We ran across the basis for this babka recipe in the Jerusalem<\/em> cookbook. Authors Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi praise it as \u201cthe most popular cake in the west side of Jerusalem, and probably in the whole of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Babka, like challah<\/a>, rugelach<\/a> and most of the foods we recognize as Jewish, originated with Ashkenazi Jews. The Ashkenazim started out in ancient Palestine, but spent the next thousand-plus years fleeing all manner of persecution. When they settled in Central and Eastern Europe, they both borrowed from and influenced their local cultures and foods. For instance, they mashed up Hebrew and German into Yiddish, and upgraded Polish yeast cake into babka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ottolenghi and Tamimi admit that they \u201cunderrepresent Ashkenazic foods\u201d in their cookbook celebrating the Jewish, Muslim and many other cuisines of Jerusalem. Fortunately, they include the babka recipe, but have hidden it under the little-known name \u201ckrantz cake.\u201d So you can\u2019t find one of the best things in this cookbook\u2014the babka\u2014by searching for it in the index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two big cakes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Famously, all babkas come out kind of messy, with chocolate smearing all over the place even with the first slice. So have lots of napkins on hand for your guests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The recipe makes two large loaf cakes. One to eat right away (and it will quickly disappear), and one to keep in the freezer for just the right occasion. Like Seinfeld\u2019s dinner party.<\/p>\n\n\n Adapted from <\/em>Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tam<\/em>imi<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can make these in one day, but they are easier and better if you mix up the dough the night before you want to bake.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Makes 2 large loaf cakes<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n For dough<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n For chocolate filling<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n *We like 72 percent cacao dark chocolate, either chips or chopped-up bars, from Trader Joe\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Optional topping:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n For syrup<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Make the dough <\/em><\/strong>(the night before you want to bake)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Assemble cakes<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nChocolate Babka<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
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By hand:<\/em> Combine 3 cups of flour, sugar and yeast and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, water and vanilla. Add it to the dry ingredients. You should have a wet dough you can mix with a wooden spoon, spatula or (our favorite) dough whisk. Add the butter, a few cubes at a time, mixing until the butter thoroughly blends into the dough. Add in enough flour (from the remaining 1\u00bc cups) to form a dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl\u2014it should still be sticky. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until it is completely smooth, elastic and shiny, using up the rest of the flour.
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