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NYC resident serves up authentic Transylvanian treats made from 200-year-old family recipe
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NYC resident serves up authentic Transylvanian treats made from 200-year-old family recipe

You don’t have to visit Dracula’s castle to get a taste of Transylvania this Halloween.

A 200-year-old family recipe for a popular pastry from the spooky region of Romania is being served up this season by a native of the area in Queens — and by all accounts, it’s definitely something to sink your teeth into.

“This is real Transylvanian stuff,” said Radu Sirbu, 51, who is selling twisted-looking cakes called Kürtöskalács from his food truck this holiday.

Middle Village resident Radu Sirbu has been serving his family’s 200-year-old recipe for the popular Romanian pastry Kürtöskalács, or twist cake, in World District for more than a decade. Twister Cakes

“Of course I’ll dress up as Dracula.”

Sirbu, an immigrant from the fabled state of Romania, has been making cakes at his mobile Twister Cakes Bakery for more than a decade, adapting them for Halloween in America by sprinkling them with bats and pumpkins.

They were to die for, sometimes crowds waited for up to three hours.

The cakes, also known as chimney cakes because of their hollow shape, are made fresh in about eight minutes, using a sweet pretzel-like dough rolled in sugar and baked steakhouse-style in a custom-made propane oven, he said.

Street food, especially popular at European Christmas markets and enjoyed for almost 400 years, is sometimes given a unique flavor from Sirbu; Sirbu sometimes tops them with ice cream or tops them with flavors like pumpkin spice, coconut, or even bacon. .

“A lot of people first ask ‘what is this?’ ‘ he asks,” Sirbu said, noting that many of his regular customers come across his booth at food festivals from April to November, such as the Queens Night Market and various Eastern European cultural festivals.

“I have no rivals, no one (else) can succeed here,” Sirbu, 51, from Romania’s Transylvania region, told The Post in a recent interview. “It’s hard work, but I love doing it.” Twister Cakes/Instagram

“Social media also has a big role (in business),” he said. “(Customers) come back later, they bring their friends. “This is how I grow.”

The Middle Village resident of more than 20 years first started baking twist cakes with her grandmother in Romania when she was about 12 years old, she told The Post.

After immigrating to the US, she started baking twist cakes as a hobby in 2010, which expanded into a full-fledged bakery in 2016, given her success as one of the Queens Night Market’s first vendors.

Sirbu first started baking twist cakes with her grandmother in Romania when she was 12, she told The Post. Twister Cakes/Instagram

He is now a regular at the seasonal night market and sends an email newsletter to let loyal customers know where to be next.

“We expanded a lot,” he said. “Hungarians and Romanians have become a minority (customer base).”

Demand for authentic cakes reached an all-time high in 2022, when Sirbu began offering nationwide delivery and an expanded menu of sweet and savory treats. He said most of his orders now come from pockets in New York, Arizona and California.

Sirbu plans to convert its mobile twist cake bakery into a physical store by next year. Twister Cakes/Instagram

Although Transylvania is associated with vampires and Halloween in the U.S., Christmastime is one of Sirbu’s busiest times of the year, with nearly 200 monthly orders of other Eastern European delights, from savory breadsticks to cheesy bagels to babka and plum dumplings.

“It’s all simple products, but people love it,” the owner said.

Sirbu plans to open a brick-and-mortar store somewhere in Queens next year, which will feature its famous twist cake as well as about two dozen other Transylvanian delicacies it ships online.

“They are all simple products, but people love it,” Sirbu said. Twister Cakes/Instagram

Meanwhile, the Queens resident reports that she’s fully embraced Halloween time and is looking forward to finding more events around New York to share her unique flavors.

“I have no competition, no one (else) can succeed here,” Sirbu said. “It’s hard work, but I love doing it.”