Bibby Babka

Balki, from Perfect Strangers, once sang "When you start to roll the dough, just make sure to roll it slow. If you roll the dough too quick, Bibby Babka make you sick."

I am not sure what kind of babka he made (obviously Meposian Babka), but it is quite different from the chocolate babka that I bake. His has a cream filling (you can see Balki and Cousin Larry Appleton filling babkas on youtbe.com... I know... I checked). Mine just has chocolate. Here is the recipe - it takes a long time, but less pots and pans than Boston Cream Pie, and the results are always incredible.

Babka Recipe - Makes 3 loaves

* 1 1/2 cups warm milk, 110 degrees
* 2 (1/4 ounce each) packages active dry yeast
* 1 3/4 cups plus a pinch of sugar
* 3 whole large eggs, room temperature
* 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
* 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 3/4 cups (3 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, room temperature, plus more for bowl and loaf pans
* 2 1/4 pounds semisweet chocolate, very finely chopped
* 2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
* 1 tablespoon heavy cream
* Streusel Topping

Directions

1. Pour warm milk into a small bowl. Sprinkle yeast and pinch of sugar over milk; let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. In a bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup sugar, 2 eggs, and egg yolks. Add egg mixture to yeast mixture, and whisk to combine.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour and salt. Add egg mixture, and beat on low speed until almost all the flour is incorporated, about 30 seconds. Change to the dough hook. Add 2 sticks butter, and beat until flour mixture and butter are completely incorporated, and a smooth, soft dough that’s slightly sticky when squeezed is formed, about 10 minutes.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead a few turns until smooth. Butter a large bowl. Place dough in bowl, and turn to coat. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
5. Place chocolate, remaining cup sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl, and stir to combine. Using two knives or a pastry cutter, cut in remaining 1 1/2 sticks butter until well combined; set filling aside.
6. Generously butter three 9-by-5-by-2 3/4-inch loaf pans; line them with parchment paper. Beat remaining egg with 1 tablespoon cream; set egg wash aside. Punch back the dough, and transfer to a clean surface. Let rest 5 minutes. Cut into 3 equal pieces. Keep 2 pieces covered with plastic wrap while working with the remaining piece. On a generously floured surface, roll dough out into a 16-inch square; it should be 1/8 inch thick.
7. Brush edges with reserved egg wash. Crumble 1/3 of the reserved chocolate filling evenly over dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Refresh egg wash if needed. Roll dough up tightly like a jelly roll. Pinch ends together to seal. Twist 5 or 6 turns. Brush top of roll with egg wash. Carefully crumble 2 tablespoons filling over the left half of the roll, being careful not to let mixture slide off. Fold right half of the roll over onto the coated left half. Fold ends under, and pinch to seal. Twist roll 2 turns, and fit into prepared pan. Repeat with the remaining 2 pieces of dough and remaining filling.
8. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Brush the top of each loaf with egg wash. Crumble 1/3 of streusel topping over each loaf. Loosely cover each pan with plastic wrap, and let stand in a warm place 20 to 30 minutes.
9. Bake loaves, rotating halfway through, until golden, about 55 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees.bake until babkas are deep golden, 15 to 20 minutes more. Remove from oven, and transfer to wire racks until cool. Remove from pans; serve. Babkas freeze well for up to 1 month.

This is mouthwatering goodness. Slice it and serve it with loads of butter. Even if you overcook it a smidgen, it still comes out great. You can store in in an airtight container, but I have never found that it lasts very long!

A cake better left to the professionals

Beth warned me ... she warned me from the inception of this convoluted idea. She said "Coach 'Gelli, I have made Boston Cream Pie from scratch. It was better from the box." Now, next to Mom and Sis, it is Beth's counsel that I seek on any issue - from men to baking. And just like always, this was advice I should have heeded. I really thought that Charlie would appreciate effort more so than the finished product, but I was wrong. Here goes... my dance with the devil known as Boston Cream Pie.

I got the recipe from the Joy of Cooking website, as none of the millions of cookbooks I own have a recipe for this monstrosity. That should have been a hint. I gathered all the ingredients and made the cake (pie) first. It was your basic white cake which did not come out terribly moist. The cake called for:

5 large eggs

3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar, divided

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup (60 grams) plain cake flour (not self-rising)

1/4 cup (35 grams) all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Then I did all of this -

While the eggs are still cold separate three of the eggs, placing the yolks in one large mixing bowl and the whites in another bowl. To the yolks, add the two remaining eggs. Cover the two bowls with plastic wrap and allow the eggs to come to room temperature before using (about 30 minutes).

Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together the flours, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Place the milk and butter in a small saucepan, over low heat, and warm until the butter melts. Remove from heat, cover, and keep warm.

In your electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, (or with a hand mixer) beat the whole eggs and yolks and 6 tablespoons (75 grams) of the sugar on high speed for about five minutes, or until they are thick, fluffy and light colored (when you slowly raise the beaters the batter will fall back into the bowl in a slow ribbon). Beat in the vanilla extract.

In another clean mixing bowl, with the whisk attachment, (or with a hand mixer) beat the egg whites and cream of tartar, at low speed, until foamy. Increase the speed to medium-high and gradually add the remaining sugar, beating until soft, moist peaks form. Gently fold a little of the whites into the batter to lighten it, and then add the rest of the whites folding just until incorporated. Sift half of the flour mixture over the top of the batter and gently fold through with a rubber spatula or whisk. Sift the remaining flour over the batter and fold in. Do not over mix.

Make a well on one side of the batter and pour the melted butter/milk mixture into the bowl. Gently but thoroughly fold the butter mixture into the batter. Do not over mix.

Divide the batter between the two prepared pans, smoothing the tops, and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until light brown and springy to the touch. (A toothpick nserted in the middle will come out clean.) Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Immediately run a spatula or sharp knife around the inside of the pans and then invert the cakes onto a wire rack. Remove parchment paper and re-invert. Cool completely.

I used so many bowls and pots and pans, it was unbelievable.

Then the pastry cream, which Charlie had no problem pointing out was "completely wrong" and my Mom even told me was "tasteless." Here's goes - pastry cream from hell:

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar

3 large egg yolks

1/8 cup (20 grams) all-purpose flour

Scant 3 tablespoons (20 grams) cornstarch

1 1/4 cups (300 ml) milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

I did what they told me to do - In a medium-sized stainless steel bowl, mix the sugar and egg yolks. (Do not let this mixture sit too long or you will get pieces of egg forming.) Sift the flour and cornstarch together and then add to the egg mixture, mixing until you get a smooth paste. Set aside.

Once again with all the bowls and pots and pans! Give me a break!

Now, the only thing that came out right was the chocolate ganache on top. That recipe was:

4 ounces (120 grams) semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon unsalted butter

Place the chopped chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. Bring the cream and butter just to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for a 3-5 minutes. Gently stir until smooth. Set aside for a few minutes until it has thickened to pouring consistency.

To Assemble: Place one cake layer on your serving place bottom side facing up. Spoon the pastry cream onto the cake, spreading to make an even layer. Place the second cake layer (bottom side up) onto the filling. Pour the glaze onto the center of the cake and carefully spread the glaze, with an offset spatula, to the edges of the cake, allowing the glaze to drip down the sides. Let the cake sit until the glaze sets, about one hour. Serve. This cake is best eaten the same day it is made. Cover and refrigerate any leftovers.

Yeah, I did all of that... and then some. With the leftover ganache I added some meringue powder so I could stiffen the chocolate and make a nice fancy border. I figured that most people eat with their eyes anyhow. Now, I must tell you... I got away with making this thing look like a Boston Cream Pie, but by no means does it taste like one. Mom added copious amounts of whipped cream to hers, and Charlie took a huge heaping piece, but by no means was this a success. I will leave this one to the lifers at the Dutch Kitchen in Fitchburg or your local grocery store. They do it much better.

But since I do not deal with failure well, I may attempt Martha Stewart's version of pastry cream and try another cake recipe. The glaze I will keep. That was a winner. And what do I do when I have a baking failure? I make a tried and true successful recipe. So yes, in the oven at B Street are three loaves of Easter Babka. Why Easter Babka? Well, why not? I guess it is a contradiction in terms, as Babka is a Jewish delicacy, and Easter is the antithesis of Judaic beliefs... but I am a woman full of contradictions.

Help!

I hate the layout of my blog. Can someone please help me make it look better?

Back among the land of the Baking

Instead of a lengthy, meandering diatribe that I usually publish first, I figured I would let the pictures speak for themselves, and I would just offer up a little caption to go with it. Here goes:

Starry Night (or Starry, Starry Night) cupcakes - 24 cupcakes with Famous Chocolate Wafer cookies in the holes, decorated with 9 colors of frosting imitating the Van Gogh painting. This took hours but the most fun I have ever had with cupcakes in my life. I only wish I had known to do it on styrofoam so I could have preserved it forever.




