Babka Inspired Challah

This past Shabbat was cold and it was also sadly the end of Winter Break, so I felt we needed an extra sweet challah.  I bake challah almost every week, although I tend to slack off quite a bit in the summer when it seems wrong to turn on the oven.  But during these cold months, it is definitely high season for Challah.

I had been thinking about making a traditional babka based on this amazing looking recipe from the Smitten Kitchen which emphasizes the key to babka is the combination of cinnamon and chocolate (plus lots of butter).  I took that inspiration and tried a challah with plenty of cinnamon, chocolate chips, and extra sugar.  Otherwise I used my regular recipe and 100% whole wheat flour, so it was sweet and healthy too.

I will definitely be making this again, and I recommend it to any other bakers out there.  You just might have to be careful of little hands reaching in before you have said the blessings.  I don’t have recipe specifics, because when I make challah I sort of pour the ingredients into my mixer until it looks and feels right.  But you can start with any basic recipe and pretty safely wander off with additions!

I wish you a sweet week and thanks for reading!

Strawberry Summer Cake in Spring

I can’t believe how many people have landed on this blog from a comment I left on the Smitten Kitchen site about my twist on her strawberry summer cake which I wrote about in a post last winter.  I guess someone is always searching for a strawberry cake recipes on the internet.

Since I made it last time with frozen berries, I decided to try again with a batch of fresh berries since we are harvesting lots of them right now, and I sometimes find flats like this waiting for me on the kitchen counter.

Plus we had a lot to celebrate this week.  There was a birthday for Israel, a health scare that turned out to be nothing and left us feeling very grateful, and our first CSA delivery was pretty smooth and organized.   So, I had plenty of excuses to try this cake again.    And the verdict was, it is better with fresh berries than frozen, a lot better.  I would have thought there would not have been much difference because the berries are baked on the cake.

So, here is my second try at the cake. I used about one third whole wheat flour and omitted the sugar on top but otherwise followed the recipe.  It was easy, and I will make it again, maybe next time I will double it  in a larger pan. This one was gone in a matter of minutes!

Strawberry Summer Cake in February

I love you WORLD

So it turns out Valentines day is a huge deal in preschool.  My son was looking forward to it for weeks and when the day finally arrived there was a party at school complete with candy, presents and yes dinosaur temporary tattoos.  He even brought home his first Valentine with a carefully lettered “I love you” message on the front. Fishing for compliments, I asked, “Is this for Dad or for me, or for the whole family.”   His answer was stunning, and humbling.  “It is for the whole world, I love everyone in the world.”  Four year olds are truly amazing creatures.

I used to be a Valentine’s day skeptic, I would call it a Hallmark Holiday and laugh at the cheap candy on display at the drug store and grocery stores.  And while you still won’t find me wishing for imported shrink wrapped roses, I have definitely come around.  I think it is my increased sense that life is short and we should focus on adding and not subtracting reasons to celebrate.  And if that means adding some extra holidays to the family calendar,  I think we should do it.

So with that in mind I went looking for a special recipe and found this one for Strawberry Summer Cake at the Smitten Kitchen.  We are lucky enough to still have several large bags of our own frozen strawberries from our farm in the freezer.  My husband throws big bags in the freezer during strawberry season, green hulls and all and we eat them all winter, usually just defrosted in a bowl.  But when I saw this recipe it seemed like the perfect fit.

So here it is, our version of Strawberry Summer Cake in February.  You can see mine is not as pretty as the one on the Smitten Kitchen site. That is in part because some of the strawberries were already pinched by one of my youngest valentines before I took the picture.  Plus, I am apparently not a food photographer!

I would definitely recommend trying out this recipe, and it is a great way to use frozen strawberries.  I think since you are cooking them, they are just as good as fresh.  And during the strawberry season,  I think I will stick with my shortcake recipe like this one from Mother’s Day, the other Hallmark holiday that I have decided to embrace.

So happy Valentines Day, I hope you found a way to celebrate too.