Best of Both Worlds Taiglach

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My own personal taiglach journey or, how a melding of two cultures can give rise to one extraordinary dessert.

Spell it taiglach or teiglach…to me, it wouldn’t be Rosh Hashanah without this fabulous treat. This golden pyramid of crunchy nuggets of dough, boiled in honey and studded with glistening red cherries and crunchy walnuts, was a beacon of joy that illuminated my childhood and made me look forward to autumn, even if it meant I was back in school. To this day, I can’t walk past a plate of taiglach without filching a few pieces, or at least sticking my finger into the pooled syrup at the bottom of the dish.

I didn’t know it back then, but I do, now…many Jews avoid nuts, especially walnuts, on Rosh Hashanah. Many of the foods we eat on the holiday are symbolic. Because the Hebrew word for walnuts sounds similar to the word for sin, they’re avoided. So how did taiglach, a quintessential Rosh Hashanah dessert, come to be made with walnuts? That’s basically a rhetorical question, but if anyone has the answer, please share it!

To me, it’s our focus, our kavanah, that gives power to the symbolism of the foods we eat. We make the magic. So, if walnuts don’t symbolize sin for me, they won’t have any power over my life. Or, if I change it up and imagine that, by eating walnuts, we are chewing up our sins and then…not to be gross…eliminating them, then the symbolism works for me. Bottom line? If you don’t want to use walnuts, leave them out!

Shortly after my tenth birthday, my family moved from the house on Ocean Parkway, a neighborhood that was almost entirely Jewish, to Sheepshead Bay. Our new block was about 20% Jewish and 79% Italian. (There was one Irish family.) It was a wonderful place to grow up, with a warmth and closeness among the neighbors that is rarely seen in neighborhoods today. My parents quickly became friends with all the grownups, and I was immediately accepted into the group of kids. Everyone looked out for everyone else.

On warm summer nights, we kids would play “kick the can” in the street, while the adults sat on the stoops and chatted. We were all on first name basis with each other’s parents and we walked in and out of each other’s homes as though we were all one family. Every mom was a great cook, and each had her specialties. Italian Sunday dinners are legendary, and on Sunday afternoons I would go from house to house like it was one of those progressive dinners, arriving home too full to eat whatever my mother was preparing.

When December rolled around, the baking began.

On one such afternoon, I walked into Mary’s house, looking for my friend, Toni. My eyes almost popped out of my head! There, on the counter, was a giant taiglach. It was a little lighter in color than what I was used to, and instead of cherries and walnuts, it was covered in multicolored sprinkles, but it sure looked like taiglach to me.

Taiglach or Struffoli?

“Taiglach!” I exclaimed.

“Taiglach?” Mary replied. “We call them Oogahboogas. Have some!”

Have some, I did, and they were amazing. I thought that the honey syrup in the Jewish version was more flavorful, but these dough balls were ethereal. They were lighter, crispier, and had a slight citrus flavor. Interested in cooking even before I reached my teens, I asked her how she made them. She explained that they were deep fried and then covered with the syrup. I told her how in our version, the balls of raw dough are dropped into the boiling syrup to cook directly in it.

In the mid 1980s I was married and living in Orlando. As the month of Tishrei and the High Holy Days approached, I lamented the fact that there was no Jewish bakery…hence, no taiglach. Determined to make it myself, I researched dozens of recipes. (Mind you, there was no internet!) Then, I remembered Mary’s ooghaboogahs. Turns out, the real name for this Italian treat is struffoli. I researched dozens of recipes for that, too. What I ultimately came up with was what I believe to be the best of both worlds. I make the dough in the Italian way and drop the little balls into my deep fryer. While they drain, I make the syrup according to the Jewish recipe, and finish the dish off by dropping the fried balls into the pot with the syrup, stirring to glaze each one. Then, I fold in my cherries and walnuts. In the end, I couldn’t resist adding some multicolored sprinkles, because, well, they just look so pretty! I think my Jewtalian taiglach is perfect!

Taiglach, the Indestructible dessert

I’ve been asked if this can be made in advance, if it will remain fresh. The answer is, unequivocally, YES.

One year when none of my children were living near me (happily, that’s since been rectified) I put together a Rosh Hashanah care package for each of them and sent them off by US mail. The kits contained a small loaf of round challah, some packs of dried apple slices, a cute little bottle of honey in the shape of a bear, a few of my famous almond shofar cookies, and a mini taiglach. But my daughter’s package never arrived.

