Slavik EASTER BABKA
Most of the Slavik Countries bake these breads…..
for Easter…
It is an Easter tradition!!
Recipe
2 pkg dry yeast
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cups milk, warmed
1 cup flour
Dissolve yeast and sugar in lukewarm milk. Gradually stir into 1 cup of flour in a bowl.
Mix until smooth. Cover with a towel and let set in a warm place until mixture doubles in bulk.
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
7 egg yolks
zest of 1 orange
1/4 cup orange juice
4 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins
Cream butter and sugar until well blended. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating until well blended. Mix in yeast mixture, orange rind and juice. Stir in flour and salt. Beat in electric mixer until well blended. Dough will be soft.
Place in greased bowl, cover with towel and let rise in warm place till it doubles. Grease tall baking pans and fill 1/3 full. Cover with towel and let rise until dough doubles.
Bake in cylindrical baking forms!
Bake in 350 F for 50 – 60 minutes. If the tops brown too quickly cover them loosely with foil…. Check with an Instant Thermometer for doneness. Temperature should read between 190 to 200 F. Carefully remove from baking pans and cool.
Traditionally the Babka is baked in a tall form. One can use a 2 or 3 lbs coffee can or sometimes a fluted pan is used.
Serve with cream cheese and jam….
From Google………
Eastern and Central European babka, especially among Christians, is a spongy, brioche-like yeast cake that is traditionally baked for Easter Sunday. The cake is traditional in the lands of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, namely Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Western Russia , as well as among the Rusyns (Ruthenians) in northeastern Hungary. Darra Goldstein, professor of Russian at Williams College says “babka comes from baba, a very tall, delicate yet rich yeast-risen cake eaten in Western Russia and Eastern Poland.”[1] Traditional babka has some type of fruit filling, especially raisins, and is glazed with a fruit-flavored icing, sometimes with rum added. Modern babka may be chocolate or have a cheese filling.
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Maja’s Viennese Kitchen
Maria Reisz Springer
http://www.majaskitchen.com
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Maja's Viennese Kitchen 
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