Category Archives: Dessert

The Jamie Ding Cake

This cake is to celebrate something fun:

Smiling man in glasses and orange shirt
Jamie Ding (Photo from Jeopardy!)

My friend Jamie Ding has now, as of this writing, won 24 games in a row on Jeopardy!, and has won over $660,000 in the process. This puts him in the top 5 of all contestants ever on the show.

Smiling man in red and brown sweater holding buzzer at podium
Jamie at the buzzer (photo from Jeopardy!)

Jamie is a dear friend who I have known since I was 13. It is absolutely thrilling to watch someone so awesome become one of the greatest game show winners in American history. He is also a great person and quite a foodie. For my and my spouse’s wedding, Jamie gave us two bottles of his homemade nocino – walnut extract.

So, to celebrate, I decided to make a cake in Jamie’s honor, incorporating his nocino and two other things he loves: orange and chocolate.

A golden cake with a chocolate ganache topping and walnuts sprinkled on top on a plate on a white counter
The Jamie Ding cake (photo mine, April 2026)

This, readers, is the Jamie Ding Cake: an orange walnut cake with dark chocolate ganache.

This is a fairly simple cake. I based the recipe loosely off a lemon sour cream pound cake recipe by Michelle from Smart Savvy Living. If you are not lucky enough to be Jamie’s friend, store-bought nocino will do. This recipe also works well with almond extract and almond flour.

The Jamie Ding Cake

makes one 9-inch/23 centimeter cake

Cake

  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tsp nocino
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • Zest and juice of one large orange (1/3 cup juice)
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
  • 1/3 cup ground walnuts or walnut flour, plus additional ground walnuts for garnish
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Ganache

  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 2/3 cup sour cream
  • 1 tsp nocino

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F/175C. Grease a 9 inch/23 cm round cake pan.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, sugar, eggs, nocino, sour cream, zest, and juice until thoroughly combined.
  3. In another bowl, mix the flour, walnuts, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until thoroughly combined.
  4. Fold the flour mixture into the oil mixture until combined.
  5. Pour the batter into a pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  6. Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes, and then on a rack until cooled completely.
  7. For the ganache, melt the chocolate by your preferred method – I use 30 second bursts in the microwave in a medium microwave-proof bowl, stirring each time.
  8. When the chocolate is melted and still hot, stir in the sour cream and nocino until combined.
  9. Spread the ganache over the top of the cake in an even layer.
  10. Garnish the cake with a sprinkling of walnut pieces if desired and allow the ganache to set.
  11. The cake keeps for 3-4 days covered at room temperature. 

Thank you to David Ouziel, AJ Faust, and the congregants of Mishkan Torah in Greenbelt, MD for conducting repeat user acceptance testing on this recipe

Japanese Baking Adventures: Matcha Pound Cake

One reason I find authenticity annoying is that some of the best cuisine out there has happened when one group takes the traditions of another and makes it their own. In fact, that is a lot of Jewish cuisine, generally, as I have written on this blog for over a decade. 

a cup of frothy green tea in a cup
Matcha (photo T. Tseng/CC)

Another example is Japanese-style baking. Though Japan has a delicious native sweets tradition, Japanese cuisine has also incorporated a baking tradition stemming from German and French baking in the 19th century and earlier Portuguese innovations. The history of Japanese baking has been well-documented elsewhere. You can find these baked goods in bakeries, Japanese convenience stores (konbini), restaurants, cafeterias, and many places in Japan – and at many Japanese shops here in the USA.

