babka

noun

bab·​ka ˈbäb-kə 

ˈbab-

plural babkas

: a sweet bread made with yeast and butter:

a

: a sweet bread that contains various fillings (as of chocolate, cinnamon, or poppy seeds), is typically rolled and twisted before baking in a loaf pan, and is often topped with streusel

Tender yeast bread that begs to be pulled apart and ribbons of chunky bittersweet chocolate make this charming babka a coffee date to remember.

—Ian Knauer et al.

b

: a sweet bread that contains dried fruit (such as raisins), is baked in a round cake pan with scalloped sides, and is often topped with syrup, icing, or confectioners' sugar

Invert the babkas onto racks, let them cool, and sprinkle them with the confectioners' sugar …

—John G. Zawadzinski

Examples of babka in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The menu features Mediterranean dishes and gourmet pastries (cookies, doughnuts, babkas, and more). —Jade Simon, Vogue, 20 June 2024

By the time the evening’s host had put out freshly baked chocolate babka for the 20 guests circled in her living room in the Karnai Shomron settlement in the West Bank, Weiss was already well into her pitch. —Clarissa Ward, CNN, 20 Mar. 2024

Learn the foundations of homemade pizza, or get a tutorial on pastries like babka and cinnamon rolls with their Brunch Bakes class. —Carina Finn, Bon Appétit, 12 Dec. 2023

Though their dark chocolate babka will be dearly missed, fans should keep an eye on their social media for announcements. —Nick Kindelsperger, Chicago Tribune, 3 May 2023

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Yiddish & Polish; Yiddish babke (in sense a), borrowed from Polish babka (in sense b), literally, "old woman, grandmother," diminutive of baba "grandmother, midwife, old woman"

First Known Use

1846, in the meaning defined above