Dazed and confused? Not me. I’m just Lost in the Cheese Aisle.

Sunday, August 3, 2014

ON UNSPEAKABLE URGES

Has this ever happened to you?

Once in a while an idea comes along that is so spectacularly evil... so dastardly... that it becomes an obsessive drumbeat in the back of your noggin. Somehow or other, you have to find a way to confront that Unspeakable Urge, no matter how self-destructive it is, lest that drumbeat in your head drive you to the brink of madness.

When one of my friends from synagogue posted a recipe for Double Chocolate Chip Challah on her Facebook page, I knew I had an Unspeakable Urge to deal with, and I dealt with it in the classic, time-honored manner: by giving in to it.

Gawd forgive me.

Double Chocolate Chip Challah - Raw
Double chocolate chip challah, after the loaf has been shaped. This was a four-strand braid.

The resulting loaf is best described as the bastard offspring of the forbidden union of challah and chocolate babka. It’s sweet but not overwhelmingly so - a bit on the rich side, but not wet and obscene like the best babkas can be. You can eat it slathered with butter or (gasp!) cream cheese, although it’s perfectly good all by itself.

Double Chocolate Chip Challah
The finished product. Prior to baking, the loaf is glazed with egg wash and sprinkled with fleur de sel.

And of course, you can make French toast with it.

Double Chocolate Chip Challah French Toast

I would be ashamed of myself, but I have no shame.

2 comments:

Kevin Kim said...

It all looks unspeakably delicious. Hats off.

Janeen said...

Oh my.