Babka (cake)

For other uses, see Babka.
Babka

Easter babka
Alternative names Bobka, baba, kulich
Type Cake
Region or state Poland
Cookbook: Babka  Media: Babka

Babka, also known as Kulich (Cyrillic: Кулич), is a sweet yeast cake.

Christian version

Babka is a spongy, brioche-like yeast cake made mainly in Central and Eastern Europe. It is traditionally baked for Easter Sunday in Poland, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Albania, and for the major holidays (Christmas, Easter, New Year, Pentecost) in Romania. Traditionally it does not have any filling, and is glazed with a vanilla- or chocolate-flavored icing and decorated with almonds or candied fruit, sometimes with rum added.

Jewish version

See also: Rugelach
Chocolate babka, with streusel

Another version of babka is associated with the Eastern European Jewish tradition. This babka is made from a doubled and twisted length of yeast dough and is typically baked in a high loaf pan. Instead of a fruit filling the dough contains cinnamon and/or chocolate. The babka is usually topped with streusel. A similar cake called a kokosh is also popular in Jewish bakeries. Kokosh also comes in chocolate and cinnamon varieties, but it is lower and longer than babka, is not twisted, and not topped with streusel.

Babka of this style has become popular in North American cities with large Jewish populations, including Montreal, New York, Chicago, Miami, and Toronto.

Etymology

The Polish and Belarusian noun babka and the Belarusian, Ukrainian, and Russian baba means "grandmother," and as applied to the pastry probably refer to its shape, a tall cylinder, sometimes with corrugations resembling a skirt’s pleats.[1] The name of the pastry entered the English from Polish, via French, although "babka" is also sometimes used in its original sense ("grandmother"), especially among those of Central and Eastern European descent.[2]

Depiction in media

In the Seinfeld episode The Dinner Party, Jewish protagonist Jerry Seinfeld and his female friend Elaine Benes miss out on the last chocolate babka, which they wanted to buy, while at a bakery. They resort to purchasing a cinnamon babka, which Elaine considers a "lesser babka," but Jerry begs to differ.

In the Orphan Black episode History Yet to Be Written (Season 3, Episodes 10), Helena bakes a babka cake to celebrate Allison's electoral victory. Amongst the Clone Club and their allies, Helena appears to be the only person who knows what a babka cake is.

See also

Look up babka in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, March 26, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.