It's Always Babka Season Around Here

Five favorites in NYC

Babka is the official dessert of “Sunrise, Sunset.” My first instinct whenever a friend loses somebody important in their life is to send them a babka. On the flip side, I’ve recently learned one out of every four gifts after you have a baby is a sweet loaf of cinnamon or (more likely) chocolate.

I ate a fair amount of babka before we had a baby—not like a weekly piece or anything, but I always feel obliged to try it if I see it on a menu. I will tell you with all honesty if babka is good or crap, and the sad truth is that it tends to be in the latter bucket more often than not. When I take a babka home, I like to work on it over a few days. I love it freshly baked, but there is something I find appealing about a babka that’s a few days old if it can retain some of its moisture. The trick is you’ve got to pick up a babka and if it’s hefty, then you’ve probably got something that’s going to last. Emily also doesn’t mind it being a day or two old, because she loves to top it off with some yogurt and fresh berries for a nutritional breakfast.

For my money, the best babka I’ve ever had is in Montreal. Forget the silly idea of a rivalry between the Canadian city and NYC for bagel superiority; Boulangerie Cheskie is the G-D tier babka experience. It’s the moistest, sweetest, almost chocolate cake babka I’ve ever had, and few experiences have come close…until the last two weeks.

I’ve rounded out my list of best babka since my baby was born, basically trying a new version every other day. I’ve been taking little bites here and there since I’m trying to figure out a way to actually lose weight after having a baby, and it’s given me some time to reflect when I’m not smelling the scent of Lulu’s diapers. And what I’ve come away with is…

Oneg Bakery is worth the hype.

And by “hype,” I mean freaks who don’t keep kosher who are willing to schlep to a part of South Williamsburg just between Bedford and the Broadway Triangle (i.e. a very Hasidic part of Brooklyn) for a piece of babka the rest of the world somehow discovered. My friend Elyssa owns Edith’s, one of my favorite bagel spots in the city, and she loves the stuff so much that she convinced Oneg to let her sell their babka at her sandwich counter. The other day, Elyssa braved awful weather conditions to bring us a gift. When she handed it to me I asked if there was another baby inside because of the weight. She told me it was half an order of the babka from Oneg, and that a full one weighs about ten pounds.

Folks, I won’t lie. Emily and I ate about half of that thing within 24 hours, with me doing most of the heavy lifting. The thing is this perfect balance between moist and dense. It’s heavy babka, but it’s chewy and gooey, and it has me thinking that the Hasidic community has some special secret they learned from the Talmud about how to make the perfect babka because Cheskie in Montreal is a similar sort of shop.

Russ & Daughters makes the best readily available babka

By “readily available” I mean that you can get Russ & Daughters almost anytime, whereas a place like Oneg is closed for Shabbos. It’s a nice babka, but I don’t think it ages so well. A fine babka if you’re having company or looking to make Day 2 French toast. But it works, especially when you compare it to a certain other iconic family-owned Jewish food shop and their awful, no-good babka.

Breads isn’t exactly a sleeper hit…

But I do feel like it’s a very local thing…and that’s great. Breads is a local thing, and I love that. I see plenty of tourists at their shops, but it feels like mostly people who live in the city or Westchester. It’s the big IYKYK babka, and generally all the baked goods there are in that category. And while I’d never mess with this sort of thing elsewhere, the Nutella babka is unholy. The cinnamon babka with raisins and nuts might be my favorite of that flavor around.

Speaking of cinnamon babka…

Go ahead and insert your Seinfeld quote about how cinnamon babka take a backseat to no babka, but I don’t think a lot of bakers agree with that. But when you get a good slice? And especially if it’s early and you’re drinking a hot cup of coffee? Hoochie mama! That’s why I love what Mekelburg’s does with their babka bites. They’re like a Jewish take on the Dunkin Munchkins.

Dacha 46’s ridiculous babka

The babka I get when it’s available…

There are two. The first is from, R&D Foods in Prospect Heights. I thought they had them year-round, but I might be making that up. Either way, these things are like baked chocolate bricks (remember, that’s a good thing here), and I’ve brought them to a few dinner parties, only to see them gobbled up in seconds. All their baked goods are wonderful, but I think part of the reason I’m so drawn to their babka is that I’ll go there some mornings and I’ll think “Maybe I’ll get a slice of babka,” but then I see they’ve got their homemade donuts coming out, and they make the best plain donuts around. So that’s what I go with.

The other is a new entry. My friends at Dacha 46 brought me over a care package the other day, and along with some savory items was a “Pride babka” they assured me I was the first to try. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and I’ll be honest, when I looked at the loaf I thought it was going to be disappointing because I tend to find the whole funfetti thing a little annoying. But folks, it was heaven. Coconut and cardamom, it was like holding a brick of cocaine in my hands…but better. They’ll be delivering these in June, so follow them on IG to get one when they’re available.