Cooking Thursday - Best Sweet Tea and Hungarian Coconut Slices

Are you shocked?

I know, I am too.  It's been a long, and I mean LONG time since I've done a Cooking Thursday, but I thought I would do one today.  Mainly because a couple of you were curious about the baking soda tip for making sweet tea, and I wanted to come in and share the recipe for that.

But, I also wanted to share the recipe for the Hungarian Coconut Slices I made yesterday.  They are amazing.

Alright, let's get going......

Best Sweet Tea

2 cups of water
6 black tea bags
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup of sugar
6 cups of cold water


Boil the 2 cups of water, then add in the 6 tea bags and steep for 10 minutes.  Discard the tea bags.

In a pitcher, add the baking soda, and then the tea mixture.  Lastly, pour in the cold water and sugar.  Mix well until sugar is dissolved.  Refrigerate.


*I know the baking soda sounds weird, but it completely cuts out the bitterness of the tea and leaves you with a sweet, smooth tea.  You will never make tea without it again.

Fatias Hungaras - Hungarian Coconut Slices

Source: Dika da Naka

Yield: 15 slices

For the dough:
1 cup (240ml) of warm milk
1 packet of dry yeast
2 eggs
3 tablespoons of sugar
½ teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of butter or margarine
3  cups (420 gr) of all purpose flour

For the coconut filling:
2 and ½ tablespoons of butter or margarine
½ cup of sugar (90 gr)
1 cup of sweetened coconut (about 50 gr)
3 tablespoons of milk

For the vanilla milk glaze:
1 cup of milk ( 240 ml)
½ cup of sugar ( 90 gr)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 cup of sweetened coconut to sprinkle on top


For the dough - In a big bowl, add in the warm milk, yeast and 3 tablespoons of sugar.  Mix well and let rest for 5 minutes.  Next, add in the eggs, butter and one cup of flour.  Mix well, then add the teaspoon of salt.  (if you add the salt in with the yeast, it will slow down the yeast's fermentation, so I always add the salt either on the opposite side of the bowl or after some flour has gone in).

Add in the remaining 2 cups of flour, mix well, then turn onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, until the dough is soft and not sticking to your fingers.  Sprinkle a little flour in the bowl, and place the ball of dough back in.  Cover with a kitchen towel and allow to rise for an hour, until doubled in size.

For the filling - While the dough rises, mix all ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

When the dough is done rising, turn it onto a floured surface and using a rolling pin, roll into a big rectangle, about half a centimeter (or a quarter of an inch, about) thick.

Spread the filling over the dough, then roll up starting from the longest side.

Cut slices about 2 fingers wide and place in a greased 12x by 13 pan.

Cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and set in a warm place to rise again, for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown.

For the vanilla milk glaze - While the rolls bake, place all ingredients in a saucepan and heat slowly until sugar is completely dissolved.

Once the slices are done baking, remove from oven, and while warm, pour the vanilla milk over.  Sprinkle on some sweetened coconut.

*These sweet slices can be left out, but not in a warm spot.  They are good for 3 days.  I usually only leave them out one day, then prefer to place them in the fridge so they last longer.