Encyclopedia of Jewish Food

by Gil Marks

  (See also Borani, Fritada, Kefte, Mina, Pkhali, and Sfoungato)

  Sponge Cake

  Sponge cake is a cake made light and airy with beaten eggs.

  Origin: Spain

  Other names: Britain: plava; Italian: pan di spagna; Ladino: pan de Espana, pan esponjádo; Morocco: pallebe; Tunisia: biscoutou; Yiddish: poshetteh lekach, tawrt.

  Around the year 1000, bakers in Moorish Spain discovered that beating eggs together with sugar granules trapped numerous air bubbles, making possible the leavening of batters without yeast or chemicals. The result, after a little flour was added and the mixture was baked, was a light, airy cake, enjoyed by Sephardim early on. A branch and twigs tied together originally served as the agitating utensil. However, the batter required more than an hour of beating by hand, so sponge cakes were only enjoyed by the rich or reserved for special occasions. Egg-foam cakes rely solely or primarily on beaten eggs for volume and light texture, but today, some contain baking powder for additional leavening.

  Sponge cake reached mainland Italy during the Renaissance (c. 1450s), perhaps spreading from Sicily, where the Arabs had introduced this baking technique, or perhaps brought by Sephardic exiles arriving in Italy. One of the ways Italians served sponge cake was to cover slices with a custard, creating a dish called zuppa Inglese (English soup), which was the forerunner of the English trifle. Italians bakers created their own versions of the cake, including genoise (named after Genoa), which contained butter and much less sugar, and bocca di dama (mouth of a lady), called biscuit de Savoie in French, which contained no butter and a larger amount of eggs, resulting in a sturdier cake. Both of these drier Italian egg-foam cakes, unlike sponge cake, required a soaking syrup or liqueur to moisten them.

  By the early seventeenth century, egg-foam techniques crossed the English Channel, initially as thin, crisp cakes called biscuits, and, in turn, spread to the American colonies. The first known recipe for a classic sponge cake in a European cookbook was in the German Die Wol Unterwiesene Koechinn by Maria Schellhammer (Braunschweig, 1692). The cake was called "French Sweet Bread," indicating that this particular dish had reached northern Europe by way of France and not Italy. The first record of the English term "Spunge Cake" was in and a recipe for it, A New System Domestic Cookery by Maria Rundell (London 1807), a time when egg foam was largely replacing yeast in England as the raising agent in cakes. It was first mentioned by a Jewish source in the memoirs of Mordecai Manuel Noah, native of Philadelphia and United States consul in Tunis, Travels in England, France, Spain, and the Barbary States (New York and London, 1819), in an account of his 1813 visit to a Spanish chocolate house, noting, "The chocolate, rich and thick, is served up in tumblers, accompanied with a spunge cake, and a glass of water."

  The advent of the rotary eggbeater around 1870 greatly reduced the tedium and time involved in making egg-foam desserts. Accordingly, the popularity of home-baked sponge cake greatly increased, abetted by the spread of the home oven. Improvements in bakeware led to even greater popularity for the sponge cake. Originally, European sponge cakes were baked in a tin hoop placed on a parchment paper—lined baking sheet. The next step was a Turk's Cap, a large, glazed, bowl-shaped terra-cotta mold with a central tube, akin to a Bundt pan. The scalloped surface gave a cake the appearance of wound turban. In the mid-nineteenth century, craftsmen began producing a metal version of the Turk's Cap, the first tube pan. However, many of the earlier metal tube pans were square, as pans of this shape were easier to fabricate than the now-standard round ones.

  Since it contains no butter, sponge cake proved ideal for kosher meals. Most are flavored with lemon or orange. In the nineteenth century, when sugar beet factories opened in sections of eastern Europe and sugar became more readily available, sponge cake became popular among Eastern Ashkenazim. Recipes for "Sponge Cake" were included in the first English Jewish cookbook, The Jewish Manual (London, 1846), and the first American Jewish cookbook, Jewish Cookery (Philadelphia, 1871). Sponge cake, typically baked in loaves or large rectangular pans, became a mainstay of kosher bakeries and a common sight at Jewish celebrations. A particular eastern European favorite was a sponge cake containing both sugar and honey, which was popular on Rosh Hashanah, at bar mitzvahs, and at the groom's table at weddings.

