Spit Cake · Prague Tourist Favorite

Trdelník

Photo via Pexels/Unsplash — free for commercial use

Despite being marketed everywhere as 'traditional Czech,' trdelník is historically a Slovak and Moravian dessert — Prague vendors have only sold it in bulk since the early 2000s.

Trdelník is a strip of dough wound around a wooden spit, roasted over coals, and rolled in sugar, cinnamon, and crushed walnuts until it forms a crisp, hollow cylinder. Prague street vendors now fill the middle with ice cream, Nutella, or fruit.

Why it's made this way: It came from the northern part of the historic Kingdom of Hungary and only became strongly associated with Prague after vendors began marketing it heavily to tourists in the city's Old Town in the 2000s.