Pastry

Austria

Burgenl&auml;ndischer krautstrudel is a variety of savory strudel from Burgenland, consisting of a thin strudel dough filled with a cabbage filling. The filling is typically prepared with a combination of finely chopped white cabbage, sugar, fat, salt, and spices such as pepper, caraway, and nutmeg. Once stuffed, the cabbage strudel is rolled up, brushed with eggwash, and baked until nicely colored. This specialty is usually enjoyed warm, often topped with coarse pepper and chopped parsley. Strudels stuffed with a cabbage filling - be it savory or sweet - are part of traditional Central European cuisine, and therefore, numerous variations of this specialty can be found in other parts of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, and Germany.

Burgenländischer Krautstrudel

Butterkaka is a Swedish pastry similar to a cinnamon roll but with a creamy twist. It is made from sweet yeast dough, rolled out, and filled with a mixture of butter, sugar, and sometimes vanilla or cardamom. Often, it also includes vanilla custard or almond paste. The dough is then rolled up, sliced, arranged in a circular shape, and baked, resulting in a soft, pull-apart bread. It is usually topped with pearl sugar or icing, making it a popular treat for fika (Swedish coffee break).

Butterkaka

Byrek me qumesht is a traditional pie that translates to "milk pie." It consists of layers of phyllo dough and a filling of a mixture of milk, eggs, and butter. Sometimes, depending on the recipe, cheese, such as fresh soft cheese or cottage cheese, can be included. The top of the pie is covered with butter and baked until golden. Byrek me qumesht is usually enjoyed warm.

Byrek me qumesht

Spain

Casadielles are traditional Spanish pastry rolls filled with walnut. The dessert originates from Asturias. The dough is made with olive oil, warm water, flour, and fine sugar, while the filling consists of walnuts, fine sugar, butter, and anise-flavored liqueur such as pastis, arak, or ouzo. Once assembled, these pastries are typically fried, but if you're opting for a non-traditional method, they can be baked in the oven as well. Once golden brown, the casadielles are dusted with sugar and served.

Casadielles

Croatia

Cernički ćuptet is a savory cake or a pastry originating from the county of Cernik in Croatia, located near the city of Nova Gradi&scaron;ka. It is traditionally prepared during the annual pig slaughter. This delicacy is made by stuffing the dough (flour, salt, white wine, yeast, water) with a mixture of leftover sausage meat seasoned with ground paprika and garlic. Once filled, the dough is usually shaped into squares, pinched on the sides to resemble a rose, sprinkled with melted pork fat, then baked until golden-brown. It is recommended to pair these small savory treats with a glass of local white wine and consume them as a snack.

Cernički ćupteti

Italy

Chizze Reggiane is a traditional snack originating from Reggio Emilia. It&rsquo;s made with a combination of flour, butter, baking powder or yeast, salt, olive oil, peanut oil, and Parmigiano-Reggiano shavings. The flour is mixed with the butter, salt, yeast or baking powder, and olive oil. The dough is shaped into a ball and left to rest, and it&rsquo;s then rolled out and cut into rectangles. Shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano are placed on half of the rectangles, which are then folded in half, sealed, and fried in melted lard or sunflower oil. The chizze are drained, sprinkled with salt, and served immediately while still warm.

Chizze Reggiane

Choux &agrave; la cr&egrave;me is a French pastry that consists of choux balls that are filled with either whipped cream or pastry cream and usually served dusted with powdered sugar. There are several ways of assembling choux &agrave; la cr&egrave;me. One way is to split the choux balls in half, then one half is piped full of whipped or pastry cream, and the other is placed on top. The other way is to make an incision at the bottom of the choux ball and pipe it with whipped or pastry cream. In the US, choux &agrave; la cr&egrave;me are known as cream puffs, and although similar choux &agrave; la cr&egrave;me should not be confused with profiteroles, which is a similar French pastry.

Choux à la crème

&Ccedil;iğ b&ouml;rek is a b&ouml;rek variety hailing from T&uuml;rkiye. This b&ouml;rek is especially popular among T&uuml;rkiye's Tatar community. The dough is made from water, sugar, flour, oil, and salt, while the filling is made with ground meat, onions, spices, and (sometimes) cheese. The dough is folded over the filling and shaped into a semicircle before being deep-fried until golden brown. It's recommended to serve &ccedil;iğ b&ouml;rek with ayran or yogurt on the side.

