Babka Is the New Bagel: The Jewish Dessert Hits the Big Time

Written by Julia Kramer and Julia Bainbridge for Bon Appetit

Babka is just like Taylor Swift during her country music period (bear with us here): a niche figure ready for the crossover to mainstream star. This is good news to anyone who’s been with this deli fixture since whatever the Jewish equivalent is of that song “Tim McGraw.” As die-hard fans know, babka could not be more suited for a mass audience. When made right, classic babka has a moist, buttery (not dry!) yeasted dough that’s somewhere between challah and coffee cake, which gets swirled with unseemly amounts of gooey chocolate, and is then tucked into a loaf pan, where it’s usually topped with crumbly streusel. (A cinnamon variety is also common, but as Seinfeld fans know, any version without chocolate is a “lesser babka.”)

Now bakers are giving babka its due—and upping the ante, using croissant dough, lacquering the top with a rich ganache, and even experimenting with ice cream sandwiches. Let’s call it babka’s big break.

Here are 5 inventive outcomes of the renaissance:

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