Eating honey on Rosh Hashanah is a tradition that was first mentioned in the writings of the Geonim of Babylon (6th to 11th century). Using the ancient sweet nectar as a symbol of the goodness of the incoming year was such a brilliant idea, it’s still with us today in most Jewish communities. And it’s so good that no matter how much I cook for Rosh Hashanah, my kids will always devour a whole challah with the honey before we get to the matzo ball soup.
Honey cake, however, is a different story. It’s as ancient as honey itself, since honey was used in baking as early as the Egyptian, Greek and Roman periods. The honey cake (or lekach) we know today was developed in Medieval Europe. We all have it on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, but nobody really likes it (go ahead, prove me wrong!)
Every year I try to think of solutions (see the date and honey cake recipe and honey and tahini cake). This year, my attempt is to bring the joy of dipping challah in honey into a honey babka. Layers of rich dough filled with honey and baked together. The result is wonderful, new-year-worthy.
Honey babka for Rosh Hashanah
Course: DessertCuisine: Ashkenazi, Jewish, IsraeliDifficulty: Difficult16
servings45
minutes1
hour58
minutesMahlab is a spice made of ground sour cherry pits that is popular in the Middle East and Turkey for baking and desserts. It has a slight fruity, almond-like aroma. Mahlab is available at Middle Eastern markets, but is optional for this recipe.
A few rules before you start:
I highly recommend using SAF Instant yeast (it’s available online and can keep for months in the fridge.)
When using instant yeast, you should skip the process of proofing the yeast.
If you’re using active dry yeast, start the recipe by proofing the yeast and continue as usual.
This babka recipe is very rich, meaning it contains more butter than the average babka recipe. This means that it is much tastier but also that it’s harder for the yeast to rise properly. Add butter last to the dough, as instructed below, and you’ll be fine.
The best way for yeast dough to develop its flavor is by letting it rise overnight in the fridge. If you’re in a hurry just let it rise at room temperature for a couple of hours, it’s still going to be fine.
Do not over bake the babka. To get a moist babka, it needs to be baked just until almost firm, but when the center still feels a little too runny. It will stabilize a bit more outside the oven and will have the best texture.
INGREDIENTS
For the dough:
1 lb. all purpose flour, plus more for rolling the dough
1 tablespoons instant yeast (or 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon active dry yeast) See note above
½ cup sugar plus more for the pan
2 large eggs at room temperature, lightly beaten
⅔ cups warm milk
10 tablespoons soft butter plus more for greasing
Grated zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
- For the filling
8 tablespoons soft unsalted butter
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon mahlab (optional, see note above)
Grated zest of one orange or lemon
½ cup honey
1 cup golden raisins
1 egg yolk
½ cup walnuts or hazelnuts, finely chopped (optional)
DIRECTIONS
- If you’re using DRY ACTIVE YEAST, skip to instruction number 2.
If you’re using INSTANT YEAST, make the dough using a stand mixer with the dough hook. Put flour and yeast in the mixer’s bowl and mix with a fork. Add sugar, then turn mixer on medium-low speed and mix for a minute. Add eggs and milk and continue to mix for about 2 minutes, until well incorporated. Stop the mixer as needed to scrape the flour from the sides using a spatula and continue to mix. Add butter, a tablespoon at a time, then add lemon zest and salt. Turn speed to medium-low and mix for 8 minutes. Stop the mixer to scrape the sides as needed. The dough is very soft, but don’t be tempted to add more flour into in.
Skip to instruction number 3. - If you’re using DRY ACTIVE YEAST you need to proof it first. Put ½ cup warm milk, the yeast and a teaspoon of sugar in a glass and stir briefly. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes until it visibly foams.
To make the dough use a stand mixer with the dough hook. Put flour in the bowl and make a well in the center. To the well add yeast mixture, the rest of the sugar, eggs and the rest of the milk and mix for about 3 minutes on medium-low speed, until well incorporated. Stop the mixer as needed to scrape the flour from the sides using a spatula and continue to mix. Add butter, a tablespoon at a time, then add lemon zest and salt. Turn speed to medium-low and mix for 8 minutes. Stop the mixer to scrape the sides as needed. The dough is very soft, but don’t be tempted to add more flour into in. - Remove bowl from stand mixer. Using a spatula, transfer dough into a lightly floured large bowl, cover in plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature, preferably in a warm space (near the oven, for example) until dough almost double in volume, about 2 hours.
- Check the dough, on a hot day it may be too soft at this point, and therefore hard to work with. Put it in the fridge for 30 minutes before rolling.
- To make the filling, mix butter, sugar, mahlab (if using) and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Keep aside.
- You can either make 2 loaf size babkas or one large flower-like babka, as shown in the photo.
- For 2 loaf babkas, spray two 8” x 4½” loaf pans with oil and line with parchment paper. Divide the dough into two. Generously dust a large working surface with flour and roll one half of the dough into a rectangle of about 3/16” thick. The size of the rectangle will be about 10” x 18”. Spread half the filling thinly on the surface, then drizzle with half the honey and sprinkle half the raisins and walnuts (if using.) Roll the rectangle starting from the 11” side like a roulade. (You will get an 10” long roulade.) Using a knife cut the roulade to its length almost until the end and make a braid by overlapping and wrapping one side over the other. Carefully transfer the babka into the loaf pan and repeat with the other half of the dough and filling.
- If you’re making one 9” babka, roll the dough in one piece into a 28” x 15” rectangle. Spread the sugar-butter filling and drizzle honey on top. Sprinkle raisins and walnuts (if using) all over. Roll up into a long log, starting from the long side. Gently cut log into 7-9 short logs (about 3 inches each) and transfer them, cut side up, into a 10” round spring form.
- Cover the babkas with a damp towel and let them stand for another hour. The dough will rise again.
- Oven to 350 degrees. Lightly beat egg yolk and brush it over the babkas. Bake the babkas for 45-50 minutes for the loaf babkas and 55-60 minutes for the large round babka. Touch the surface in the center of the babka to make sure it’s almost stable, but not completely firm. Remove to a cooling rack and let cool for 30 minutes (if you can) before serving.
If you let the dough rise in the refrigerator over night, do you need to bring it back to room temperature before proceeding with the rest of the recipe?
That’s a good question. After a night in the fridge it a good idea to let the dough sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before you proceed. It will help with rolling it. you will likely need to add an extra 15 minutes or so to the second rising (after shaping the babka.)
Thank you!
This recipe sounds fabulous! Have you substituted margerine to make it parve?
Thank you! You can definitely do that. You can replace the butter with oil and the milk with water in the dough, and for the filling use margarine, if you want it parve.