Wanderlust - 04.2020

wanderlust.co.uk April 2020 27

WORLD FOOD EXPLORE

Pască

Itmightnotdoyour

cholesterollevelsany

favours,butthis

Romanianbrioche

bakedcheesecakeis

arealfeastforthespirit

Carpathia: Food from

theHeart of Romania

byIrina Georgescu

(Frances Lincoln, £22)

isouton 17 March

O

ntheeveofEaster

Sunday,travellers

strollingthestreets

ofRomaniamay

detectawelcoming

scent:asharphintofrumororange

liqueur,waftsofwarmvanillaand

thewonderfularomaofacake

baking,aslocalscelebratespring’s

moveablefeastwiththeirtraditional

brioche-bakedcheesecake:pască.

Partoftheappealofthis

cheesecakeisitsbutteryrichness,

perfectlysuitedforitsannualrole

decoratingbasketsatEaster(and

deprivedmouthsfollowingthe

40-dayfastingperiod).Foodwriter

IrinaGeorgescu,authorof

Carpathia:FoodfromtheHeartof

Romania,saysthattheRomanian’s

liketobake“tomarkmomentsof

happiness,togetherness,[and]

merry-making”andthatthiscakeis

the“equivalent”tochocolateeggs.

Howthetraditionalcheesecake

cametodefineEasterinRomaniais

notsoclear,butifit’sasymbolof

unity,itcertainlyworkswell.

Millionsofthesecakesaresoldover

thebusyEasterperiod,but

traditionally,localsbaketheirownto

beblessedbyapriestduringthe

Eastersunriseservice.Afterwards,it’s

takenhometobefeastedonbyfamily

andfriends,ajoyfulreminderofthe

importanceofcomingtogether.

Butbakinghaslonginfluenced

Carpathianculture,datingbackto

thegrandAustrianEmpireandthe

Habsburgrule.Prettypâtisseries

(cofetării)andcosycoffeehousesare

morethanadimeadozeninmost

citiesandtowns,temptingvisitors

witheverythingfromcarefully

craftedcreampuffstochocolate

mousses.Followyournosetocapital

Bucharest,though,andyoucan

tuckintoyourownsultana-studded

sliceofpască,beforewanderingdown

theoldtown’scobbledstreetsto

admirethecity’sblendofold-world

eleganceandmoderndelights.

EAT THIS...

Visitwww.wanderlust.co.uk/205

Get the fullrecipe online

Butter me up

Tease your taste

buds with this

sweet cheesecake,

a slice of buttery

goodness at Easter

Jamie Orlando Smith