Prague: Chimney Cake Trdelník Workshop & Fresh Pastry Tasting

4.97

(136 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing I noticed was the smell—warm sugar and something yeasty floating out the door before we even stepped inside. Jana, our instructor, waved us in with flour-dusted hands. She asked where we were from and then joked about how everyone pronounces “Trdelník” differently (I definitely butchered it). There was this easy laughter between strangers, which felt nice after a morning of wandering around Prague’s old streets by myself.

We got right into it—aprons on, dough in hand. It’s stickier than I thought, kind of springy when you press it down. Jana showed us how to roll the dough around these wooden rods—she called them “spits”—and then brush them with butter. The room went quiet for a second except for the scraping sound of dough against wood and someone humming under their breath. It smelled even better once they hit the oven, like toasted bread mixed with caramel.

I picked cinnamon sugar for my topping (classic move), but someone next to me went wild with walnuts and cocoa. We sat together at this long table with mugs of coffee—mine was too hot at first—and compared our slightly lopsided chimney cakes. No one’s looked perfect but honestly that made it better. I still think about that first bite: soft inside, crispy outside, just sweet enough. We got these little certificates at the end; I laughed because mine already had a smudge of sugar on it.