My Mother’s Apple Cake

Apples and honey are common symbols of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. Apples are dipped in honey to symbolize wishes for a sweet new year, and both feature prominently in traditional dessert recipes (see honey cake truffles and apple honey cake).

Growing up, my mother made this amazing apple cake every year for Rosh Hashanah. When I moved to Texas, I usually don’t cook meals for Rosh Hashanah, so I started making it for Yom Kippur’s break fast. Apple cakes like this are incredibly common, and so associated with Jews that many recipes are called “Jewish Apple Cake”.

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Overnight Challah French Toast

For the last two years, my friend Karen and I have led a fundraiser for our synagogue’s religious school, making round challot for the High Holy Days. Challot is the plural of challah, that wonderful egg bread similar to brioche, that is traditionally eaten at every Shabbat and holidays. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish new year, and to celebrate it, challot are traditionally round-shaped and often contain dried fruit (usually raisins) to symbolize a sweet new year.

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Apple Honey Cake

For many of us, holidays are a combination of dishes that must be made, new dishes to try, and the sad fact that each person can only eat so much. Every year for Rosh Hashanah, my mother makes a fabulous apple cake. When I moved down here to Texas, I started making it for break-the-fast (the meal following the 25 hour fast during Yom Kippur, which is ten days after Rosh Hashanah) instead, because my friends and I weren’t cooking dinner during Rosh Hashanah. Continue reading “Apple Honey Cake” →

Triple Pomegranate Challah

A slice of pomegranate challah

My friend Molly is always making wonderful challah variations, which besides making my mouth water, also really make me regret how far away I live! Normally I don’t do anything untraditional with my challot, for a couple of reasons. I don’t really make challah during the year, because it’s just me alone, and I go out to eat on Friday night after services. So I only make challah for High Holidays, and I make a somewhat traditional fruited challah (next time try half raisins and half chopped apricots, it’s awesome) and I’m done for the year.

Proofing yeast in pomegranate juice Continue reading “Triple Pomegranate Challah” →

Honey Cake Truffles

Honey Cake Truffles

I was trying to find a fall-themed dessert for a Sukkot celebration, which had to meet the criteria of being easy to grab and requiring no utensils. I somehow started thinking about possible truffles – pecan pie, pumpkin pie, apple pie – and looking at various recipes for them. But it just didn’t seem quite right. And then it came to me – why not a honey cake truffle?*

So I did what I usually do – googled various phrases trying to find recipes. I figured it was so obvious it had probably been made a million times. But this was apparently not true. I couldn’t find a single recipe. Continue reading “Honey Cake Truffles” →