Is Krantz cake really the same as Babka?

This was my second attempt at a Krantz cake, and braiding dough with a full on chocolate spread is no easy feat. Braiding, sans spread, is already challenging enough.

I based my first recipe off of one from Ottolenghi, one of my favorite chefs, and my second from Honey & Co. Both are Israeli, and their restaurants are heralded establishments in London, UK. Though it may not look as buttoned up as the bakeries and gorgeous recipe pages, the taste of this Krantz cake, or babka, was sublime, both times. This does not last long in the house, and it’s rather a lot of effort to make, just inhaled in a matter of hours. That is the beauty of baking for me. It is a good sign, better still, a compliment to your art, even when imperfect, because, let me tell you, that first Krantz cake was definitely not picture worthy, by any means. It takes patience to produce, and absolutely no time to be devoured, which is the reward. It is such a delectable form of bread, also classified as a dessert, filled with chocolatey and sugary richness. I want to bring the focus and attention to the history between the Krantz cake and its very close similarity, or relationship, to the babka. There has been some chatter over the past couple of years that what we refer to as a babka these days may not really be what it is. Krantz cakes have now taken on the label of babka in many bakeries, as they are an easy connection and selling point with customers.

We all know this is a cake pastry, but in fact masqueraded as a bread, smeared with spreads, most typically chocolate or cinnamon. By no fault of its own, it is deemed too rich for breakfast and too bready for dessert, according to the NY Times. Nonetheless, the history of this bread, cake, or pastry is a straight connection between Germany - Israel. Krantz cake is a German pastry. It is also what the buttery form of ‘babka’ is typically referred to in Israel. Are they both really the same thing at the end of the day? Perhaps. That's what I hope to conclude by the end of this post.

This is a delectable treat, whether you see it as a cake or bread. It is doused in syrup once baked, and that is its piéce de résistance. Without it, it is dry, possibly crumbly, and unfinished. The history behind babka was that it was made using leftover challah dough, then sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and baked. Seeing that the basis of it was challah, there was no butter, therefore making it kosher and allowed to be eaten with any meal. The downside of babka was that it would be extremely dry and crumbly, seen unremarkable and probably bad, regardless of the syrup finish. Challah dough was adopted by Jews in southern Germany in the Middle Ages and spread by Ashkenazic cuisine, which yeasted doughs are also a part of such as, the Krantz cake.

As of late, there has been a popularity and renaissance in babka making. Its hip and coolness seems to have begun since 2013. Remarkably, they have turned bakeries into destinations since about 2014. I vividly remember being part of the production team that executed Papermag’s SuperDuper Market featuring the stall of the one and only Breads Bakery. Now considered a haven in New York, they had one location back then, in Union Square, which has since become the flagship location. I still prefer to visit their first outpost whenever I’m nearby. There is a homeyness, unprecedented ambience to it. You are overwhelmed by the chocolate babka aromas swirling in the air, freshly baked behind the scenes, with lines seeping through the café, commuters and visitors alike, waiting to pick up their famous treat or other delectable items. Uri Scheft, the brains and baker behind Breads Bakery, has brought his intellect and mastery from Israel all the way to NYC. By opening the first location in 2013, and marking the symbolic importance behind the babka, he has created something quite similar to the fame of Dominique Ansel’s cronut, but remains timeless. Older establishments such as The Hungarian Pastry Shop in the Upper West Side, my neighbor, remains humble in its approach, and is one of the few remaining Jewish owned pastry shops alongside Breads Bakery, having been on the block since 1976. Needless to say the term babka is used to masquerade as the Krantz Cake, for the sake of easy association.

