort. Bon Appetit! Приятного аппетита!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups flour
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon rum or vodka
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3 tablespoons whipping cream
- pinch of salt
- 1 litre oil for frying
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the flour and egg yolks and egg together. Add the vodka, sugar salt and whipping cream.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough for a few minutes. Shape into a ball. Dough will feel hard and dense. Cover with a bowl and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
- Cut the dough into strips and roll out into thin long strips. If using a pasta roller, roll as thinnest setting (the thinner the better). Try to get the dough to 1mm thin.
- Cut the thin dough into approx. 3cm wide strips. The length of the strips will depend on the size of your Rozantsi. I used pieces about 1.5 feet long, but you can experiment to make bigger or small Rozantsi.
- Take 1.5 foot long piece, hold end between 2 fingers and roll it up around your 2 fingers, then keep wrapping tightly around 3 fingers -and around 4 fingers and put the end into the middle or pinch it to edge to hold. As you wrap, also slightly twist the dough.
- Fry very quickly in a pot of hot oil. This will cook into the shape of a rose. When the rose is cooked golden brown, flip over to cook other side and remove onto a paper towel to allow the oil to drip off. The Rozantsi will cook very quickly.
Alternative Ways to Make Rozantsi
- a. Using a fork or wooden spoon, pierce the end of the strip of dough, and wind around. Holding the fork, lower the dough into the oil until the rose shape cooks as above.
- b. Roll out the dough thinly and cut 3 circles of dough, each smaller than each other. Put them one on top of each other (largest to smallest), pressing the middle of the circle to bind them together. Make 4-5 slits from the centre outwards. When it cooks in the oil, it will form a round rose shape.
- c. Cut the dough strips into 10cm long strips. Make a slit in the middle and fold the outsides of the dough through it, making a bit of a knot shape. Fry the long pieces, these are usually called Hvorost (Хворост) which means Brushwood (like little twigs).
- When the Hvorost Rozantsi have cooled, dust generously with icing sugar and serve with tea or coffee.
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