Cakes, Pastries & Pies > Jewish Recipes > Babka >
Babka
Coffee Cake
1 tsp. sugar
3/4 C lukewarm water
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 C milk
6 TBS butter, softened
2 tsp. lemon rind
1/3 C sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs plus 2 egg yolks
3-1/2 to 4 C all purpose flour
1/2 C raisins
In a large bowl, dissolve 1 teaspoon sugar in lukewarm water; sprinkle yeast on top. Stir and allow to stand for about ten minutes. Add milk, butter, lemon rind, 1/3 cup sugar, salt and eggs to yeast mixture. Beat in half the flour until smooth. Add remaining flour a small amount at a time. Knead for about five minutes. Form dough into a ball; place into a large, greased bowl. Cover with a towel; allow dough to rise in a warm place until double in size (about sixty to ninety minutes). Remove cloth and punch down dough. Cover again and allow to rise a second time until double in bulk (about forty-five minutes). Uncover and punch down dough again. Knead in raisins.
Babka Cheese Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 C cottage cheese
1 egg yolk
1/2 C sugar
1 tsp. lemon rind
In a bowl, beat together cream cheese and cottage cheese until smooth. Beat in egg yolk and sugar; stir in lemon rind. Grease two 9" round layer pans. Preheat oven to 350-degrees F.
1/3 C walnuts or pecans, chopped
3 TBS flour
3 TBS butter, softened
3 TBS sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
In a bowl, mix together all topping ingredients. Set aside.
To assemble Babka cakes: Divide dough into our equal parts. Press one part into bottom and sides of each prepared pan. Spread about 1 cup of cheese filling over the dough in each pan. Shape remaining dough into two 9-inch circles (similar in shape to a top pie crust) to cover visible cheese filling in each pan. Place each circle on top of cheese filling and press edges to seal. Sprinkle half of the crumb topping over each Babka. Allow to rise in a warm place for about one hour, or until dough rises to the top of each pan (do not allow dough to double in size). Cover each cake loosely with aluminum foil. Bake for about forty minutes. Remove pans from oven, invert onto a wire rack and then turn right-side up. Allow to cool for about thirty minutes before slicing.
*Babka image (C) Hanina (2007). Released into the public domain by the copyright holder at the Wikipedia Project, who grants anyone the right to use the work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.
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