Delicious kosher babka

PAULA SHOYER

Creating flavorful and appealing desserts that are kosher has been a challenge in Jewish households for decades. Without access to dairy products, creating a memorable dessert to go with any meal, let alone a holiday meal, has been a challenge. With the High Holidays just around the corner, The Kosher Baker: Over 160 Dairy-free Recipes from Traditional to Trendy (Brandeis University Press, 2010) is a useful resource for desserts and breads, from family favorites to time-honored holiday classics, all dairy-free, with many sugar-free, gluten-free and vegan as well.
The first three parts of The Kosher Baker are organized by preparation time: under 15 minutes; 15-30 minutes; 30 minutes or more. A fourth part is devoted to Passover and no-sugar-added desserts. Many of the recipes can be mixed in one bowl and ready for the oven in less than 15 minutes. For the High Holidays, I suggest serving your family and guests a fun and easy dessert that can be made days ahead of time.

BABKA CUPCAKES WITH CRUMB TOPPING
These mini babkas can be made ahead of time, when the kitchen is not so frenzied. Store them in plastic at room temperature for up to four days or freeze for up to three months. Makes 14 to 15 cupcakes.

Babka:
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 ounce (2 envelopes) active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups plus 1 tsp sugar, divided
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) parve margarine, softened, divided, plus extra for greasing muffin pan
1 large egg plus 1 white
1/4 cup parve unsweetened cocoa
1/3 cup parve mini or regular-size chocolate chips

Crumb topping:
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp flour
4 tsp canola or vegetable oil
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Place the warm water, yeast and one teaspoon of the sugar in a large mixing bowl and let sit 10 minutes, or until the mixture bubbles. Add 1/4 cup of sugar, the flour, one stick of the margarine and the eggs. Combine by hand with a wooden spoon or with a dough hook in a stand mixer until all the ingredients are mixed in. Cover bowl with plastic and let rise two to four hours.

Meanwhile, for the chocolate filling, combine the remaining one cup of sugar with the cocoa in a medium bowl. Add the remaining two sticks of margarine and mix well with a hand-held or stand electric mixer, or by hand with a whisk. You can let the filling sit out covered while the dough is rising.

To make the crumb topping, place in a small bowl the sugar, flour, oil and cinnamon, and mix with a silicone spatula.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease 14 to 15 cups of a muffin pan or pans.

Divide dough into four pieces. On a large piece of parchment, roll each piece into a rectangle, as thin as you can. Spread a quarter of the chocolate cocoa and sugar mixture on one of the dough rectangles and then sprinkle on a quarter of the chocolate chips. Roll the dough up, working with the long side of the rectangle to create long, thin rolls.

Slice each roll into 3/4-inch slices. Place four slices into each muffin cup, by placing the first two at angles in the bottom and then the second two on top, also at angles, none with the chocolate swirls facing straight up. Use your fingers to sprinkle some of the crumb topping on top of each babka cupcake; use up all the topping.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until browned on top. Cool for 20 minutes in the pan. Run a knife around the babkas and then remove from the pan and let cool.

CINNAMON APRICOT PULL-APART BABKA
My late Aunt Lillian [JI editor Basya Laye’s grandma] was a fantastic cook and baker. One of my favorite recipes of hers was what she called a “conversation cake.” She took little challah dough balls, dipped them in margarine and sugar, and then baked them in a pan, placing candied fruit between the balls. This recipe is a tribute to her, and the pull-apart babka can be stored covered in plastic at room temperature for up to four days or put into the freezer for up to three months. Serves 10 to 12.

Dough:
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1/2 ounce (2 envelopes) active dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar plus 1 tsp, divided
5 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling out the dough
1 cup (2 sticks) parve margarine, softened
3 large eggs

Filling:
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup apricot preserves
1/2 cup (1 stick) parve margarine
Spray oil, for greasing pan

To make the dough, place the warm water, yeast and one teaspoon of the sugar in a large mixing bowl and let sit 10 minutes, until the mixture bubbles. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, flour, margarine and eggs. Combine by hand with a wooden spoon or by using a dough hook in a stand mixer until all the ingredients are mixed in. Cover bowl with plastic and let rise three to four hours, until the dough has increased in size at least 50 percent.

Meanwhile, for the filling, combine the 1 1/2 cups of sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.

Place the remaining stick of margarine in a heatproof bowl and heat in the microwave for 45 seconds or until melted. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a large Bundt pan with spray oil.

Divide the dough into four parts. Place a large piece of parchment on the counter and sprinkle generously with flour. Place one part of the dough on the parchment and roll out as thin as you can, less than 1/4-inch thick. Use a cookie cutter or glass, about two inches in diameter, to cut circles of the dough as close to each other as possible. Re-roll all the scraps and cut out circles. Place 1/4 teaspoon of apricot preserves in the centre of a circle and sprinkle on 1/4 teaspoon of the cinnamon-sugar. Close the dough around the filling and squeeze with your hand to form a ball. Do not worry if some jam squeezes out. When you have all the balls made, dip each into the melted margarine and roll in the cinnamon-sugar. Place around the bottom of the Bundt pan. Repeat with the other three pieces of dough and place the balls evenly around the pan.

Bake for 45 minutes or until golden on top. Let cool for 30 minutes in the pan and then turn onto a rack. To serve, I turn it back over onto a serving plate so it looks like a crown. To eat, each person pulls off the balls.

Paula Shoyer is the owner of Paula’s Parisian Pastries Cooking School in the Washington, D.C., area. She trained in Paris, receiving her pastry diploma from the Ritz Escoffier École de Gastronomie Française, and teaches classes in French pastry and Jewish baking across North America. The author of The Kosher Baker: Over 160 Dairy-Free Recipes from Traditional to Trendy, Shoyer is also a freelance writer with monthly columns in Whisk Magazine and at kosherscoop.com. Originally from New York, Shoyer lives in Chevy Chase, Md., with her husband and four children and is currently working on a new dessert cookbook. To learn more, visit PaulasPastry.com and kosherbaker.blogspot.com.

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