BABKA
INGREDIENTS FOR DOUGH:
- 3/4 cup warm milk
- 1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar
- 3 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 whole large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter
MAKING THE DOUGH:
Stir together warm milk and 2 teaspoons sugar in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle yeast over mixture and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If yeast doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)
Add 1/2 cup flour to yeast mixture and beat at medium speed in a mixer until combined. Add whole eggs, yolk, vanilla, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low, then mix in remaining 2 3/4 cups flour, about 1/2 cup at a time. Increase speed to medium, then beat in butter, a few pieces at a time, and continue to beat until dough is shiny and forms strands from paddle to bowl, about 4 minutes. (Dough will be very soft and sticky.)
Scrape dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
INGREDIENTS FOR BABKA FILLING:
Cinnamon: mix 1 cup of brown sugar, 1 tbsp of cinnamon, 1 tspn of water or oil. Add raisins if preferred
Chocolate: mix and heat 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 (3 1/2- to 4-oz) bars fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, 1/4 cup sugar
ASSEMBLING THE BABKA:
- Line each loaf pan with parchment paper
- Roll out 1 piece of dough on a well-floured surface into an 18- by 10-inch rectangle
- Spread 2 1/2 tablespoons softened butter on dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around
- Sprinkle cinnamon mix or spread chocolate over dough
- Roll one of rectangle to the other and then twist to form a figure 8 and fit into pan
- Brush egg wash on top of babka
- Bake in oven for 40mins at 350°F
STREUSEL:
Mix 1/2 cup margarine, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour. Press it together lightly until it forms small clumps. Do not smooth out to make it feel like dough. Sprinkle on top of babka to make a crumb topping.
BABA GANOUSH
INGREDIENTS
- 2 eggplants
- 2 teaspoons of lemon juice
- salt
- 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1/2 tablespoon of cumin
- 2 tablespoons of tahini
PREPARATION
Heat the oven up to 370°F. Wash the eggplants and make small holes in the skin with a fork. Place the eggplants on the aluminum foil and bake them in the oven for around 45 minutes. Eggplants should be baked until the skin starts to shrink (the skin should be thin and well baked, inside the eggplant should be well baked and soft).
Cool the eggplants, cut in two halves and take out inside with the spoon. Put the eggplant squash into the bowl, add lemon juice, salt, olive oil, and tahini. Mix all the ingredients into paste. Keep the paste in the fridge.