Well, actually, it did arrive…in April. She called me on the phone and we were laughing as she opened the box, with great trepidation. Of course, the sealed bag of dried fruit and the jar of honey were fine. Those wonderful, soft and tender little horn-shaped pastries made of sweet almond paste were hard enough to crush diamonds … or teeth. The challah was a terrifying science experiment, covered in fluffy, colorful molds of white, blue, and green. But the teiglach, sitting in its miniature foil pie plate, was fine. Perfect. As delicious as the day it was made.

I’ve heard that jars of honey, found in Egyptian pyramids, were unspoiled after being stored for thousands of years. I suppose it was the honey syrup that did it. I’d never considered the impact of this phenomenon before, as I’d never had a taiglach last more than a few days in my house. So yes, you can make it in advance.

In fact, I think it’s best when made a few days in advance.

This recipe makes one normal sized teiglach mountain. You can divide it among a few miniature disposable pie tins to make little ones for gift giving. The recipe is also easily doubled.

the saga of the glacé cherries

Then came the year where I couldn’t find those, admittedly sort of gross, artificial candied cherries that just have to be in taiglach. Truth be told, the ingredients in the store bought ones should never be consumed by a human, but still I was up in arms over this crisis. And then it occurred to me that perhaps I could actually make them from scratch. Indeed, finding a recipe for glacé cherries was quite simple. They were easy to make and tasted sooooo much better than the ones sold for fruitcake in those little plastic tubs. Now, making the cherries is an integral part of making taiglach for me.

I have made them with fresh cherries, but I think they come out best when made with maraschino cherries—the results are more consistent and they’re much prettier, with their glossy red color.

The trick to having these come out amazingly delicious is to start with the highest quality maraschino cherries, ones without corn syrup, artificial flavor, colors, or preservatives. The maraschino cherries made by “Stonewall Kitchen, Tillen Farms”, are my favorite—reasonably priced, all natural, with just the right flavor and bite. Other cherries from the same brand work too, but the color is not as red.

You’ll find the recipe for glacé cherries, just under my recipe for Best of Both Worlds Taiglach.

It seems as though every Italian cook has their own version of struffoli dough. Some call for baking powder, others don’t. Some use sugar in varying amounts, some use none. You’ll find that some, but not all, versions use flavorings, such as vanilla, a dash of Limoncello liqueur, grated orange peel, and/or grated lemon peel. A few even call for butter.

And, if you look up recipes for taiglach, you’ll come away more confused than ever. Some recipes include oil, some don’t. Some call for liquid, some just use eggs for moisture. Sugar appears in various quantities, from 2 tablespoons to 3/4 cup, One uses sesame seeds instead of nuts and cherries. Some aren’t even round! I’ve seen giant knots of dough and ones that are shaped like mini hot dogs. I suppose that to each of us, taiglach is what taiglach was, in the towns and villages from whence hail our own ancestors. This is the style I grew up with, so it’s the one I make, but I bet they’re all wonderful.

After much experimentation, this recipe has become my standard.

Best of Both Worlds Taiglach

Ingredients:

For the dough

• 1 ¼ cups unbleached, all purpose flour

• ¾ teaspoon baking powder

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon Limoncello liqueur (if you haven’t got any, leave it out)

• zests of 1 lemon and 1 orange (finely grated with a microplane)

• 2 eggs + 1 yolk

For the Syrup

• 1 lb. honey

• ½ cup white sugar

• a little grated fresh ginger, to taste (I use about ¼ teaspoon)

• For the garnish (optional):

• Red glace cherries, walnut pieces, colored sprinkles – as much as you like of each!

Method:

For the Dough

• Crack the eggs and the extra yolk into a small bowl. Cover them to keep them from drying out and allow them to come to room temperature. This should take about half an hour.

• Whisk the eggs with the salt, Limoncello, and citrus zests until well combined.

• Measure the flour into a large bowl, stir in the baking powder and sugar, and make a well in the center.

• Pour the egg mixture into centre of well. Using two forks coming from opposite sides, drag the flour into the egg mixture. Continue to work it into a dough until all of the flour is incorporated.

• Now, use your hands. Flour them well. Gather up all of the dough and knead it for about five minutes. It should be silky and smooth.

• Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and let it rest at room temperature for half an hour. This gives the gluten time to relax, producing a more tender finished product.

