babka en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈbɑb.kə/ (US)
Etymology
From a Slavic language likely via Yiddish באַבקע (babke). Compare baba (“rum soaked cake”).
Meanings
-
(countable, uncountable) A Central and Eastern European coffee cake flavored with orange rind, rum, almonds, and raisins; or with some single flavoring, such as chocolate or lemon.
These festive, fudgy confections are a mash-up of two traditional Jewish favorites: rugelach and chocolate babka.
2021 December 8, Melissa Clark, “Chocolate Babka Rugelach”, in New York Times Cooking, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 01 Dec 2021:And while you’re there, you can pick up a babka, which you’ve heard about (a twisted, sweet chocolate loaf) and a bag of rugelach which you might not have (crescent-shaped chocolate pastries).
2022, Laura Goodman, “A schmear campaign”, in The Joy of Snacks […], London: Headline Publishing Group, →ISBN:A couple of weeks ago, my family and I also travelled an hour or so to sample the babkas and honey croissants at Farro bakery in Bristol.
2025 April 22, Chris Marshall, “The extraordinary rise of bakery tourism: ‘People travel from all over the world. It’s mind-blowing!’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| babkas | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Translations (6)
pl babka (coffee cake) · fi baba (coffee cake) · yi באַבקע (coffee cake) · id babka (coffee cake) · fr babka (coffee cake) · ru ба́ба (coffee cake)