The holiday season is fast approaching, and baking is on my mind. This year, I will avoid a December baking crisis and follow my mother-in-law’s practice of spreading holiday baking over two months, baking those items that can be preserved or frozen before Thanksgiving and baking more delicate cookies and tarts in December. I am …
This Pumpkin Noodle Babka is my recreation of a fall dish Babunia, my Ukrainian maternal grandmother Julianna Bulawka, improvised for Didunio, my grandfather Vasyl Bulawka. It unites sweet cheese, sour cream custard with egg noodles and pumpkin, Ukraine’s favorite fall ingredient, in a noodle bake (she called harbuzova babka* or kugel (гарбузова бабка or куґель) …
At the end of a recent seafood dinner in Washington, my dining companions and I were presented with a splendid arrangement of Greek desserts. The assortment was familiar: baklava —caramelized phyllo pastry, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with syrup or honey, ekmek kataifi –crispy, golden shredded phyllo with creamy custard, soaked in lemon scented …
This Pistachio Napoleon Torte is my twist on the traditional Ukrainian Napoleon. In my childhood, Napoleon Torte was the epitome of a fancy dessert made only for special occasions by my aunt Titka Maria or Mama. Years later, when I began working in Ukraine, I learned this torte was adored by other Ukrainians and prepared …
Pistachio Napoleon Torte – a Twist on a Ukrainian Classic Read More »
This post presents a delectable apple and bread dessert known by various names. I call it Apple Babka, but similar recipes also are called Apple Zapikanka (pudding) or Apple Sharlotka (charlotte). The names often are confused because the recipes include similar ingredients: apples, bread or flour, butter, sugar and some also add eggs and/or milk. …
Apple Babka or Zapikanka or Sharlotka? – Ukrainian Apple Cake Read More »
This Cherry Almond Solozhenik (вишнево- міґдаловий соложеник in Ukrainian) is a vintage rustic dessert now regaining popularity as Ukrainian cooks highlight their culinary traditions and practices, refuting Russia’s repeated declarations that Ukraine is an invented country, and has no distinctive ethnic culture or traditions. The name “solozhenik” applies to a range of traditional Ukrainian sweets. …
Cherry Almond Solozhenik — a Rustic Ukrainian Dessert Read More »
This Mocha Almond Waffle Torte is made with thin, waffled-wheat-flour wafers. Ukrainian cooks layer these versatile wafers, round or square, with an assortment of buttercream fillings, jams and sometimes almond or other nut pastes pressed together as a no-bake dessert. Some versions are served as a torte; others are cut into bars as cookies. I …
No-bake Mocha Almond Waffle Torte –Pischinger, Andruty or Wafer? Read More »
Mounds of multi-hued pumpkins at a local farmer’s market are a sign that fall has arrived. Unlike in America, where pumpkins are eaten primarily in the fall, pumpkins in Ukraine are an important year-round dietary staple featured in soups, pies, combined with millet or rice for porridge, baked with honey, savory tarts, cheesecakes and desserts. …
This Poppy Seed Honey Babka is my variation on a traditional makivnyk (маківник) a poppy seed roll baked throughout Ukraine but has special significance during August harvest celebrations. This year’s Russian invasion interrupted the annual agricultural cycle in many parts of Ukraine. In the east, where hostilities were concentrated, farmers and gardeners planted when they …
This Cherry Tart, Ukrainian Style (vyshnevyi pliatsok – вишневий пляцок) is a popular summer dessert in Ukraine where the cherry season runs from June through July. The Ukrainian word pliatsok describes a flat pastry, sweet or savory. The English word tart is the closest translation since the finished product more closely resembles thin European …
Cherry Tart, Ukrainian Style — Vyshnevyi Pliatsok Read More »