PB&J Babka

Today’s agenda is typed to the beat of polka dots and moonbeams. July feels sprightly, erratic, muggy.

Food news of the week:

get this veganisable babka recipe below

In between a sausage egg McMuffin and Dishoom’s naan rolls in both price and taste, Ole and Steen has stepped up its game with their own version of a sausage egg roll, which is melty with cheese and a scramble that all feels more wholesome on hearty wholemeal.

Today’s brief review (below) is on a place I once considered the essence of London spirit but sadly its ropey service makes me think otherwise. And with those prices… seriously?

Science of the week:

Am I the only one who’s been in the dark about how gel nails actually work? Gel is this state between solid and liquid where the monomers (single units that join to become bigger molecules) and oligomers (short monomer chains) stay in this mixed solid-liquid state, and harden after being applied to your nails during exposure to UV light. Photoinitiators are the things needed to convert UV light into energy that drives the polymerisation (joining) process by reacting with the light wavelength. This is different to acrylic nails, where the fine powder has an oxide that combines with a reactive liquid monomer to solidify thanks to covalent bonds. You can refer to this neat diagram for a clear picture too.

Insight of the week:

Finally finished all of Wong Kar Wai’s movies, including some re-watches (the most rewatchable ones for me would be In the Mood for Love, Fallen Angels and Chungking Express). His cinematic oeuvre has transcended language and culture probably for a good reason; there are the universal themes of love, desire and loss, sometimes with very non-linear storylines. Grateful to have been introduced to his works more recently, especially now since I can appreciate these heavier themes. He stayed true to his eccentric self and style, both before and after the handover, and has been quoted, ‘you don’t live for people, you live for yourself’.

Recipe of the week:

My babka was originally designed to be vegan just like the recipe in my last post, but I have modified it here to include your usual ingredients, and you can reverse-veganise it too by replacing the yoghurt with vegan yoghurt or applesauce.

Overnight PB&J Chocolate Coconut Babka (makes one loaf, or 6 thick slices)

Ingredients

For the dough:

250g flour

1 tbsp instant yeast

pinch of salt

45g yoghurt

50g butter, at room temperature

40g sugar

90ml milk of choice

For the chocolate coconut sauce:

100g chopped dark chocolate

1 tsp coconut essence

*alternatively, use a ready-made chocolate coconut sauce, like Sweet Freedom’s Choc Shot

For the filling:

110g chunky peanut butter

6-7 tbsp strawberry or raspberry jam

100g chopped dark chocolate

For the glaze:

100g icing sugar

3 tbsp milk of choice

Directions

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt together the butter and milk of choice.

In a separate large bowl, add the flour, yeast, yoghurt, sugar, and pinch of salt. Mix together briefly, then add the milk-butter mixture and knead for a few minutes on a lightly floured surface. Shape into a ball, put the dough back in the bowl and leave in the fridge overnight or up to 48 hours.

The next morning, spray a pan and heat your oven to 200C (400F). Make the chocolate coconut sauce– simply microwave together the ingredients and set aside for the timebeing. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface, into a rectangle slightly longer than the pan itself. Spread the peanut butter on the dough leaving a one-inch margin all round, then the jam, then the chocolate and chocolate coconut sauce. Roll the dough along its length so you get a long cylinder, then cut a slit down the middle lengthwise. Twist the dough, sort of like in a braiding fashion, then put onto your pan. Let it sit for 10 minutes, then bake for 25-30 minutes in your preheated oven.

While it’s in the oven, whisk together the milk and icing sugar. Once baked, let it sit for 10 minutes before drizzling on the glaze, cutting and serving. Yum?!

Restaurant review of the week:

Hello plush emerald, Chanels flung in corners, sour waiters, and some of London’s best-textured pasta. With more years to its sauce and generational-wealth-change tucked in the soft drops between its emerald chairs, like Signor Sassi and Harry’s, this is Italian in a gilded cage, but more Italian than Daphne’s, and not quite as comforting and highbrow as Locanda Locatelli.

I’ve been to Cecconi’s before, where I saw Hugh Laurie and walked up to him for an autograph before getting scared at the last minute and walked straight past to go to the toilet instead. Cute throwback to the time Eddie Redmayne shunned me because ‘his kids were around’. Good sir, calm down, all I did was say hello (I just wanted to touch your signature).