Comments on: Grandmother’s Cake

By: mimi54

mimi54 — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 05:57:00 +0000

This cake looks fabulous. Now I know what I’m baking for Tu B’Shvat!

By: Baroness Tapuzina

Baroness Tapuzina — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 00:33:16 +0000

Hi Abra,

On your next trip to Lyon, try to find a Middle Eastern shop. They should sell a package of date paste. Ask them if they have date paste to fill mamoul biscuits. You will need to thin the paste with either a little orange juice or some water.

By: Abra Bennett

Abra Bennett — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 07:26:01 +0000

That looks delicious! There’s no prepared date filling that I know of here in France, but because of the Maghrebin influence, there are lots of wonderful dates. I look forward to trying this.

By: gizmar

gizmar — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 02:35:53 +0000

I would eat this any day over a cake frosted or filled with buttercream. Looks fantastic.

By: Baroness Tapuzina

Baroness Tapuzina — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 18:13:27 +0000

Yes, margarine and water is fine for this recipe.

By: Divash

Divash — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:33:22 +0000

Brilliant, thanks! Then I can make it lichvod Shabbat sometime soon.

By: Divash

Divash — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:51:30 +0000

This is a little embarrassing, but I’ve never actually had babka. I think I’ll go get one for this Shabbat so I know what they’re meant to be like, and then try making yours so that I have something to compare it with. It looks delicious, I must say.

Quick question, though: Can you use margarine as a substitute for butter in this, or is this one of the few recipes that actually does require the dairy? I ask because I know that with milk, it can be added for wetness, for flavor, or for its chemical reactions with other ingredients, and so sometimes substitutions don’t work. Butter can be for flavor, for fat, or for… something else, I’m assuming — do substitutions work for babka?