  When bakers discovered that matza meal and potato starch could be substituted for the flour in sponge cake, it emerged as a widespread Passover treat. The earliest known record for what would become a Passover staple appeared in the first edition of The Settlement Cook Book (Milwaukee, 1901), which contained three recipes for "Matzos Sponge Cake," variously with six, eight, and twelve eggs. All three recipes directed, "Bake in a moderate oven in loaf or in layers." A year later, Sarah Rorer, in Mrs. Rorer's New Cook Book (Philadelphia, 1902), included "Matzoth Sponge Cake" in a section entitled "A Group of Jewish Recipes."

  In many subsequent Jewish cookbooks, sponge cakes were named based on the number of eggs in the recipe—titles typically ranged from "Five-Egg Sponge" to "Twelve-Egg Sponge"—as this information was of major importance to frazzled holiday cooks. As a result of the cake's growing popularity, Jewish households commonly purchased copious amounts of eggs for their Passover baking. Jewish cooks did not stop with basic sponge cakes, but flavored them with a profusion of ingredients, including ground nuts, bananas, carrots, chocolate chips, and spices. However, the quality of the cake depended on the skill of the cook, and sponge cakes all too often came out dry or rubbery, or even collapsed.

  Following World War II, the popularization of packaged cake mixes and a growing general American predilection for butter cakes, not to mention a fear of eggs due to health concerns, resulted in a marked decline in the popularity of sponge cakes. On the other hand, this style remains popular in Europe, where people are still partial to the lighter egg-foam cakes. Nevertheless, sponge cakes—whether purchased from a bakery, prepared at home from scratch, or baked at home using a packaged Passover mix, often with a disposable aluminum pan in the box—remain the most widespread Passover and Seder desserts.

  (See also Nusstorte)

  Strudel

  Strudel is a pastry made of a dough that is stretched very thin, brushed with butter or oil, filled, rolled up, and baked.

  Origin: Romania or Hungary

  Other names: Czech: strudl, závin; Hebrew: krukhit, strudel; Hungarian: rétes; Romanian: placinta; Yiddish: shtrudel.

  Strudel in German means "vortex" or "eddy," reflecting the swirl of pastry and filling. As with much of modern Western cuisine, strudel's roots lie in Asia.

  More than a thousand years ago, nomads of central Asia began to roll unleavened bread dough very thin; the low moisture content of the firm, extremely thin loaves greatly enhanced its storage properties and they were capable of lasting under dry conditions up to two years. When needed, a loaf was spritzed lightly with water, covered with a cloth, and left to refresh and soften for about ten minutes. Women would prepare a large batch of these very thin loaves and stack a bunch together to last the family for many months on their journey. In this way, the Turks brought these breads, which they called yuvgha, westward along the Silk Road.

  By at least the end of the fifteenth century, Ottoman cooks began adding a little oil to the dough, now pronounced yufka, allowing it to be stretched even thinner, and then cut the sheet into pieces, which were layered with clarified butter and fillings. This innovation led to classic pastries, such as börek and baklava. The Turks, who occupied the Balkans and Hungary in the fifteenth century, brought the concept of yufka, called phyllo in Greek, into the heart of central Europe where, instead of cutting and layering the dough like the Turks and Greeks, cooks filled and rolled up a large sheet of dough. It is unknown whether the Romanians or the Hungarians first began using the rolling technique, but it was the Hungarians who expanded the range of fillings. After the withdrawal of the Turks, Hungary was absorbed into the Austrian sphere of power and the dough roll traveled northward into Austria, where it was renamed strudel, perh
aps inspired by a large vortex in the Danube River upriver of Vienna.

  Hungarian women, as in other Jewish communities, often use pastry making tasks for special occasions, such as stretching strudel dough, as an opportunity to socialize and share the work.

