These buns are traditionally served on Good Friday. But I guess if we omit the crosses on top and bake them as sweet rolls they can be enjoyed any day. The buns are so nice slightly warm from the oven and lightly buttered. Or toast them the following day.
Rich buttery brioche dough with smart addition of chocolate and dried cherries turns into the best babka.
The result is worth the effort. But you have to plan baking this bread ahead of time – the dough needs to be refrigerated overnight.
The recipe is from “Chocolate Holidays”.
This is an example of simple country food. And you probably have all ingredients in your pantry. A crunch of the cornmeal ties so nicely with a crunch of seeds in the dry figs.
This is Carol Field’s recipe.
We like it either way - fresh and warm, right from the oven and the next day, toasted and generously buttered. It’s not even close to a store-bought raisin bread, but much more flavorful.
It looks impressive and might seem like difficult to make. But there’s nothing complex in the shaping of this bread. Besides, the handling of the yeast dough is always calming and nerve soothing experience.
This is my son’s favorite cake. He calls it the jumping “hop-hop” cake. You can bake it in a 9-cup capacity bundt pan. It will not look that authentic but the taste will be the same.