Next up, Cat Face Cupcake - decorated using mini marshmallows, mini-chocolate chips, runts, and a starburst (for the kitty tongue). I guess I could have just used icing to pipe in all of the fun details but I enjoyed using the candy tactic. And by the way, does anyone out there realize how tough it is to find black lace licorice? Every cupcake book recommends using it, but no one tells you it is near impossible to find. My poor mother had to go online to a specialty store and by it for me. She is the best.

Second attempt at three-dimensional cupcakes. I made pandas and I put them in a jungle. Their ears are 100-calorie pack mint chocolate cookies. Their noses are made from Hershey's Kissables. Their paws are Oreos with little claws piped on. Their bellies are crushed Oreos. Their lovely jungle setting is paper grass used for Easter bastets.



Ah, St. Patrick's Day 2009 - a day I never hope to repeat again in my life. Once again, food was the saving grace and pretty much the only redeemable part of this day. My blueberry crumble coffee cake was no exception to this rule. Kerri, her hubby, and I all assembled at the Berkley Street compound. Kerri, of course, brought along treats of her own - see her blog for the amazing toffee bars with homemade sweetened condensed milk and her yummy malted milk cookies. This was one of my offerings.

I brought it over warm and waited til it cooled before I drizzled a milk icing over the streusel top. I made too much streusel (never a bad thing) and perused my Martha Baking Handbook to see what else I could do with said streusel. I happened upon a recipe for chocolate babka. I remember hearing the word "babka" referenced in two pop culture scenarios - one, in Perfect Strangers ("When you start to roll de dough, just make sure to roll it slow. If you roll de dough too quick, BIBBY BABKA make yah sick!") and two, on Seinfeld (cinnamon babka was no replacement for
chocolate babka!).

The picture at left does not do my babka justice. I will have to take better pictures in the future of the true promise of this yeasty, chocolatey, baked delight with a crumbly streusel topping. I have been told that this babka could solve the issues of the world. If only North Korea would have a slice toasted up with some butter, they might chill out with the nukes.

These are Kerri and Mom's suggested adaptation of the Elvis cookie. No one seemed keen on banana frosting except for the self-proclaimed Frosting Queen ... ME! But, here are the peanut butter meringue cookies with mini chocolate chips in them. Turned out pretty tasty.

Below are an attempt at white chocolate pretzel cookies. Meg O'Connell, Lunenburg's own Domestic Goddess made these cookies for me during a visit to her house to watch a Hillary Clinton DVD I
procured for Molly's Christmas present. I was amazed at how delicious the cookies were. I begged her for the recipe and she told me it was just a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe with white chips and pretzels in place of chocolate morsels. My attempt was failed. I burned the bottoms of the cookies, plus Kerri and Jay both agreed that there wasn't enough cookie matrix (I had no idea what that was until they clued me in ... and it had nothing to do with Keanu Reeves ... thank GOD!). Plus, no one in my family likes white chocolate. I have no idea where I got the white chocolate gene.

This disappointment to the left was my first cake in cake class (week 2) . Mom and I took a Wilton Cake Decorating class at Michael's to start me on my way to Baketressing for real. Of course, this was directly after the Telluride Debacle and my head never was fully in the cake decorating game. I always had something terrible at home to be worried about. Lo and behold, the cake that I wanted to include two lovely brown chocolate moose became a pink, blue, and green monstrousity. I am not proud of it, but I fed it to Mike for a week as his school lunch dessert.

Week three of cake class was a little more successful. I opted for cupcakes because I just would always run out of time. The structure of cake class was that we would spend an alloted time learning new skills, and would then apply them to our baked goods. I was always the last person walking out of class, and I was always leaving with tips and containers that needed cleaning. I had fun making these cupcakes and I was out of class on time that day.

First Paying Gig!

Despite the disappointments of the last two months (and by no means do I mean baking ... I mean my relationship), I have begun to emerge as a stronger person and a more focused baketress. Through my journeys in flour, and butter, and sugar, I have realized that I actually like who I am; something I could not say for certain before. But I digress ...


I was recently awarded my very first paid cupcake job. My friend Steph asked if I could design some Cat in the Hat cupcakes for an upcoming baby shower. In light of my canceled engagement, I delved deep inside to find some inspiration. Here are the final products:










I am quite happy with how they came out. I did the designs on jumbo cupcakes, as the standard sized cupcakes did not give me a lot of surface area to work with. Luckily I was able to get all of these to fit on the cupcake tree. Steph told me that people took pictures at the party. If I get to see those, I will be sure to post them as well.

But, as for now, the Overdue Book Bakery really is open for business!!!