  The earliest recipe for strudel in Vienna, a handwritten recipe, now held by the Viennese City Library, dates from 1696. Within half a century, strudel had been introduced at the royal court of Empress Maria Theresia and had become a national dish of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Strudels began commonly appearing in German cookbooks around 1830. As a result, the historical strudel-making region stretches from Germany, particularly Bavaria, south to northern Italy, parts of which were within the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the late nineteenth century, and through much of the Balkans. Since many of the professional bakers of Austria were Jewish, strudel early on became a part of the Ashkenazic repertoire.

  Unlike many baked goods of the time, which were enjoyed primarily or exclusively by the wealthy, strudel was a treat that crossed all class barriers. In central Europe, the ultimate quality of a housewife's culinary skills was judged by her ability to make strudel ausgezogen (pulled by hand). Old World strudel makers take their pastry very seriously, ritualistically performing each step. Some bakers insist on glatt ("smooth," meaning finely ground) flour, while others demand griffig ("rough," denoting a slightly coarse grind). Hungarians claim their local hard wheat produces the best strudel, as the flour requires a large amount of protein in order to stretch and not tear. The brand of flour, as well as the baker's skill, will affect the extent to which the dough can be stretched. Many cooks incorporate an egg or egg white into the dough for strength, while others add only a little oil and sometimes acid to produce a more tender pastry. The kitchen table or a long board (in some households these were one and the same) was lined with a tablecloth or clean sheet and the dough, called strudelblatter, was gently maneuvered and stretched until it was paper-thin and its edges hung over the four edges of the table or board. Originally, cooks commonly coiled the rolled-up strudel in a circle to fit better on a small pan, but the long strip or horseshoe shape has become more common.

  There are numerous variations of strudel, both sweet and savory. Cabbage strudel, long a fixture in Hungarian homes, is made with caramelized onions and shredded cabbage and is served with soup or as a side dish for a roast, while sweetened ones are enjoyed for dessert and treats. Both Hungarians and Austrians claim credit for creating the classic apple strudel. In Germany, apple strudel is typically served with a vanilla custard sauce. The Turks also brought sour cherries to Hungary, where strudel filled with sour cherries became one of the favorite versions, following only apple strudel. Other standard fillings include cheese, mushrooms, nuts, onions, poppy seeds, mashed potatoes, rice, and various vegetables. Meat is a particularly widespread Romanian filling. In a unique Romanian filling, jam is mixed with Turkish delight (rahat). Dessert strudels are typically accompanied with another gift from the Turks, coffee.

  Since classic strudel making was a demanding process, many housewives limited it to special occasions, sometimes preparing it only once or twice a year— most notably for Rosh Hashanah or Sukkot, making use of the new apple crop. More adept and ambitious cooks made it a regular Sabbath treat, sometimes using poppy seeds or cabbage, either savory and accented with black pepper, or sweet. Poppy seed strudel is traditional for Purim. Cherry filling, making use of the seasonal fruit, and cheese filling appear on Shavuot; sometimes these are combined in one pastry.

  Some Romanians and Hungarians began calling a pastry roll made from a cookie dough haimish strudel and gebleterter (leaf after leaf) kugel. Filling variations tend to incorporate jams and dried fruit, allowing for pastry making beyond the time frame of seasonal fresh fruit. A version in which matza cake meal is substituted for flour was developed for Passover. In America, some people called slices of haimish strudel by the name "raisin tea biscuits," which became corrupted to "Russian tea biscuits."

  Central European immigrants brought strudel to America in the mid-nineteenth century. One of the first records of the word strudel in English was in Aunt Babette's (Cincinnati, 1889), a cookbook that reflected the author's German Jewish background. The book contained a separate section for strudels, including apple, cherry, rice, quark, aus kalbslunge (lung and heart), and cabbage. By the early twentieth century, strudel was commonplace in Jewish bakeries, restaurants, and Catskills resorts.

  The pastry also became widely popular in Israel; although the name is officially krukhit in Hebrew, the pastry is commonly referred to as strudel. The word "strudel" is also colloquially used by Israelis for the @ sign, as the symbol sort of resembles a cross-sectional slice of the pastry.