I actually enjoy the Japanese versions of these baked goods more than the Western “originals.” They are a touch less sweet and a good deal lighter, and often incorporate Japanese ingredients like matcha or red bean, which I enjoy. (The lightness comes from using lighter flours and rice flour.) I also find that these baked goods tend to have a comforting, understated nature to them. Normally, these are desserts I would buy elsewhere, but my husband asked me to try my hand at making some.

shelves of pastries with tongs and trays to take them with labels in Japanese
A bakery counter in Japan (photo Kawasaki Yusuke/CC)

Hence this pound cake, based on a recipe for a lemon pound cake in Brendan Liew and Caryn Ng’s Konbini,which is a cookbook of Japanese convenience store cuisine. Pound cakes are fairly popular in Japan, and the Japanese pound cake is a very relaxed treat. I have made mine with matcha rather than lemon, and a little less sweet even than the original. Feel free to adjust the sweetness to your taste.

Matcha Pound Cake

Based on a recipe by Brendan Liew and Caryn Ng in Konbini

Makes one 9-inch/22.5-centimeter long loaf

Ingredients:

  • 4.25 ounces/120 grams white flour
  • 1.4 ounces/40 grams potato starch
  • 1.4 ounces/40 grams glutinous rice flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3.5 ounces/100 grams white sugar
  • .35 ounce/10 grams matcha powder (culinary grade)
  • 6 tablespoons melted butter
  • 6 tablespoons whole milk + 1 tablespoon for glaze
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 ounces/56 grams bittersweet baking chocolate, chopped
  • 1.75 ounces/50 grams confectioner’s sugar

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 175 C/350 F. Grease and line a 9”x5”/22.5 centimeter loaf pan.
  2. In a bowl, sift together the flours, starch, baking powder, salt, sugar, and matcha powder. I do so by mixing them with a whisk.
  3. Whisk together the butter, 6 tablespoons of milk, and eggs.
  4. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix until combined. You should have a reasonably thick batter that is darkish green in color.
  5. Fold in the chocolate until combined.
  6. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  7. Remove and let cool, first in the pan and then out of the pan.
  8. While the cake cools, make the glaze by mixing together the confectioner’s sugar and remaining tablespoon of milk until you have a loose liquid.
  9. Spoon the glaze over the cake. The cake keeps covered at room temperature for 4-5 days.

Thanks to David Ouziel and AJ Faust for repeat user acceptance testing of this recipe, and to my friends at Mishkan Torah Congregation in Greenbelt and my husband’s friends for testing the final version of this recipe.

Ice Pops Are a Delight of Modernist Cooking

Shana tova! Here is one last post for 5784.

I have lately been very into ice pops – and for reference, my most recent birthday was my 33rd, not my 5th. You may know these as popsicles – which comes from the brand name Popsicle. I am especially fond of the mango Greek yogurt popsicles sold at Whole Foods. And while I have mostly been invested in making and eating ice pops, I do think that they are a really good example of why modern food is good, actually.

Green popsicle held by someone
Matcha yogurt popsicle (photo mine, October 2024)

Ice pops are a perfect example of modernist cooking – functionally, they were not even feasible until the late 19th century. Why? Well, refrigeration and freezing as we know it only became widely available around then – and icehouses before that were pretty much the domain of the wealthy. (Some ancient practices like the Iranian yakhchal were available more widely in their regions.) Freezers were more common in commercial settings – like stores – well into the 20th century; the majority of American homes did not have a refrigerator or freezer until the late 1930’s. Most people in much of the Global South still do not.

The history of ice pops closely tracks this history: frozen mass-market treats beyond ice cream became common in the late 19th century, and popsicles were invented early in the 20th century. In developing countries, popsicles often become popular first as commercial refrigeration becomes more common, then as more consumers have freezers at home.

Popsicles also reflect the availability of clean water and dairy. Often, the ingredients are not heated – and as a result, harmful bacteria get frozen in situ, still ready to wreak havoc on a digestive system. One reason we can have ice pops at all – and why they are still dangerous in many places – is because of access to water sanitation and pasteurization, beyond refrigeration.

Multicolored popsicles
Paletas (photo Arnold Gatilao/Wikimedia CC)

Every country seems to have a favorite ice pop. In Israel, watermelon popsicles are popular. Mexico has a whole family of paletas with flavors ranging from prickly pear to horchata. In Panama, my partner and I were able to try duros, stickless popsicles with the flavors of various tropical fruits like soursop and guava. (The passionfruit duros are spectacular.) Popsicles are big money in many countries too: Japanese consumers buy billions of yen worth of garigari-kun– soda-flavored ice pops – every year.