• If you have a deep fryer, turn it on and set the temperature to 375˚. Otherwise, pour about 6” oil (I suggest coconut, non GMO peanut, avocado, sunflower, or any mild fruit or nut oil – not olive) into a tall saucepan. If you have a thermometer, attach it and heat the oil over medium heat until it reaches between 365˚ and 375˚. If you have neither deep fryer nor thermometer, you can test the oil for readiness by the bread method: A cube of bread dropped into the oil should become golden brown in about a minute. If it takes longer, turn up the heat. If it gets too dark too fast, turn it down.

• Grab a flat tray for collecting the balls as you make them, to transport to the fryer. Lay out some paper towels on your counter.

• Unwrap the dough. At this point you will probably be panicking that this little ball won’t be nearly enough to make a taiglach. Have no fear: It is enough!

• Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. You will work with them one at a time, so keep the others covered to prevent them from drying out.

• Roll each piece of dough out into a rope, about ½ ” thick.

• Cut the rope into small slices, about ¼” wide. You want them to be very small. They will expand a lot when you fry them. Using your fingers, press them back into round because when you slice the rope, they get squished down by the knife. You can roll them into perfect balls if you want to, but I don’t bother; I like the rustic, rough-cut look. Following that thread, don’t worry if they’re not all exactly the same size. Toss the little balls onto the tray and cover it with a kitchen towel, again to keep them from drying out. Continue with the other balls of dough.

• Once all of your dough is cut, you are ready to fry them. Drop them by batches into the hot oil – don’t overcrowd the pot. While they fry, turn them now and then with a slotted spoon so that they cook evenly. When they’re a light golden color, they’re done. They only take two or three minutes to fry. Scoop them out of the oil and onto the paper towels to drain, then continue with the next batch.

For the Syrup

• Pour the honey and the sugar into a pot that is large enough to accommodate all the little balls and still have room to toss them in the finished syrup.

• Grate some ginger into it, as much or as little as you like. I use about ½ teaspoon. Add the citrus zests

• Bring the mixture to boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Allow to boil for 3 minutes, then remove the pot from the heat. The time is critical to the consistency of the syrup.

• Immediately mix in the fried dough balls, stirring to make sure that each ball is coated. Add the cherries and walnuts, stirring to disperse them evenly.

To Assemble

• Turn the taiglach out onto a serving plate (I use a cut-glass cake plate with a rim) or a pie plate.

• With wet hands, gently coax it into a pyramid shape and sprinkle the taiglach with the colored sprinkles.

• Let it stand uncovered for several hours or even overnight, then stick in some toothpicks and cover it with foil or plastic wrap. The toothpicks will keep the wrap from sticking to the taiglach. Just remove them before serving.

• Note: It’s best done a day before serving.

Perfect Homemade glacé cherries

Try making these once and I promise you’ll never want to buy candied cherries again.

This recipe isn’t unique. Making glacé cherries is a fairly standard process. Where it varies is in the cherries that you use. Fresh, or maraschino? Usually, when making anything, I opt for the freshest, most natural and unadulterated ingredients I can find, but for these, I actually prefer the ones made from jarred maraschino cherries. The key is to find some that are all natural, without artificial color, flavor, or preservatives. These are my favorite because they taste great and are affordable. Whole Foods also makes them under their 365 label, and those are pretty good, too.Or, you could go for that lovely little ceramic crock with the expensive Italian ones…

You will need: a small saucepan and a candy thermometer

Ingredients:

• 1, 13.5 oz jar of Tillen Farms or other all-natural maraschino cherries, drained, juice reserved.

• ¾ cup granulated sugar

• ⅓ cup juice from the cherries (save the remaining juice for cocktails!)

Method:

• Combine the cherry juice with the sugar in a small saucepan.

• Place the pot on the stove top, turn on the heat, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Do not stir—just swirl the pot a bit to help the sugar dissolve.

• Once the sugar is dissolved, add the cherries to the pot. Allow them to simmer gently.

• Place your candy thermometer into the pot and keep a close eye. It should take about15 minutes to reach the soft ball stage. It can seem like it’s taking forever to climb those last couple of degrees, and them all of a sudden, you’re there. In other words, don’t put them up and walk away. If you overcook the syrup, even by a degree or two, your cherries will be hard rather than soft and chewy. When the syrup reaches 237°, remove the pot from the heat.

• Immediately place the individual cherries on a silpat or a piece of parchment to cool to room temperature, then store them in a container in the fridge until you’re ready to use them. You can add them to the taiglach whole, or cut in half.