Apples and Honey For a Sweet New Year!!!
When I was teaching one of the songs that I would teach my preschoolers for Rosh Hashanah was the “Dip the Apple in the Honey” song. Even the youngest would learn this and sing it throughout the whole season of Chagim. To encourage the connection between the song and the holiday in class we would dip apples into honey and learn the brachot (blessing) to be said. Many parents have an assorted collection of apple & honey crafts to array their homes with during the chagim as well. For me what makes this so personal is that Rosh Hashanah wouldn’t feel the same without many different sweets made from apples.
My Grandmother would spend hours rolling thin pastry dough to make strudel before the holiday. She also made a sweet compote with both fresh and dried fruits. If there were more apples (there always were) she would make apple butter. The whole house would take on the aroma and we would be in and out of the kitchen asking, “Is it done yet?”. The answer was always the same “Not yet. Apple butter needs to cook a long time”. We waited and waited. Smelling the sweet spicy scent. Often, we would go to bed before it was finished. IN the morning there would be toast spread with the best tasting treat in the world.
Apple butter is a close cousin to applesauce. Cooked longer. Containing more seasoning. It has a dense creamy consistency and tastes incredible used like jam and schmeared over buttered toast or as a filling in cakes and baked goods. There is no dairy in apple butter, the name comes from the smooth creamy texture.
Months back when I started to think about what I would be making for the holidays I had this idea to use apple butter as a filling in babka. The more the idea worked its way around in my head the more I realized this would be a winning combination. Thus, was born the apple butter babka with vanilla cinnamon crumble. The effort I put into baking and perfecting my babka over the past few months seriously has been worth it. Two loaves are on the way to a client’s family in cities across the country and I am trying to figure out how best to send them to my family that is spread out and not with us this year.
I hope that you all enjoy making these. It is a process as you need a full day to make the apple butter before you can even think about making the babka. Trust me it is so beyond worth it!
Apple Butter – Crockpot Recipe
Ingredients:
5 pounds Apples, peeled and cored
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Ground Cinnamon
½ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
½ teaspoon Ground Cloves
Directions:
Peel, core and the apples. Cut them into chunks.
Add the apples to the crockpot with the remaining ingredients.
Mix to spread the spices about the apple chunks.
Cover and cook on high for 5 hours or low for 8-10 hours.
Using an immersion blender zhoom the contents of the crockpot until it has a creamy consistency.
Cool and store in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to a week. Or freeze for up to a year. If you are familiar with canning this can be canned in any size mason jar you prefer.
Basic Babka
Makes three 8 ½ “x 4 ½ “loaves - Parve
Ingredients for the Dough:
· 1 Tablespoon Dry Active Yeast
· 1/3 cup plus ½ teaspoon (for proofing yeast)
· ½ cup Warm Water
· 4 ½ cups All Purpose Flour
· 2 teaspoons Vanilla
· ½ cup Gluten Free Oat Milk / your favorite milk substitute
· 1 ½ sticks Vega Butter (Earth Balance)
· 2 Eggs
Apple Butter or filling of Choice
Ingredients for Vanilla Cinnamon Crumble:
§ ½ cup All Purpose Flour
§ ½ cup Sugar
§ 1 teaspoon Vanilla
§ 1 Tablespoon Ground Cinnamon
§ 5 to 6 Tablespoons Grapeseed Oil
Ingredients for Syrup:
§ 1 cup Sugar
§ 1 teaspoon Vanilla
§ 2/3 to 1 cup Hot Water
Directions:
§ The day before you plan on baking make the apple butter for the filling.
§ Begin by making the dough. Place the yeast and ½ teaspoon of sugar into a bowl along with the water. And proof for 10 minutes.
§ Place the flour and 1/3 cup sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the dough hook on lowest speed combine.(Using a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment will make this recipe much easier than kneading the dough by hand.)
§ Meanwhile in a saucepan melt the vegan butter. When fully melted remove from heat and add the oat milk. Set aside.
§ In the bowl with the proofed yeast add the two eggs. Mix well. Add the vanilla. Mix. Add the slightly cooled melted vegan butter and oat milk. Mix.
§ Start adding the liquid ingredients slowly to the dry ingredients while mixing on medium speed.
§ As the dough begins to come together, stop the mixer and using a spatula scrape down the sides. Continue mixing until the dough is smooth and elastic. (about 5 to 10 minutes depending on the strength of your stand mixer) * see note
§ Place the dough into a well-oiled bowl and cover with a warm damp cloth.
§ Place in a warm spot and let rise for 2 hours.
Directions for the Syrup & Crumble:
§ While the dough is rising, make the syrup by combining the hot water, sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Stir until sugar has completely dissolved. Set aside.
§ Make the vanilla cinnamon crumble by combing the flour, sugar, vanilla, ground cinnamon and grapeseed oil. Mix with a fork until a dry crumbly sand like consistency is reached. Set aside.
Assembly & Baking Directions:
§ Prepare three 8 ½ “x 4 ½ “loaf pans by lining them with parchment paper (Spray the pans with vegetable oil spray before placing the parchment into them, this will help the parchment paper to remain in place)
§ On a lightly floured surface cut the dough into 3 even pieces. Set two aside
§ Divide one third of the dough into three pieces. Using a rolling pin roll one piece at a time to create a large rectangle about 10” x 8”. The dough should be transparent but not torn.
§ Spread filling over the rectangle in a thin layer. Roll the rectangle up into a long snake and set aside. Repeat with the two remaining pieces.
§ Using a knife gently cut down the center of each of the three snakes, exposing the filling but not cutting through. Carefully braid as you would for making a challah and place into a prepared pan. Set aside and repeat with the two remaining dough balls.
§ When all three loaves are braided, and in the pans cover with the towel and let rise an additional 30 minutes.
§ Preheat oven to 350F.
§ After the second rise, bake the loaves in the oven for 20 minutes.
§ Open the oven and pull the wrack out so you can brush each loaf with the sugar syrup and sprinkle the vanilla cinnamon crumble onto them.
§ Bake 10 minutes more and brush once more with the sugar syrup.
§ Bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes until the babka are golden. Remove from the oven and immediately brush each loaf with three coats of the syrup.
§ Let cool on a rack.
§ Remove from pan and remove the parchment paper.