Çiğ börek

Coca de llanda is a traditional coca variety that's especially popular in Valencia. The coca is made with eggs, milk, olive oil, sugar, flour, walnuts, lemon zest, and baking powder. Once combined, the creamy mass is poured into a tray, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, then baked until golden brown. The name of this coca comes from the llanda, a rectangular container in which the coca is baked. The pastry is usually eaten as an afternoon snack.

Coca de llanda

Cocarrois is a traditional vegetable turnover originating from the Balearic Islands. The dough is similar to the island&rsquo;s empandas de cordero, but it&rsquo;s enriched with orange juice and sugar. Other ingredients used to make the dough include flour, olive oil, egg yolks, and lard or butter. The filling is typically made with vegetables such as Swiss chard, cauliflower florets, and scallions, along with parsley, pine nuts, and raisins. The dough is stuffed, then closed and shaped into a half-moon. The pastries are baked until lightly browned, then served warm or at room temperature. These turnovers are especially popular during Easter.

Cocarrois

Collorelle are traditional Sicilian sweet pastries originating from Caltagirone. The dough is made from flour, lard, sugar, and water. It is rolled, cut into strips, filled lengthwise with a sweet filling, then enclosed and connected into a ring. The filling consists of almonds, cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg, lemon juice, and eggs. It can be enriched with orange blossom water and a dash of brandy, if desired. These pastries are baked until golden brown. They're especially popular during the festive Christmas period.

Collorelle

Cornish pasty is a popular dish that is a specialty of Cornwall. Shaped into a form of the letter D or a half-moon, this crispy and juicy pastry is filled with beef and various root vegetables and seasonings. The golden color of the pastry is achieved by using egg wash or milk glazing, while the interior is filled with potatoes, turnips, onions, diced beef, herbs, and seasonings. The final product has a balanced, savory taste, due to the fact that only high-quality beef and vegetables from the Cornwall area are used in it. It is believed that Cornish pasty was invented as a practical, portable meal for tin miners who couldn't leave the mines for lunch, and its thick crust kept the fillings warm for a long time.

Cornish pasty

Australia

A cruffin is croissant dough baked in a muffin tin: a strip of laminated, butter-layered pastry rolled into a tight spiral, stood upright in a deep cup and baked so it rises into a tall cylinder with a flaky, ridged exterior and an open, pull-apart centre, then rolled in sugar and usually filled from the top with pastry cream, curd, jam or ganache. The name is a straightforward blend of croissant and muffin and the pastry is a child of the 2010s: Kate Reid's Lune Croissanterie in Melbourne is widely credited with the first ones around 2013, and Mr. Holmes Bakehouse in San Francisco made the word famous, trademarked it in the United States and built queues around it a year later. It belongs with the cronut and the crookie in the family of hybrid viennoiserie that bakeries use to sell croissant dough at a higher margin, and like them it is only as good as the dough underneath the idea.

The dough is standard croissant dough, a yeasted détrempe with a butter block folded in through three or four turns to give several dozen alternating layers. Instead of being cut into triangles it is rolled out into a long rectangle, often brushed with butter or sugar, cut into strips eight to ten centimetres wide and rolled up along the long edge so the layers spiral; the roll goes into a tall muffin or popover tin, proofs until it fills the cup, and bakes at around 190°C for twenty-five minutes, longer than a croissant because of its depth. It comes out, is tossed in granulated or cinnamon sugar while warm so it sticks, and once cool a piping tip goes down through the top to fill the hollow core; the filling changes with the season and the shop. Some bakeries make a smaller, unfilled version as a plain cruffin and a few sell them split and toasted.

Judge it by pulling it apart before you bite. The outside should be deep gold, crisp and clearly layered in a spiral, the sugar coating thin and even rather than a crust, and the inside should separate into distinct, soft, buttery sheets with visible air between them, not a dense bread crumb. It should taste of butter first and the filling should be in the core, not pooled on top or missing from the lower half. Mark down a pale or greasy cruffin, which means the dough was under-proofed or the butter leaked, a heavy centre that did not open, a sugar coating so thick it crunches like a doughnut, a filling that is mostly in the first bite, and a day-old one sold as fresh, which shows as a soft, bendable exterior. A cruffin is a morning pastry and does not keep past the afternoon.