I am in awe of this bread/cake, because it is something you expect to be familiar with. It is simple and deceiving in appearance, but extremely laborious and masterful in putting together. However, the biggest revelation is that the babka we know today, and the likes of Breads Bakery, is that they are all made with butter, and not all butters are kosher. What we are really devouring are Krantz cakes, which stands for ‘yeasted cakes’ that’s rolled with a cinnamon or chocolate filling. Its basis is not the challah dough, but extremely similar, and that’s why it can seem confusing at first, especially if you’ve ever only known one name. I didn’t realize there was a difference until I came across the Krantz cake recipe in Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem, of which painted this very similar picture to a babka, but was called something else. I immediately knew I had to dig into the history and understand if they really were the same thing, masked by another name. The answer is definitely no, but on one hand, yes. There are some Krantz cake recipes that have a streusel topping and ungodly amounts of butter, making for more of a cake crumb than pull apart dough, like we’re used to. Ottolenghi’s, is the latter, and so is Scheft’s. Whether it is the Israeli tradition, or the modern take on combining the old-school babka with the Krantz cake for a consumer friendly sell, the Krantz cake that I make today is definitely one for the books and one that is as impressive as it tastes.

In 2017, it was unofficially declared the year of the babka, really Krantz cake. It’s favorable attention out of all Jewish desserts maybe isn’t just thanks to great bakers bringing their family recipes over here to share with the greater nation, but perhaps Seinfeld. Food52 reminds us of the 1994 episode, in which Jerry and Elaine famously derided cinnamon babka as “the lesser babka”. They have a point. However, it is in recent years, most notably 2016-2017, where the Krantz cake masked as babka became a phenomenon, now a staple. That babka plastered everywhere and taking over social media accounts with beautiful shiny syrup coated images are far from the Eastern European babka they are supposed to be. That is, made without butter, using leftover challah, and lacking in richness. The inclusion of chocolate spreads was also an American Jewish invention of the mid-twentieth century. Thank you, chocolate.

In terms of flavor and texture, most recipes call for cinnamon in the chocolate mix. Ottolenghi’s; however, doesn’t, which I liked, as I am not the greatest cinnamon fan in everything. I am quite picky as to what should include it, because it is an extremely overpowering spice, that can quickly change taste, and not in a good way. At the same time, I do love the spice for its complexity. Honey & Co’s did call for cinnamon, and I went along with it, after all I do trust their judgement too. Both versions were spectacular in taste. The latter didn’t call for too much cinnamon in fact, but it was definitely noticeable, and added a bit of an extra punch to the bite, in a good way. I would do it with or without, I realize, and you can alter the amount to your desire, that is the beauty of spices. Both recipes had similar approaches, but the measurements of the chocolate spread from Honey & Co’s was a little much. I ended up saving about 1/4 cup of the mix, as it was quickly drowning my dough. Pouring any more chocolate and my dough would have ripped in rolling, or worse, been an incorrect ratio of dough to spread. Other than that, it turned out beautiful, and as mentioned earlier, I mastered the braiding this time. I learnt my mistake of rolling from the wrong side with Ottolenghi’s, therefore, making it too short. It happens!

Patience and time are the essence of Krantz cakes. Making them isn't easy or quick, as Ottolenghi warns, but it is rewarding. You need to let the dough rise overnight, I’m sure there are faster rising and fermenting methods that you can follow for same day brioches (the basis of this dough), but they are not traditional. Letting the dough ferment and rest for this long, refrigerated, develops the dough, and the long cold rise gives the gluten time to relax, making for easier shaping. You are also allowing the yeast taste to dissipate, instead bringing out the flavors of the eggs and butter. It makes for a richer, wholesome dough, that gives weight to the Krantz cake texture, what we know as great babka today.

This dessert, which goes by two names, almost muddled by history, remains a rich, sugary syrup coated treat that can be eaten any time of the day. It’s a breakfast. It’s a dessert. Be careful to use your judgement with recipes, as they are a guide and may be based off of different brands and types such as flours, which differ remarkably from French to Italian to American. The first two are softer and finer, sometimes stronger, unlike American flours. The same can be said for chocolates and cocoa powders, where a higher percent chocolate may be drier due to less cocoa butter and more cocoa beans. Thanks to David Lebovitz’s version, he even accounts water may be wetter than the water in France, where he was based at the time - can water even be wetter? I suppose so. No matter what, just make sure you trust your judgement, and roll with the science that’s what all bakers end up mastering.