Popsicles are fun to make. They are also quick – I am always amazed at the speed at which a few ingredients transform into popsicles going in to freeze. A lot of ice pop recipes are out there, and many of them are quite good! I have sketched out, below, a method for making popsicles that I like, sweetened with honey and with the tang and weight of Greek yogurt. I hope you enjoy.

Make Your Own Ice Pops!

Here is a rough sketch of a popsicle recipe, with two varieties:

Set up

I have six ice pop molds, each of which has a 1/3 cup capacity. So, each of these recipes makes about two cups of filling. If you have bigger molds or more capacity, feel free to do math to increase the filling.

Always leave a little room in the mold for the popsicle to grow as it freezes.

I list Greek yogurt for both recipes, but feel free to use a dairy-free substitute for a pareve ice pop.

Matcha Yogurt Popsicles (based on this recipe)

1 ¾ cups Greek yogurt, 2 tsp culinary grade matcha, 3 tbsp honey, 1 tsp vanilla, pinch of salt. Whisk the ingredients together, pour into your molds, add the sticks, and freeze.

Cucumber Orange Popsicles

Puree one large cucumber and the flesh of one orange, then strain to get the juice. (Discard or compost the solids). This will give you about one cup juice. Whisk the juice together with ¾ cup Greek yogurt, 4 tablespoons of honey, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Pour into your molds, add the sticks, and freeze.

Cacao Nib Cookies: The Less-Sweet Cousins of Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mountains, blue sky, and fields with trees and gras
An Andean landscape near Ollantaytambo in Cusco Department (photo mine, May 2024)

I recently went on vacation to Peru – which is a magical country. The people are friendly, the historic sites are majestic, and there is a lot of “verve.” I strongly urge you to go. One highlight, of course, was the food. Peruvian cuisine is, of course, well known for its artful use of native and introduced foodstuffs. But what I find interesting about Peru is how it was very much the cradle – or a cradle – of many of the foods we enjoy in the modern world today: including tomatoes, potatoes, and chocolate. Though cacao is more commonly associated with pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, it was actually first domesticated and grown in what is now the Amazon rainforest of Ecuador and Peru. Cacao is still grown in the region, and Peru is one of the top ten cacao growers in the world.

While there, I went on a “chocolate production experience” – where I got to learn a bit more about cacao nibs. These are bits of cracked, roasted cacao beans that have not yet been processed into chocolate. They have a bitter, nutty, complex flavor that is deep and still chocolatey. Learning about chocolate and cacao in Peru was very interesting – and I enjoyed tasting the different “terroirs” of different cacao beans.

After this experience, I brought back a kilo (2.2 pounds) of cacao nibs. Enter the experimentation.

Cookies with cacao nibs on a colorful striped plate

Many people use cacao nibs as a substitute for chocolate chips in cookie recipes. Most of their cookie recipes, though, are quite complicated, or tend to use a lot of other specialty ingredients (to some of which I am allergic). Instead, I wanted to make a simple recipe with the cacao nibs that highlighted their savory nature, but was still friendly and approachable. Hence these cookies – which I have based on other cookies I have made before.

I have made these cookies several times now, and I really enjoy them. They are akin to a less-sweet cousin to a chocolate chip cookie, and the cacao nibs add a pleasant nuttiness. Many of the “taste-testers” who tried this recipe over several renditions over the past few weeks made similar comments to me. I hope you enjoy these cookies too.

