What is it that makes Hanukkah super exciting for you? Is it getting together with all your friends and family and singing the Hanukkah songs? Is it playing the Dreidel? Or, feasting on all the good food and scrumptious desserts? Different people perceive holidays differently but, all have one thing in common—the dessert.
Of course, feasting on some of the most amazing food for eight days straight is the spotlight of the festival. Whether it be golden fried latkes or the jam-filled sufganiyot—every single Hanukkah dish has its own charm.
This Hanukkah, treat yourself and your loved ones with these mouth-watering desserts with personal edible decorations that will definitely make the festival quite memorable.
1. Cinnamon Apple Cake
Just like any festival, having a cake for Hanukkah is a must-have, and this cinnamon apple cake is surely going to set up the festive vibe.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR CINNAMON APPLE CAKE:
- Cooking spray
- 2 apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 1/2 c. lightly packed brown sugar, plus 2 tbsp.
- 1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, softened
- 1 c. granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 c. milk
- Coarse sugar, for sprinkling
HOW TO MAKE CINNAMON APPLE CAKE?
- Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9" springform pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl toss together apples, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar.
- In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- In another large bowl using a hand mixer (or in the bowl of a stand mixer), beat together butter, granulated sugar, and remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and mix until combined.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, beating until just combined. Pour in milk and mix until fully incorporated. Add remaining dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and arrange apples on top in spiral, overlapping layers slightly. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool 20 minutes before removing sides of springform pan.
This delicious dessert can become even more mouth-watering if you spend a little time to decorate and personalizing it. You can try cinnamon buttercream to complement the spicy flavors of the cake. You can add the blue edible cake paint to the frosting. Poppy paints work the best for that purpose.
2. Chocolate Orange Challah
With this recipe with a twist, your Hanukkah challah is definitely going to be a favorite among your guests.
INGREDIENTS FOR ORANGE CHALLAH:
FOR THE DOUGH,
- 3 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
- 1/3 c. + 2 tbsp orange juice
- Large orange, zested
- 1/3 c. olive oil
- 1/2 c. honey
- 2 eggs plus 1 yolk
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 4 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
FOR THE FILLING,
- 4 1/2 oz. bittersweet chocolate
- 4 oz. unsalted butter
- 1/3 c. granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp. cocoa powder
DIRECTIONS TO COOK:
- Heat or microwave orange juice to room temperature. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, combine yeast and orange juice and stir to dissolve, then add honey, zest, oil, and eggs, and yolk. In a separate bowl, mix salt and flour, transfer to a mixer with the hook attachment and knead on medium for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Oil a separate bowl and transfer dough to it. Let sit, covered at room temperature, about 1 hour, then refrigerate overnight. ?The next day, gently press down the dough and flip it over in its bowl, re-cover, and let come back to room temperature.
- Meanwhile, make the filling. Melt together butter and chocolate; mix in granulated sugar and cocoa powder until combined. (It should be runny – a little graininess from the sugar is expected.) Let sit at room temperature while you ready dough.
- Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and divide into two equal parts. Set one half aside, and gently press or roll the other into a wide rectangle about 15"-x-10" and 1/4" thick. Spread half chocolate filling to the sides of the dough on the right and left, leaving a 1/2" to 1" space on the top and bottom edges. From the bottom edge closest to you, begin rolling up the dough (like cinnamon rolls). When you get near the end, wet the top 1/2" of dough and spread it thinly across your work surface–this will make it easier to adhere to the other side of the roll. Roll it up and smooth out the edge, then set it aside to rest. Repeat with the other half of the dough, and let the two logs rest for another hour, covered loosely by plastic wrap or a dishtowel.
- Cut each log in half lengthwise. With chocolate stripes facing up, make a plus sign with two of the logs. Loosely weave the other two logs into this plus sign. Then, loosely take both ends of one side of the plus sign and cross them over each other. Do this to all sides of the plus sign, then do it again, and again, alternating going over and under, until you're left with almost a round shape, then tuck the ends underneath the loaf. Keep it loose enough for the bread to have room to rise in the oven, but not so loose that there are visible spaces between the strands of dough.
- Cover with a towel and let sit until puffy, about 2 hours. Brush with egg wash and let rise 1 hour more.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, then brush loaf again with egg wash before putting into the oven. Bake 35 to 45 minutes, but check on it around the 25- 30-minute mark. If it's getting dark too quickly, cover with foil for the remainder of cooking time.
- When a thermometer reads an internal temperature of 195 degrees F (or when it looks bronzed and sounds a bit hollow when you tap on it), it’s done. Let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
3. Honey Cookies
What can be better than cookies? Honey cookies, of course! These soft and chewy cookies are loved among both kids and adults and complete your Hanukkah cuisine with much grandeur.
INGREDIENTS FOR HONEY COOKIES:
- Honey
- Flour
- Sugar
- Corn starch
- Vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
- Cream together your wet ingredients (butter, sugars, honey, vanilla, and egg!) until creamy and well-combined. Since we’re using softened (and not melted) butter here, an electric mixer or stand mixer is recommended to more easily cream the ingredients together.
- Whisk together your dry ingredients (flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt) and gradually add these to your wet ingredients, stirring until everything is completely combined. The dough may seem a bit crumbly (especially if you add the flour too quickly), this is fine, but be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to evenly incorporate the ingredients.
- Honey cookie dough will need to chill for at least 30 minutes before you can proceed. Chill longer if it’s sticky or difficult to manage. After chilling, scoop the dough by rounded 1 ½-Tablespoon and then roll through granulated sugar.
- Bake until the edges of the cookies are just beginning to turn light golden brown.
Every cookie deserves good frosting and decorations. You can decorate these honey cookies as you like. You can mix some edible paint with the frosting or put custom edible images on them. Edible markers are also great options. You can also try our custom printed sugar cookies. We offer classic shortbread cookies in different shapes and sizes, handmade and frosted with much care and love. You can choose any image and we will print them directly on the frosting. The best part is that all our products are certified Kosher, FDA compliant, and allergens-free.
At Icinginks, you can buy the best quality edible cake and cookie decoration sheets, colors, markers, and other items. Not only these products are of premium quality but are also Kosher, FDA approved and hence absolutely safe to consume.
Whether it be the honey cookies, the challah, or the cinnamon cake, decorate these favorite desserts with edible pictures printed on edible sheets and your guests will have an amazing reason to remember your Hanukkah feast for the coming years!
(Recipe source: sugarspunrun.com and delish.com)
