Babka

Babka (бабка), also known as baba (баба), is a sweet spongy yeast cake. Babka originated in Eastern Europe and was introduced to North America by early immigrants. Traditional babka has some type of fruit filling, especially raisins, and is glazed with a fruit-flavored icing, sometimes with rum added. Modern babka may be chocolate or have a cheese filling.

Despite its Christian associations, babka is also popular among Jews, particularly those with family origins in Eastern Europe.

Other than the dessert variety, there also exists a traditional Eastern European Jewish variety prepared during Passover in lieu of bread. Generally, this sort is not sweet and is prepared using crushed matzos with water, egg, and salt.

The Babka is sometimes mentioned in the show Seinfeld, where they also reference a Cinnamon Babka. It has been parodied in Cory in the House as a "Nakishka", implying it is from Bahavia.

Etymology

The name babka is a diminutive of baba ‘old woman’ or ‘grandmother’, and probably refers to the shape of the pastry, a tall cylinder, sometimes with corrugations resembling a skirt’s pleats.[1] The name of the pastry entered the English language from Polish, via French, although it is also sometimes used in its original sense, especially among those of Eastern European descent.