  (See also Phyllo/Fila)

  Classic Strudel

  about forty eight 2-inch pieces

  [PAREVE or DAIRY]

  1 recipe (1 pound) Strudelblatter (Strudel Dough), stretched as below

  Melted butter or margarine or vegetable oil for brushing

  1 cup fine fresh or fried bread crumbs (optional)

  1 recipe (about 5 cups) apple strudel filling (recipe follows) or Ashkenazic filling (see Filling/Fullung (Ashkenazic Pastry Fillings))

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a large baking sheet.

  2. Brush the dough with the butter. If using, sprinkle with the bread crumbs. About 4-inches from one end, mound the desired filling in a 3- to 4-inch wide strip. Lift the cloth by the filling end and allow the edge of the dough to cover the filling. Gradually lift the cloth higher, allowing the dough to roll over itself. Tuck the ends under.

  3. Carefully move to the prepared baking sheet, seam side down. If the strudel is too large for your baking sheets, bend into a horseshoe shape. Brush with more butter and score on top in several locations to vent the steam.

  4. Place the strudel in the center of the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees, turn the baking sheet around in the oven, and continue baking until golden and crisp, about 30 minutes.

  5. Place the sheet on a rack and let cool slightly or completely. Cut the strudel into 2-inch slices and serve warm, cooled, or reheated.

  Strudel Dough (Strudelblatter)

  about 1 pound; enough for one 3- to 4-foot-long strudel

  [PAREVE]

  2 cups (10 ounces) bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour, or 1 cup each

  About ¾ cup lukewarm water

  3 tablespoons vegetable oil

  1 teaspoon white vinegar or fresh lemon juice

  ½ teaspoon salt

  Additional vegetable oil for brushing

  Additional flour for dusting

  1. Put the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Combine the water, oil, vinegar, and salt and pour into the well. Stir, then add enough additional warm water, if necessary, to make a sticky dough. On a lightly floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

  2. For one very large strudel, form the dough into a ball, or for two medium pastries, divide in half and form into balls. Lightly cover with about 1 teaspoon oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for at least 30 minutes.

  3. Cover a table (5 to 6 feet long and 2½ to 3 feet wide) with a cloth that drapes over the sides. Dust with about 1 cup flour. Place the dough in the center and roll out as thinly as possible. Brush lightly with oil and let rest for several minutes.

  4. Remove any rings and lightly flour your hands. Beginning from the center of the dough, place your hands, palms down, under the dough. Using the back of your hands, gently lift and stretch the dough toward you—do not use your fingers, which tend to tear the dough. Stretching can also be done with two or more people working across from each other. Continue stretching the dough, paying particular attention to any thick areas, until it covers the table and is uniformly thin and transparent, about 15 minutes. The dough in this recipe reaches up to 6 feet or, divided in half and separately stretched, 3 to 4 feet.

  5. Using scissors, trim of
f the thick edges. Patch any large tears with a piece of dough trimmed from the sides and stretched. Brush lightly with oil and let dry for 15 minutes.

  Apple Strudel Filling (Apfel Strudelfulle)

  about 5 cups; enough for a 3- to 4-foot-long strudel

  [PAREVE]

  ½ cup raisins

  2 tablespoons dark rum, kirsch, or water

  2 pounds (about 6 medium) cooking apples, such as Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Gravenstein, Greening, Jonathan, Macoun, Pippin, Rome, Starr, Winesap, Yellow Transparent, or any combination, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

  1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

  About ½ cup sugar

  ½ cup finely chopped toasted walnuts, or ¼ cup fine semolina

  ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

  Pinch of salt

  2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (optional)

  ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)

  Soak the raisins in the rum for 30 minutes. Drain. Toss the apples with the lemon juice. Combine the apples, raisins, sugar, walnuts (to help absorb some of the excess liquid and add flavor), cinnamon, salt, and, if using, zest and/or nutmeg. Do not let the apples stand long or they will start to exude their liquid.