Cinnamon Babka Bundt Cake

So it’s been a while since I’ve posted. DH and I have been traveling quite a bit, first on our vacation and then bravely with 4 grandsons in crazy hot weather. Every time we stepped into the apartment rental we all said, “AAAAHHHHH” when the air conditioning hit. But they were more fun than a barrel of monkeys (of course that’s what I call them, the monkeys) and we returned utterly wiped out but very happy. We are recovering slowly.

On top of this excitement, we have a truly joyous occasion upon us, our first grandchild (Lavi) is getting married! So exciting and to a lovely girl, Maor. One of the great things in the melting pot of cultures in Israel is the co-mingling of the Jewish people from different countries. Maor’s family is from Morocco, Persia and Iraq while our family is Ashkenazi. So with great excitement we look forward to our first henna in the family. If I get a good picture of me in the Moroccan garb, I will post it, promise!

Update! And it was wonderful and amazing and here’s the picture! The collection of Moroccan garb provided by Maor’s mom Mali.

Btw, I’m holding a platter of “Shoshanim” a rose shaped meringue filled cookie which is a speciality and no, I’m not gonna give you a recipe for it! I didn’t make ’em, the caterer did.

On this note, this recipe is absolutely Ashkenazi. A classic babka but I’m giving you a two-fer. The same dough which you use for the babka bundt cake can be used to make cinnamon rolls. I personally like to make half the dough into the bundt cake and the other half into cinnamon rolls. You get 12 nice cinnamon rolls from half the dough. It’s a particularly nice dough to work with and the end results are wonderful both for Shabbat and especially nice for the upcoming holiday of Rosh Hashanah. I usually freeze the rolls and DH periodically sneaks a bun here and there and they taste awesome when popped in the microwave and zapped for a 30-40 secs or you can simply let them defrost at room temp but remove from container or ziplock before defrosting so they don’t get condensation on them.

So down to work. Gather your ingredients. Make sure you let the margarine sit out to soften. Little trick. No time to soften? Cut thin slices and let sit while you proof the yeast.

I already hear you – you’re looking at the above pic and yes, you need two kinds of sugar. The white sugar goes into the dough itself and the demerara sugar is in the filling. The white sugar melds into the dough better than the rough crystals of the demerara sugar but the nice caramel flavor that it provides works beautifully in the filling. So yeah, you need both. K.

Into a bread machine or a mixer, place the yeast, white sugar and the water. Let sit about 5 minutes till the mixture bubbles like so:

add the cinnamon and the eggs and vanilla

add the flour, salt and softened marg

Turn the bread machine on dough cycle. Whether in bread machine or mixer, make sure the ingredients incorporate properly.

In a mixer, add flour a few cups at a time, using dough hook and shaking it in and giving it a chance to get worked into the dough.

While the dough is being kneaded in the bread machine or mixer, mix together the filling of cinnamon and sugar and set aside. Melt the additional margarine and set aside.

keep going…

now you can see the dough is nice and smooth. Make sure you close the lid or cover the mixer bowl with plastic wrap or a cloth.

Let rise until doubled in bulk – when you press your index finger into the dough and an indentation remains, it’s risen properly. Divide the dough in half.

Take a bundt pan and brush some of the melted marg in the nooks and crannies.

Roll out half the dough into a rectangle and use half the remaining melted marg and brush onto dough.

Mix sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle half the mixture over the dough and roll dough over filling tightly like a jelly roll.

Place dough into pan and cover and let rise.

Roll out second half of dough into rectangle, brush with remaining marg and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar. Roll up tightly like jelly roll and using a serrated knife, cut into rolls more or less evenly. Place rolls flat on parchment paper lined rimmed baking sheet.

Let rise 20-30 minutes or till doubled. While doughs are rising, preheat oven to 175-180 C/350 F. Bake cake 35-45 minutes till when tapped it sounds hollow and rolls 20-30 minutes until golden brown.

Let cool on wire rack. While cooling, mix powdered sugar with vanilla extract to make icing. Drizzle over cooled cake and if you wish over rolls. Freezes amazingly well.

For mixer: follow instructions for proofing yeast, adding eggs etc. as for bread machine. Add flour a few cups at a time so as not to overload the mixer, using a dough hook and salt and margarine until incorporated. The rest of the instructions are the same.

Kosher From Jerusalem – Debbie

Cinnamon Babka Bundt Cake

Use half the dough to make cinnamon rolls and half to make a Babka Bundt Cake

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Servings: 24

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

(1 kilo) 8 cups All purpose Flour

(100 grams)1/2 cup Sugar

2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons Salt

2 packets (14 grams) or a scant tablespoon Yeast

(100 grams) scant 1/2 a cup margarine, softened

(450 milliliters) 1 3/4 cups water

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 eggs

Cinnamon-sugar filling:

(200 grams) 1 cup demerara sugar (raw sugar)

2 rounded tablespoons cinnamon

(100 grams) scant 1/2 cup margarine, melted

Icing for topping

(120 grams) 1 cup sifted powdered or confectioner’s sugar

2-3 teaspoons vanilla extract

Equipment

• bread machine OR
• mixer

Method

 

1. Place the yeast, sugar and 1 1/2 cups water (you reserve 1/4 cup water in case dough looks dry) into bread machine. Let sit for about 5 minutes until bubbling. Add the room temperature eggs, vanilla extract and cinnamon. Then add flour and salt on top and turn on dough cycle (about 50 minutes) let mix a minute or two and add softened margarine. Let dough mix until you see it's incorporated properly (Keep an eye on it for about 5 minutes. If you see the machine struggling, stop it and use a spoon to help it till it's able to incorporate the flour as it should and resume the dough cycle).
2. When dough cycle ends, check that dough has risen properly by pressing your index finger into the dough. If an indentation remains, it’s risen properly.
3. Use some of the melted margarine to coat a bundt pan (use a pastry brush to get it in all the nooks).
4. Divide dough in half. Roll out into rectangle and using the same melted margarine, brush on rolled out dough (you will use it on both dough halves, for both the bundt cake and the cinnamon rolls).
5. Sprinkle half the cinnamon sugar on the first rolled out dough and roll up tightly like a jelly roll. Take your coated bundt pan and tuck the rolled dough in a circle in the pan. Cover with towel or plastic wrap and let rise for about 1/2 an hour or till dough has risen about 3/4 of the way in the pan.
6. Take the second half of the dough, roll out into rectangle and brush with the rest of the margarine and top with cinnamon sugar and also roll up tightly like a jelly roll and using a serrated knife, cut slices (about 1.5 inches, not quite 4 cm) thick. Lay rolls (pinch ends together if necessary) flat on parchment paper lined rimmed baking sheet and let rise till doubled, about 20-30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 175-180 C/350 F while dough is rising.
7. Bake the cake for about 35 – 45 minutes, until tapped and sounds hollow (if it’s getting too dark around 25-30 minutes in the oven, lightly cover with tinfoil for rest of bake) and cinnamon rolls for about 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.
8. Let cake cool on wire rack before turning right side up and removing to platter.
9. Mix together the powdered sugar and vanilla to make icing and zigzag with abandon over cake and/or rolls, as you wish.

for mixer: follow instructions for proofing yeast, adding eggs etc. as for bread machine. Add flour a few cups at a time so as not to overload the mixer, using a dough hook and salt add margarine until incorporated. The rest of the instructions are the same.

Notes

Both the cake and rolls freeze beautifully.  Wrap well and place in ziplock bags.  To serve,  let defrost at room temperature uncovered, or zap rolls in microwave for 35-40 secs for rolls.