chocolate chashew nut babka

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babka_%28cake%29

Christian version

Babka is a spongy, brioche-like yeast cake made mainly in Eastern Europe. It is traditionally baked for Easter Sunday in Poland, 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

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 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 language from Polish, via French, although "babka" is also sometimes used in its original sense ("grandmother"), especially among those of Eastern European descent.^[2]

ternyata, eastern european dessert yang ini, hasilnya empuk dan spongy. hihihi ... biasanya roti roti yang datang dari luar asia, terlalu padat untuk lidah asia eh indonesia. tetapi, babka ini empuk. menul menul. mungkin karena peruntukannya pada festive season ya. bukan untuk hidangan utama. babka katanya dijumpai di negara negara eropa timur seperti polandia, ukraina, ... 

resepnya bermacam macam dan beberapa tidak mudah dipahami karena dikepalaku sudah ada cetakan "roti" tetapi dalam resep hanya diaduk saja, tidak ada instruksi diuleni sampai kalis elastis. tak print beberapa resep dan kupilih justru dari australia yang jauh dari eropa timur. dari resepnya terbaca hasil akhirnya memang roti. bukan yeasted cake seperti kugelhup misalnya. yang tricky justru mengaduk ragi instant dan susu hangat. adonan pertama dibuang sebab susu terlalu panas malah raginya mati. yang kedua baru berhasil. apa tandanya? adonan susu dan ragi menjadi berbusa busa. 

oh, ya. jangan terlalu banyak memberikan filling ya. kelihatannya terlalu banyak filling membuat roti dibagian dalam menjadi basah. padahal bagian lain yang fillingnya sedikit atau malah tidak ada, rotinya mengembang, berpori rapat, empuk, dan spongy. karena g punya hazelnut, saya ganti dengan kacang mete alias cashew nut. dan males bikin streusel jadi diskip juga streuselnya. hihihi ... 

  

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT BABKA

You'll need

• 180 ml lukewarm milk
• 14 gm (2 sachets) dry yeast
• 110 gm(½ cup) caster sugar
• 485 gm (3¼ cup) plain flour, sifted
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 210 gm softened butter
• 100 gm hazelnuts
• 100 gm dark chocolate (56% cocoa solids), coarsely chopped

• For brushing:

eggwash

• For scattering:

       demerara sugar

Method

• 01 Combine milk, yeast and 1 tbsp sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle and set aside in a warm place until foamy (5-7 minutes). Add 75gm flour, mix to combine, then add eggs, yolk, remaining sugar and a pinch of salt, mix to combine. While mixing on low speed, gradually add remaining flour until combined, then add 150gm butter, a little at a time, beating until dough is shiny and elastic (3-5 minutes; dough will be quite soft). Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with oiled plastic wrap and set aside until doubled in size (1-1½ hours).

• 02 Preheat oven to 180C. Place hazelnuts on a baking tray and roast until golden (5-7 minutes), cool slightly, then rub with a tea towel to remove skins and cool completely. Process in a food processor until coarse crumbs form, combine with remaining softened butter to form a paste and set aside at room temperature until required.

• 03 Knock back dough and divide into two. Working with one half at a time, roll dough on a lightly floured surface into a 20cm x 32cm rectangle. With longest side facing you, spread over half the hazelnut paste, leaving a 4cm-border, then scatter over half the chocolate. Roll away from you to form a cylinder, brush ends with a little eggwash, then join ends to make a loop, twist into a figure of eight and place in a 9cm x 19cm loaf tin lined with baking paper. Set aside in a warm place until dough reaches the top of tin (1 hour). Repeat with remaining dough. Brush babkas with eggwash, scatter with demerara sugar and bake in centre of oven until golden and cooked through (35-40 minutes). Cool in tins for 10 minutes, then turn out, cool on a wire rack and serve warm or at room temperature. Babkas will keep, stored in an airtight container, for 3 days, and are best served warm or in toasted slices.

This recipe is from the April 2010 issue of Australian Gourmet Traveller.

http://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/recipes/recipe-search/classic-dish/2010/3/chocolate-and-hazelnut-babka/