Cacao Nib Cookies

Makes about 30 cookies

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter or a butter substitute, softened

1 cup sugar (you can reduce this if you wish)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

½ teaspoon salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup crushed cacao nibs

  1. Preheat your oven to 375F/190C. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Cream together the butter and sugar until well combined and beginning to get fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix thoroughly.
  3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
  4. Add the flour mixture and the cacao nibs to the butter mixture and mix to form a dough.
  5. Let the dough rest for five minutes.
  6. Place walnut-sized balls on the cookie sheet, about 2 inches/5 centimeters apart.
  7. Bake for 11 minutes, then remove from the oven. Let sit on the cookie sheet for an additional 15 minutes.
  8. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Thank you to my co-congregants at Mishkan Torah synagogue, many friends, and my colleagues for participating in User Acceptance Testing for this recipe.

Tangerine Vanilla Cheesecake

So, some personal news: my partner and I got engaged and bought a townhouse! Despite all the depressing news, there has been some specialness in my life too. And so – not just to destress, but also to celebrate – I have been baking. One result of this baking is this tangerine vanilla cheesecake.

black and white photo of cheesecake in pan
A slice of the cheesecake (photo Michael Faccini, January 2024)

I have written about the Jewish history of cheesecake before on the blog, and others have covered this topic well too. I have based this cheesecake on a well-known recipe made by the since-closed Three Cities of Spain coffee shop in Santa Fe, New Mexico in the 1960’s and 1970’s. The sour cream topping adds a tang, hides any cracks, obviates the need for a water bath, and creates a wonderful contrast in texture with the cream cheese-custard filling. Three Cities of Spain was a well-known artists’ hangout – including for many Jewish artists, musicians, and writers – and one of the many places where Jewish hippies began their reinvention of American Jewish cuisine in the 1960’s. (A hint for a forthcoming blog post.) In any case, this cheesecake’s sour cream topping reminds me of the many tangy, creamy Ashkenazi Jewish desserts – and many of the tasty cakes one might find in a Ukrainian or Russian bakery.

Cheesecake with sour cream topping on a serving dish on a bag
A past rendition of this cheesecake at a Shavuot picnic in 2022 (photo mine, June 2022)

I add tangerine or mandarin to this cheesecake for some additional tang and floral-ness. My friend Michael described this cake as akin to an orange creamsicle. I hope you enjoy!

Tangerine Vanilla Cheesecake

Adapted from the Three Cities of Spain Cheesecake and Deb Perelman’s version of the same recipe

Crust:

11 sheets graham crackers, blitzed into crumbs (use a food processor or a rolling pin)

6 ½ tablespoons/92.5g butter, melted

Filling:

24 oz/680 grams cream cheese, softened

4 large eggs, room temperature

Zest and juice of one large or two medium tangerines

¾ cup caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping

8 oz/227 g sour cream

1 tablespoon honey

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

A few drops orange blossom water (optional)

Method

  1. Line an 8”/9” (20cm/23cm) springform pan with parchment paper on the bottom.
  2. Mix the crust ingredients together until combined. Pour into the springform pan and push down and evenly spread across the bottom of the pan. Place the pan in the refrigerator for at least ten minutes.
  3. Preheat your oven to 350F/175C.
  4. In a bowl with an electric mixer or a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until fluffy and significantly increased in volume.
  5. Add the eggs, zest, and juice and beat on low speed until fully combined. (Note: if your eggs are still cold and cause the cream cheese to congeal a bit again – you can use an immersion blender to get a thoroughly smooth result. Pulse until the clump is gone.)
  6. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat on low speed until just combined.
  7. Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the cheesecake is mostly set except for the center.
  8. While the cheesecake is baking, mix together the topping ingredients.
  9. Remove the cheesecake from the oven. Immediately add the topping on top of the cheesecake, and use a spatula or spoon to spread evenly across the top of the cheesecake.
  10. Return the cheesecake to the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
  11. Remove from oven and let cool on rack for 30 minutes.
  12. Then, refrigerate the cheesecake for at least six hours.
  13. Run a knife along the tin, then remove the springform collar. The cheesecake keeps refrigerated for up to six days in the refrigerator.