Cruffin

Russia

Echpochmak is a traditional pastry originating from Tatarstan. This Tatar and Bashkir pastry consists of yeasted dough that's stuffed with potatoes, meat, and onions. The dough is usually made with a mixture of milk, eggs, flour, butter, sour cream, salt, sugar, and yeast, while the filling contains lamb, potatoes, onions, salt, pepper, butter, and cumin. Once stuffed, the dough is folded into triangles with a hole in the middle and baked until done. When the echpochmak are done, melted butter or meat stock is traditionally poured into each hole. In the past, these pastries were enjoyed in the open air during military campaigns. It's recommended to serve echpochmak with tea on the side.

Echpochmak

Elesh is a traditional pastry originating from Tatarstan. This Tatar pastry consists of dough that's usually stuffed with chicken, onions, salt, pepper, and potatoes. The dough is made with a combination of flour, eggs, sugar, salt, baking powder, butter, and sour cream. Once stuffed, the dough is wrapped up around the filling in the shape of a circle with a lid on top (similar to echpochmak, which is rectangular). The pastry is baked until done, and it is then served with meat broth on the side that's poured in the hole on top of the pastry in order to make it juicier.

Elesh

Argentina

This empanada variety originates from C&oacute;rdoba in Argentina, hence the name. It is sweet and savory because it's filled with beef, raisins, potatoes, olives, and white sugar. Other ingredients include hard-boiled eggs, onions, garlic, red wine, paprika, and cumin. These empandas are also juicier than most other varieties because they include tomatoes in the mix. The filling is enclosed in dough consisting of flour, egg yolks, lard or pork fat, water, and salt, just like most empanadas. Empanadas cordobesas are fried in hot oil or baked in the oven until browned.

Empanada Cordobesa

Empanada de cordero is a type of Spanish empanadas originating from the Balearic Islands. Unlike their Galician counterpart, Mallorcan empanadas have a dough that&rsquo;s prepared without yeast. The dough is made with a combination of egg yolks, lard or butter, flour, salt, olive oil, and lukewarm water. Each empanada is typically filled with a mixture of diced lamb, chopped bacon, salt, and black pepper. The pastries are baked until lightly browned and the filling is fully cooked. Once prepared, empanadas de cordero are served warm or at room temperature.

Empanada de cordero

Most commonly, Chilean empanadas are made with wheat flour dough that is filled with onions, ground beef, olives, raisins, and hard-boiled eggs. These semicircular pies are typically baked in the oven. Although they are prepared and consumed throughout the year, Chilean empanadas are especially popular during the Fiestas Patrias in September. During the Easter festivities, beef is forbidden due to religious reasons, so these empanadas are usually filled with cheese and seafood in that period. It is recommended to pair Chilean empanadas with a glass of red wine.

Empanadas chilenas

Mexico

Empanadas de Santa Rita are Mexican empanadas originating from Chihuahua. In the city, these empanadas are prepared in honor of St. Rita, whose feast is celebrated annually on May 22nd. That is the only day in the year that you can taste these empanadas, that is if you don't have your own recipe. The dough for these empanadas is made with flour, butter, and milk, and they are filled with a combination of ground beef, onions, garlic, raisins, potatoes, peas, pecans, and sherry. The empanadas are usually seasoned with salt, pepper, cinnamon, and cloves. Once assembled, they are fried in hot oil until golden brown, then sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon before being served.

Empanadas de Santa Rita

These empanadas are a specialty of the region of Tucum&aacute;n, and they are quite different than numerous empanadas found in Buenos Aires. Tucumanas are typically handmade according to old, traditional recipes, and are characterized by a crispy dough and ideal proportions of dough and fillings. The dough is made with wheat flour and beef fat, and it is then usually filled with beef, chicken, or tripe, along with other ingredients such as onions, hard-boiled eggs, paprika, and cumin. Authentic Tucumanas should be baked in a clay oven, and it is best to enjoy them with a glass of local wine on the side.