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Chocolate Babka

I think it was the first week of the lockdown. My doorbell rang. I hadn’t ordered anything, so I opened the door with caution. Turns out a friend of mine had bought Easter breads (flavored with mastic & mahlab) for her close-knit group of friends from a favorite bakery of mine in İstanbul, called Üstün Palmie. And I was one of those lucky recipients. It came to my door still warm from the bakery and I’ve been obsessed with baking the best version of it at home ever since. More on that later.

The obsession started with that bread–actually, sweetened and flavored breads are called çörek (pronounced “chö-wreck”) in Turkey–and continued with this wonderful Chocolate Babka, drenched in a dark caramel syrup.

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Tahini and Leblebi Swirl Brownies

Brownie recipes are among the easiest to make gluten-free. As the flour plays no essential role (many recipes have none at all), you can freely substitute it with an array of gluten-free alternatives. I’m sure you’ve seen several versions, but have you tried brownies made with sarı leblebi flour?

Sarı leblebi refers to double-roasted hulled chickpeas (leblebi) that are yellow (sarı). It is a beloved Turkish snack, available at every kuruyemişçi (specialty shop selling dried nuts, seeds, and fruits), sometimes roasted right by the entrance to entice customers with its toasty smell. Roasting the chickpeas twice chars them in spots, giving them an intensely toasty flavor. There is also beyaz (white) leblebi, made from unhulled chickpeas; these go through a different process and aren’t as toasty. Sarı leblebi may be found ground into a flour, but as I always have the snack on hand, I grind the flour at home using a mortar and pestle.

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