Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Reuters
Reuters
World
Krisztina Fenyo

Hungary awaits Pope Francis with a sweet "Bite of Heaven"

An employee of Karl Confectionery puts "A bite of Heaven", deserts created by a Hungarian confectioner Zsolt Karl on the counter in Dunaharaszti, Hungary, September 7, 2021. REUTERS/Marton Monus

Confectioner Zsolt Karl has made a special cake he calls "a bite of Heaven" using dried fruits mentioned in the Bible and hopes Pope Francis will taste his creation during his visit to Hungary this Sunday.

Pope Francis is due to arrive in mainly Roman Catholic Hungary on Sunday to celebrate a Mass in Budapest's historic Heroes' Square. Then he will head on to Slovakia the same day for a visit culminating in a open-air Mass at the Sastin pilgrimage site in western Slovakia on Sept. 15.

Hungarian confectioner Zsolt Karl prepares the filling of his "Bite of Heaven" deserts in his cake shop in Dunaharaszti, Hungary, September 7, 2021. Picture taken September 7, 2021. REUTERS/Marton Monus

Karl, who runs his cake shop in the small town of Dunaharaszti, south of Budapest, won a national competition for the cake, which he served for the first time at a Eucharistic Congress in Budapest this week.

"I cooked a sugar syrup with cinnamon and honey, and I put the diced dried fruits in it," he said.

"We experimented with the proportions of the dried fruits so that when one eats the cake one feels different tastes in every 5-10 seconds."

“Bite of Heaven" deserts created by a Hungarian confectioner Zsolt Karl in his cake shop in Dunaharaszti, Hungary, September 7, 2021. Picture taken September 7, 2021. REUTERS/Marton Monus

Under the conditions of the contest the cake had to be simple, last long without cooling and be made using ingredients contained in the Bible such as figs, dates, apricots, plums, and honey.

Karl's cake, which has a pastry similar to a Hungarian specialty "beigli", a roll usually filled with poppyseed or walnut and traditionally made for Christmas, is filled with dried figs, plums, dates and apricots, as well as candied cherries, sugared orange peel, and roasted almonds.

"I really hope that the Pope will taste our pastry," Karl said.

Employees of Karl Confectionery prepare the "A bite of Heaven", deserts created by a Hungarian confectioner Zsolt Karl in Dunaharaszti, Hungary, September 7, 2021. REUTERS/Marton Monus

(Writing by Krisztina Than, Editing by William Maclean)

Employee of Karl Confectionery prepares the "A bite of Heaven", deserts created by a Hungarian confectioner Zsolt Karl in Dunaharaszti, Hungary, September 7, 2021. REUTERS/Marton Monus
Hungarian confectioner Zsolt Karl with his "Bite of Heaven" deserts in his cake shop in Dunaharaszti, Hungary, September 7, 2021. Picture taken September 7, 2021. REUTERS/Marton Monus
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.