Thank you to David Ouziel (my partner and fiancé!), Michael Faccini, and my fellow congregants at Mishkan Torah synagogue for assistance with User Acceptance Testing.

Why Bake Off Is Refreshing Right Now

Like many other people, I have been engaging in a fair amount of escapism in my spare time lately. The news is often very overwhelming – as are my frustrations. (Long-time readers and friends can probably guess my political opinions based on some past writing on this blog and elsewhere.) So, to avoid burnout, I distract myself.

Lately, that has been The Great British Bake Off.

Much has, of course, been written about this baking reality show and its evolution (and sometimes, missteps). Some of Bake Off fandom is intense. I am not in that category – I am a casual watcher. I like watching the baking and the personalities and the weird cakes. I get ideas for things to make. And I have watched episodes enough times that it is comfortable background material while I complete another task. Even when the show has gotten a little weird or cringey, the comfortable structure has remained.

In recent weeks, though, I have come to appreciate something else about Bake Off: the show not only does not have villains and heroes (apart from the weather on Chocolate Week), it also does not have a Moral or Big Lesson. The show is inherently ridiculous – a competition for baking! – and owns it. There are not grand story arcs or something to learn. I think this is why Bake Off is so refreshing.

A chocolate cake with raspberries on top
The Bake Off cake. (Photo: Great British Bake Off)

A lot of our media – and a lot of our food media – centers heroes and villains, or feels a need to give a moral lesson or be rooted in a specific type of morality. We are told that this person is good, making that food makes you immoral, or see complex stories squashed into simple narratives. (Full admission: I have trafficked in this.) These of course have a time and place – but especially now, there seems to be an insistence that all media has to have some sort of didactic charge. Is that really necessary?

Sometimes, to be most effective, one needs to turn one’s brain off. And this is where, I think, the biggest lesson of Bake Off lies. Not everything needs to have a villain or a moral, and certainly not everything in food. Sometimes a cake competition should really just be that. And by letting ourselves just enjoy something, we have more time for the efforts, activism, and fights around food that actually matter.

—

A cottage with vines and birds made out of pie
Crystelle’s pastry masterpiece (Photo: Great British Bake Off)

Relatedly, I will highlight my seven favorite bakes from across the series, incidentally all made by Star Bakers from that week. In no particular order:

  1. Tom’s epic Jörmungandr and Mjolnir bread sculpture in Bread Week in Series 7
  2. Tasha’s Japanese katsu and matcha illusion biscuits in Biscuit Week in Series 14
  3. Syabira’s Jack and the Beanstalk creation in Pastry Week in Series 13
  4. Ruby Tandoh’s Carrot Cake and Pistachio Garden Plot in Alternative Ingredients Week in Series 4 (also, you should get her book and cookbook)
  5. Julia’s (slightly inappropriate-appearing) “Snail Under a Mushroom” bread sculpture from Bread Week in Series 8
  6. Nadiya’s Chocolate Peacock in Chocolate Week in Series 6
  7. Crystelle’s Lily Nana’s Pickle Cottage terrine pie from Series 12 (pictured above)

If you cannot tell, I particularly like the cute bakes.

I also recommend the podcast Sticky Bun Boys, hosted by Series 10 winner David Atherton and contestant Michael Chakraverty for all sorts of fun content and Bake Off commentary.

A Floral Note: Honey Rose Cookies with Cardamom

Here is a recipe for honey rose cookies with cardamom. I based the recipe for these floral, spiced cookies on my maple spice cookies, but the change to honey and the addition of roses adds a very different feeling. The cookies also have little specks from the ground roses that add color and pizzazz.

Three golden brown cookies with piles of dried roses (red-purple) on a white plate
(Photo mine, April 2023)

Roses have been used in Jewish cooking for many centuries, but primarily in the form of rose water, which tends to be quite concentrated. Rose flavors are often associated with Shabbat and Shavuot. Beyond a floral note, rose often complements and cuts the sweetness in many desserts. In this recipe, I used dried edible roses – which you can find easily online, especially because they are often used for tea. Be sure you are using food-grade dried roses.

