On 1/19/2019 at 12:09 AM, Pete Fred said:Halva babka, based on the one at Breads Bakery in New York. Their filling, but I swapped in a brioche feuilletée for the bread. Not much of a looker at first glance (that's a tahini glaze on top)...
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A bit disappointing, sadly. The flavour was quite muted. I much prefer their chocolate babka.
A laminated babka is a beautiful thing, so I'm sure that it would have been delicious even sans filling.
I've eaten and made my fair share of tahini filled babkas, which are quite popular in Israel. I'll share my 2 cents.
First, obviously, is to use a good tahini, one with a strong nutty well-toasted flavor, naturally sweet and gently bitter. You should also make sure to use plenty of it.
The second tip is that tahini flavor is mostly "bass notes", and has no acidity. You need to complement it in order for it to come through (especially in bread).In savory applications, tahini is always paired with acid, like lemon. In pastry, I like to pair it with silan (date molasses) which adds this acidity. It also boosts the caramelized notes of the tahini. The second thing that you want is some high notes - a good vanilla will do, but I much prefer a sprinkle of rose water (or orange blossom), cardamom also does wonders.
Here's my filling recipe (for a cake made from 250g of flour):
85g tahini
80g silan (one with no sugar added), you can sub with blended dates and a sprinkle of lemon juice.
a big pinch of salt
Rose or orange blossom water (strength varies greatly, so go with your taste, I use ~1/2 tsp)
1/4 tsp cardamom
optional: 1/4 tsp cinnamon
Sometimes I replace part of the tahini with coconut cream.
For the looks, try a cover of ground pistachios.
