Grandmother’s table was truly a groaning board...the dishes
of cold meats, salads, relishes, occupied one end of the table, including a big
ham, small roasted piglet, a turkey or goose and all the salads, side dishes
and various accompaniments, such as mustard sauce and the iconic cwikla
– prepared from chopped beets and horseradish.
At the other end of the table stood the tall, stately Babas
with their shimmery glaze, a favorite cheesecake and endless varieties of flat
short-bread mazurkas, decorated artistically in traditional Easter
designs. The table was also graced with
beautiful crystal decanters of homemade liquors, reflecting the bright sun with
ruby red or amber hues of the rainbow.
Our two books have all the recipes for the traditional Easter
feast. There is still plenty of time to
get autographed copies for yourself and as gifts for your loved ones who
may not have Babcia’s recipes.
With the popularity of cupcakes skyrocketing everywhere, we
want to share with you a favorite recipe for mini-sized, cream-filled Babas
that will look great on your table and will please your guests even more for
their portion-sized presentation.
Mini Babas - yields approx. one dozen pieces
Dough
·
2
cups butter
·
2
¾ cups sifted flour
·
2/3
cup confectioners’ sugar
·
4
egg yolks
·
1
teaspoon vanilla extract
Cut the butter into the flour either using your fingers or
the dough paddle of a standing mixer, until it forms coarse crumbs. The goal here
is to maintain small, but visible "pearls" of butter in the flour. Add in the sugar, egg yolks and vanilla and
combine well. Knead the dough, either by
hand or using a dough hook, until it forms a ball. Wrap it in plastic and cool it down for ten
minutes or so in the refrigerator while preparing the cream..
Filling
·
1
pint light cream, just boiling
·
2
eggs
·
2
egg yolks
·
2/3
cup sugar
·
1
teaspoon vanilla extract
·
2
tablespoons cornstarch
Put the coffee cream on to heat. Beat the eggs and yolks with the sugar for
five minutes. Add the vanilla and
cornstarch. Beat for 2 more minutes. Beat some more while slowly pouring in the
hot coffee cream. Cook the mixture on
low heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Cool.
While the filling is cooling, roll the dough ball out to ¼
inch thickness. Using a biscuit cutter,
glass or paper template, cut out
circles large enough to line the inside of a standard cup of a non-stick muffin
pan. Line the insides of one muffin cup
with one circle of dough.
Fill the dough-lined muffin cup about 1/3 full with the cool
filling mixture. Cover the cup with
another dough circle and seal the edges.
Repeat until all the dough is used.
Bake the Babas for 20 minutes at 400°F and until golden. Gently turn them out of the pan. Dust with
powdered sugar just before serving. For
color, garnish the platter with fresh fruit pieces or mint.
Smacznego!