Honey Rose Cookies with Cardamom

Makes 24-30 cookies

1 stick unsalted butter or butter substitute, softened

½ cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons whole milk (or plant-based milk)

2 cups white flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons dried rose petals, crushed (I use a mortar and pestle)

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

¼ teaspoon table salt

  1. Preheat your oven to 350F/175C. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy, using the method of your choice (electric mixer, hand mixer, or by hand).
  3. Add the honey, vanilla extract, and milk and blend together until combined.
  4. Sift the flour together with the baking powder, crushed rose petals, cardamom, and salt.
  5. Mix the flour mixture into the honey butter mixture until combined. You should have a pliable dough.
  6. With your hands or two spoons, roll balls of dough about 1 ½ inches/2 centimeters in diameter and place on the cookie sheet. Then use your finger to squash each ball into an oval-ish shape. You should get between 24 and 30 cookies.
  7. Bake for 12-13 minutes. The cookies should become golden and expand.
  8. Remove from oven and let sit on the cookie sheet for ten minutes.

Thanks to David Ouziel, Hannah Cook, and Douglas Graebner for conducting User Acceptance Testing on this recipe.

A Second Brownie Recipe – Gluten-Free, Vegan Brownies with Walnuts

I have been trying to improve my repertoire of vegan, gluten-free desserts for a while now – partly to have more dairy-free and gluten-free desserts in my back pocket, and partly because it seems like a good idea.

Brownie on a plate
A vegan, gluten-free walnut brownie. (Photo mine / March 2023)

Hence these brownies. I based them on an excellent recipe by Arman Liew, but made enough adjustments that I decided to write up my version separately. This recipe is more like a bar, and thus is very different from my cakey Shabbat brownies.

brownie on parchment paper with brownies behind
Stock photo brownies that look a lot like my other brownies (Photo Pixabay/CC)

I added walnuts, which I crushed with a rolling pin. The walnuts not only complement the chocolate and temper the sweetness, but also add oil and density to the brownie. You could probably use any tree nut; a nut-free version would probably require some additional tweaks.

Vegan and Gluten-Free Walnut Brownies

Based on a recipe by Arman Liew

Makes 24 brownies

4 tablespoons ground flaxseed

¾ cup water

2 scant cups vegan chocolate chips – semi-sweet or dark chocolate

12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) vegan butter – Earth Balance works well

¾ cup granulated sugar

½ cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ½ cups gluten-free flour

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder (make sure it’s gluten-free)

1 cup walnuts, crushed

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F/175C, and line a 9”x13” (23cm x 33cm) pan with parchment paper.
  2. Mix the flaxseed and water and let sit for a few minutes, or until it gels up. Set aside.
  3. Melt the chocolate chips and vegan butter in a large bowl. I usually do 30 second spurts in the microwave on high, mixing in between, until melted. You could use a double boiler if you like.
  4. Add the sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla extract to the chocolate mixture and mix in thoroughly.
  5. Add the flaxseed mixture to the chocolate mixture and mix in thoroughly.
  6. Sift together the gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder.
  7. Fold the dry mixture into the chocolate mixture until just combined. The texture should be consistent and no dry spots should be apparent.
  8. Fold in the walnuts until evenly distributed.
  9. Pour the mixture into the pan and use your spatula to spread around evenly. Note that this will be a thick mixture – much thicker than a traditional brownie batter.
  10. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top has solidified.
  11. Remove from the oven and let sit in the pan for at least 30 minutes.
  12. Remove the mega-brownie from the pan and slice into squares. I usually measure mine to be about 2 inches on each side.
  13. Keep in a sealed container for up to four days, separating layers of brownie with parchment paper.

Thank you to my colleagues for providing User Acceptance Testing for this recipe.

