Monday, 30 December 2013

Overnight Chocolate Babka {Marbled Brioche}

In polish, Babka means grandmother. In New York, Babka can be found in all of the Jewish bakeries, but not because that’s where the grandmothers like to hang, oh nooo.  


A Babka is also a buttery rich brioche like cake; it is marbled with chocolate or cinnamon goo much like a pre cut log of cinnamon roll dough, and then baked in a loaf pan. Traditionally it is topped with streusel but I opted for a glace icing (made with double cream) that I flavoured with a few drops of orange blossom water. Because chocolate and orange are two flavours that we should marry together at-all-times. 
I never visited a Jewish bakery during my short-lived time in New York last week. Needless to say, I deeply regretted it after I bit into the Babka and my mouth experienced all that crunch from the crust and chew from the cake/bread hybrid. 

Side note if you’re thinking about visiting New York: Please do, it will make you feel like Deb Perelman, if only for a couple of weeks. Also, there are the most amazing-ly (cheap) juicy burgers at Five Guys and almond croissants at Dominique Ansel’s bakery (not so cheap).
My brother in law bought me the New York Cult Recipes cookbook for Christmas and the Babka was one of the many impressive creations within (New York cheesecake is next on the list, but I’m afraid it’ll be too difficult not to destroy it with my mouth before taking pictures). Nearly all of the ingredients used in the Babka can be found tucked away in kitchen cupboards, which is one of the reasons why I chose it, whose got time to run to the supermarket on Boxing Day slash ever? 

Thursday, 19 December 2013

Gingerbread Birthday/Christmas Cake with Mascarpone Frosting

Today, I have a cross between a birthday and Christmas cake to celebrate maaah biiirthdaaaaay! 

Tuesday, 10 December 2013

Gold Dust White and Dark Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

There might be a white and dark chocolate chip coconut cookie beneath that thick sheen of radiant gold. There might also be a fat free black-eyed pea chip variation, and that stuff on top could be made of 24-carrot edible gold. Let’s be serious though. It’s Christmas very soon and your friends and family wont mind shitting out indigestible lustre dust. When there are homemade cookies blurring their vision, the people will eat.
Wrap them up in real girth-y ribbon and give these out as naked gifts, or, arrange them neatly on your super sweet Christmas town plate and share them with whoever walks through the front door. You should probably call the entire neighbourhood over because this recipe will make 18 extra large cookies. Scale them down from 75g portion sizes to 35g and you could easily feed 40.   
I’ve only tested this recipe once, but I can already vouch for it being one of my favourite cookies of all time. The high quantity of brown sugar means they get softer with age. The coconut flakes also lend a chewiness you’d find in a macaroon, pair that with the crunchy exterior of any good chocolate chip cookie and you have yourself a recipe that defeats the object of my Perfectly Rounded Chocolate Chip Cookie Post. You might not believe it but, yes, you can have chewiness without a tablespoon of corn flour.

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