bake-a-BABKA- cake -FEEL LIKE A JEWISH MILLION!!!

My love for all things jewish is new only to me,for deep down ,i love to realise,it was always there...like a duck takes to water i take to jewish cuisine.

This all began way before i read Benny Hinn's book about the best falafeel & bakalava ,ever since craving these from local bakeries in Jerusalem.It was my first light bulb moment of what lay in me.
It aint just the food culture i love but then it comes down to a food some time or the other....watching "LOVING LEAH"( A VERY CUTE ROMANTIC MUST WATCH MOVIE) ,a few days back on H.B.O., hieghtened my love & interest.Every thing about the movie is cute & Jew. Its a story about a girl whose Rabbi husband dies, gets "married" to his bro,& how beautifully,slowly they are so in love with each other. I dont know much about Jewish holidays, Kosher cooking & eqiupment but an eager learner i truly am. I love the way she kneads the dough for bread & the customs & prayers before dinner with the candles while he looks on sweetly....i love the dressing & scarves etc....i mean everything attracts me so warming the cockles of my heart & i love to indulge in what floats my boat & sure have my finger in this amazingly & deliciously beautiful pie......my second light bulb moment.....falling in love with this movie.

So to continue one fine day at my insistence my little bro (who aint overly fond of cakes) requested for any cake for a special day witha nice custard in the middle(not a frosting kinda feeling mind u). A nice soft cake with custard in every bite he said....well i got working & thought i would have to have a thickish batter of my fav cake to hold & manage the custard inbetween but whats the internet for so got down to goggling all those words that lead me to what i wanted & i surely wasnt looking for a boston cream pie or pastry creme sandwhiched between two cakes & i wasnt about to give up when i stumbled upon the babka here http://www.ifood.tv/recipe/babka.

oh i felt as i would at a candy store.& my third light bulb moment ,oh realize i must this joy that my quest stops at a jewish holiday special.



& though i did look further & found a few more recipes of babka ,but they were bread(i say coz it has yeast) babka's ie cake leavened with yeast &i wanted a cake babka & here i was...so i baked the babka today & loved it very very much,im attracted like a beehive to all things jew & was so so happy & thrilled to find that the type of cake i had in mind actually had jewish origins & i didn even know it excisted!!! Will be posting all about my expeirience on both my blogs but havent clicked pics yet so its on hold...........but cant explain how much this cake is v v v *777 special to me! Shalom

beauty of BABKA is thats it was a wonderful suprise that i found exactly what i had in mind &didn know it existed in jewish cuisine...& ofcourse that complements the suprise custard layer & makes for a delicious dessert too with the topping et all & icing too as u'd see in the pics.
Babka Cake is said to have originated in Eastern Europe, is a a sweet, spongy yeast cake& all the other recipes called for yeast & i sure am going to try the other babka ,way before i become a babka for sure! The cakes were traditionally baked by grandmothers, thus the name babka - the Polish diminutive of baba which means old women.

BABKA CAKE

125GRAMS butter
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 sour cream
1 whole egg
1 c. sifted flour
1tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla

-i filled in with almost a cup of prepared custard but this time baked a small cake,next time will make it big!
-sprinkled flaked toasted almonds ie totally optional
-a few servings had a good swipe of cream cheese frosting that was a delicious addition.
-this is an absolutely moist buttery cake,thanx to the high butter content & sour cream.
-well a little bit of caution while fillin in the pan not to let the batter & the custard muddle ! its worth the patience,a labor of love!!!
GET GOING
1)Cream butter & sugar well till smooth & creamy.
2)Separately,beat egg with the sour cream & vanilla.beat well.
3)Add flour sifted with baking powder,alternately with the sour cream-egg mixuture. Fold in & beat till combined
4)Put in half the batter in a small greased baba mould. Pour the filling.Cover with remaining batter.

5)bake in pre-heated oven at 180*c till done.