Babka, Boulou, & Blintzes: Jewish Chocolate Recipes from around the World

By Michael Leventhal

Discover the history of chocolate in Jewish food and culture with this unique recipe book, bringing together individual recipes from more than fifty noted Jewish bakers. This is the perfect book for chocoholics, anyone keen to grow their repertoire of chocolate-based recipes, or those with an interest in the diverse ways that chocolate is used around the world.

Highlights include Claudia Roden’s Spanish hot chocolate, the Gefilteria’s dark chocolate and roasted beetroot ice-cream, Honey & Co’s marble cake and Joan Nathan’s chocolate almond cake. As well as recipes for sweet-toothed readers, savory dishes include Alan Rosenthal’s chocolate chilli and Denise Phillips' Sicilian caponata. There are also delicious naturally gluten-free and vegan recipes to cater to a variety of dietary requirements.

Each recipe helps provide an insight into the important role chocolate has played in Jewish communities across the centuries, from Jewish immigrants and refugees taking chocolate from Spain to France in the 1600s, to contemporary Jewish bakers crossing continents to discover, adapt and share new chocolate recipes for today’s generation.

Babka, Boulou & Blintzes is a unique collection published in conjunction with the British Jewish charity Chai Cancer Care.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pen and Sword
• Release date: Aug 31, 2021
• ISBN: 9781784387006

Michael Leventhal

Michael Leventhal is the publisher of Greenhill Books and Green Bean Books. TheChocolate King is his first book for children and won a PJ Library Author Incentive Award. Previously he founded Gefiltefest, a Jewish food charity which organized Europe's biggest Jewish food festival. He is co-author of Jews in Britain and edited The Hand of History (illustrated by Chris Riddell). You can see more of his work atwww.michaelleventhal.co.uk

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About This Collection

Five years ago, soon after becoming a father for the first time, I started publishing Jewish children’s books. Then, after a trip to Bayonne in France and reading about Jewish chocolate history, I decided to try to write my own children’s book on the subject. This chocolate cookbook felt like a natural extension of that story book. Over nine months I gathered a wonderful range of recipes from cooks, chefs and writers around the world. I also appealed to volunteers to pitch in and test each recipe. The aim was to raise money for Chai Cancer Care – all profits from the sale of this book will go towards supporting their work.

The subtitle of this book is ‘Jewish Chocolate Recipes from Around the World’ – but what makes a recipe a Jewish recipe? The question has been debated at numerous events and there is no definitive answer.

Some of the recipes included in this collection – such as babka and rugelach – are closely associated with the Jewish community. They are connected with particular Jewish traditions and are well-known and commonly used by Jewish cooks. There are also recipes that require ingredients like mahlab and tahini that are used in Middle Eastern cookery and arguably have a Jewish flavour – though that is not to say that they are used exclusively in Jewish cookery.

Finally, my aim was to collect and present varied recipes from Jewish cooks around the world. This collection includes mouth-watering ideas from Curaçao, Israel, Egypt, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, America, Turkey and other countries.

A year ago, a friend of my wife Rachel dropped off a delicious surprise – a batch of freshly-baked brownies. They came with a note saying, ‘There are few situations which cannot be improved with a little chocolate.’ I agree entirely and I hope you find plenty in this book to interest and inspire you.

Michael Leventhal

A MESSAGE FROM

Chai Cancer Care

At Chai, we have always recognised the importance of nutrition and making informed choices. And amongst us all who can resist chocolate? So it’s wonderful to know that dark chocolate enjoyed in moderation has powerful antioxidant activity!

With delicious recipes from around the world, Babka, Boulou & Blintzes is not just a dessert cookbook. In it you will find an eclectic and tantalising range of sweet and savoury recipes for every occasion, from sourdough rye brownies and chocolate and roasted beet ice cream to Sicilian caponata and chocolate chilli.

So many of us are touched by cancer in some way and for more than 30 years, Chai has been an essential part of our community. At the time of printing this book, we are currently supporting just over 3,600 cancer patients, their families and friends from 11 centres across the UK, in clients’ own homes and internationally through Zoom, Skype and telephone counselling.

Currently, Chai provides 65 specialised services including counselling for families, individuals and couples; complementary therapies; children, teenage and family service; home support services; group activities and support groups; and the Medical Outpatient Rehabilitation and Palliative Care

Reviews for Babka, Boulou, & Blintzes

[jetangen4571 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jewish, chocolate, recipes, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture, international-competition, international-commerce, illustrated*****What a terrible book to read if you're on a diet or crave chocolate! It begins with the earliest involvement in the development of edible chocolate, moves on to Jewish involvement in chocolate usage/chocolate trade, and then begins a beautiful but dangerous (to me, a chocolate addict) illustrated book of recipes. The photography is excellent and the recipes astounding. Best of all, the proceeds are being donated to Chai Cancer Care, so buy this book even if it makes you groan!I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from Pen & Sword, Green Bean Books via NetGalley. Thank you!