Great Books: Tava by Irina Georgescu

One of the great things about Romanian food is that there is something for everyone. Luscious corn porridge, mamaliga, with salty curd cheese, hearty soups, elegant salads, spiced meats, and ethereal fruits. Many communities, including Jews, have lived in Romania and influenced its cuisines – and this shows up in Romanian baking. Germanic, broad-shouldered fruit pies, light shortbreads common across the former Ottoman Empire, and swirled fruit-and-nut breads reminiscent of Eastern Europe all stand side by side. Romania is an underrated baker’s paradise.

Cover of Tava

Irina Georgescu captures this fantastic diversity in her latest book on baked treats, Tava. This dessert-focused book chronicles both traditional Romanian and Balkan recipes like the plăcintă cu mere – and apple and walnut pie – and gogoşi doughnuts, and newer creations like a crepe recipe with a toffee apple and rosemary sauce. Georgescu writes in a relaxed, yet passionate style, and provides a richly illustrated journey through the diverse regions and culinary traditions of her homeland. This book follows Carpathia, an excellent and not dessert-focused compendium of traditional and modern Romanian cooking.

The recipes in the book are fantastic. One of my personal favorites is the apple and caraway seed loaf cake, which is beautifully simple and very delicious – the juice of the grated apple is what moistens the cake, so it feels luscious and light at the same time. I can also vouch for the malai dulce – sweet cornbread – recipe, and the wonderful pinwheel swirl shortbreads, which were fun to make. Something that I deeply appreciate about the recipes is that the sugar content is much reduced compared to other books, so none of the recipes I have tried are either too sweet or cloying at all. I wonder if this is common across Romanian confectionary, or simply attributable to Georgescu’s (obvious) culinary genius. I’m excited to soon try the courgette (zucchini) fritters and the various pies.

Dumplings in breadcrumbs on a lined table in a book
Curd cheese dumplings in Tava (photo Irina Georgescu/2022)

Georgescu openly celebrates the Jewish influence – and other influences – on Romanian cuisine. Some of these are in the recipes that many communities share – for example, noodle puddings or doughnuts. She also adds a well-written and very nice discussion of Jewish baking traditions in Romania at the end of the book, followed by a hamantaschen recipe with plum butter that looks absolutely divine. I appreciated also that hamantaschen were in the section on gifts – after all, they are a traditional part of mishloach manot. Along with the Jewish insert – again, appropriately placed – there are also entries on Hungarian-speaking, German-speaking, and Armenian communities in Romania, with wonderful recipes attached.

hamantashen with powdered sugar on a plate
Georgescu’s hamantaschen with plum butter (photo Irina Georgescu, 2022)

Beyond the celebration and the recipes, Georgescu’s book gives one more gift: an excellent antidote to authenticity discussions in food. Georgescu explicitly focuses on the diverse origins of Romanian food, and resists the urge to mush them into a single narrative – in fact, she rejects authenticity! She states,

              “I prefer to say ‘this is how we eat in Romania’ – a kaleidoscope of old, traditional and regional recipes, relevant to who we are now.”

              I hope many more authors and cookbook creators take this lesson from this excellent book.

Tava: Eastern European Baking and Desserts From Romania and Beyond, by Irina Georgescu

Chocolate Babka

A braided ovoid chocolate-laced bread on a cutting board
A free-form chocolate babka. Yes, I am aware of what it looks like. (Photo mine, September 2021)

Note: recipe updated July 2024.

This is my chocolate babka recipe – which I have posted elsewhere, but not as a blog post. I nailed down this recipe during the initial stages of the pandemic, based on my cinnamon babka recipe and Tori Avey’s chocolate filling. It has been one of my dessert standards since then. (To the point that last year, I brought one on a plane to Florida to spend Thanksgiving with my partner’s family. I am nothing if not absolutely ridiculous.)

I talked about the history of babka in a 2019 post. What I have come to appreciate about chocolate babka since then is how it reflects a very Jewish experience: of new foods evolving with encounters with new products in new places. Chocolate babka came about in 20th-century New York, enabled by cheaper chocolate and an enormous amount of creativity in New York’s Jewish bakeries at the time. Now, it is one of those treats that generally pleases a very wide audience. I’ve also come to appreciate the delicious babkas created by other communities – I’m a big fan of the log-like Ukrainian ones.

Slice of chocolate-swirled bread on a white plate
Cross-section of a (free-form) babka. (Photo mine, May 2020)

I make my babka a little less sweet than many are, and I like to add chopped walnuts to add weight, depth, and nuttiness. You can omit the walnuts if you have an allergy. I also make the babka with butter – though dairy is only partly traditional, it is delicious. The butter also adds to the delicious density of a babka – something that certain people on certain British baking shows do not appreciate, I am told.

You can braid in a loaf, which is what I direct here, but I’ve come to enjoy free-form babkas braided like a challah. I added directions in a note at the bottom. You can also add an egg wash if you are feeling fancy, but I am invariably too lazy.

Chocolate swirled loaf in a loaf pan
A baked babka. (Photo mine, May 2020)

Chocolate Babka (with Optional Walnuts)

Makes two medium loaves

1 cup/250mL whole milk

1 package active dry yeast

2/3 cup granulated sugar, divided in half

5 tablespoons salted butter, melted

2 eggs

3 ¾ cups sifted white flour (about 450g)

8 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 oz/120g dark chocolate chips

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup walnuts, finely ground (optional)

  1. Warm the milk to about 100F/39C – I do it in 15 second spurts in the microwave. The milk should be warm enough to touch with your finger but not feel like it’s burning you.
  2. Add the yeast to the milk, stir in, and let sit for five minutes.
  3. Mix the yeast mixture in a large bowl or stand mixer bowl with the eggs, salted butter, and 1/3 cup of the sugar.
  4. Add the flour, ½ cup at a time, and mix in thoroughly, either with your hands and a spoon or the dough hook on the electric mixer. Once it is in, knead for six to eight minutes on a floured surface, or use the dough hook on the electric mixer for about five minutes. The dough, when ready, should be roughly the texture of your earlobe and should be smooth and bounce back.
  5. Oil a large bowl, put the dough in it, and cover. Let rise for about 1 ½ hours, or until a bit more than double in size.
  6. Meanwhile, you can make the filling. Melt the unsalted butter and the chocolate chips together until smooth. (I use the microwave). Mix in the other 1/3 cup sugar, cocoa powder, and walnuts if using until combined. Set aside.
  7. Grease two loaf pans. Grease – not flour – a large surface and a rolling pin.
  8. Punch the dough down, then split into two parts. Take one part, roll it out to about half an inch/1 centimeter thickness. Spread half of the chocolate filling evenly on it, leaving a 1 inch/2.5 cm perimeter around the edges of the dough.
  9. Pick up one edge and roll tightly into a tube. If you want, you can slice the tube in half before the next step.
  10. Bring the two ends together, and twist into a figure eight-ish shape. Place in the pan.
  11. Repeat with the other half and other pan.
  12. Preheat your oven to 350F/175C.
  13. If you want a lighter or fluffier babka, you can proof it again a second time for 30 minutes. Let it sit undisturbed on/in the pan at room temperature.
  14. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until brown on top and hollowish-sounding when you tap it. Let cool for five minutes in the pan, then until your desired temperature on a rack. Store in a sealed plastic bag for up to a week or so.

For a free-form babka: Bake instead on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Shape the coils however you want – I recommend in this case slicing the tube in half and twisting the two halves together for a visual effect.

Many thanks to the friends, neighbors, and roommates who have helped me develop this recipe over the years: AJ Faust, Zachary Maher, Ying-Ying Chow, Rebecca Fedderwitz, Bo-Young Lee, Joseph Jeffers, Hannah Cook, Douglas Graebner, Melanie Marino, Margaret Curran, Maryam Sabbaghi, Sara Weissman, Gilah Barker, Zach and Hannah Kinger, and of course, my partner David Ouziel.