Sometimes fairy tales are true. Followers of this blog know that occasionally I eat somewhere that leaves a mark on me and I just can’t refrain from sharing. Well, this tale starts with one of many visits to Jerusalem, not by chance one of the most disputed cities in the world. It ends with a recipe for one of the best cronuts you ever had, guaranteed.
As a full time foodie, Jerusalem captures me much before actually eating anything in the city. The white stone, mix of people and religions, ancient vibe and a special feeling that hangs in the air, all of those get me excited the minute I arrive.
Where to eat at the market
Every visit to Jerusalem start with the Mahane Yehuda Market, a hot pot of local produce that will melt your senses. Between the many stands of locally sourced fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, cheese and pastries – you will find quite a few must-visit restaurants and food stands. My top favorite is Azura located in the middle of the market. The restaurant serves traditional Middle Eastern food that is Turkish and Iraqi inspired and has been a family-run institution since 1952. Dishes are slow-cooked to perfection atop the kerosene burners. We had a delicious giant meatball in red sauce, perfect when stuffed in a pita with hummus. Falafel, stuffed cabbage and vine leaves (the best!), Hummus with Tahini, fresh pita bread, tomato salad, pickles and schoug (spicy condiment).
Go to Cafe Kadosh at least twice
This fairy tale, although it starts with this great market and delicious restaurant, does not end here. The following morning the plan was to start our day with an early breakfast before leaving Jerusalem and driving back up north, a long yet beautiful drive. It has been many years that I have been wanting to visit the famous Cafe Kadosh but never had the chance. Founded in 1967 by Meir Kadosh and currently run by his son Itsik and his very talented wife Keren Kadosh. The place serves fresh pastas, fresh and smoked fish, quiches, salads, sandwiches, and the most incredible pastries and desserts. It is the perfect place to go to when you really want to spoil yourself.
I won’t bore you with the details, but the day started very challenging, Shlepping around with a 2.5-month old baby, on a very hot day and having almost everything go wrong. In the middle of city center while driving around over and over again trying to find a parking spot. Almost giving up, until finally a parking spot frees up especially for us. We then arrived later than expected, about 02:00PM for breakfast, but really, it was all worth it and luckily, breakfast is served here all day!
The place was crowded and we waited around 20 minutes for a table to free up that also had enough space for a baby stroller. Our daughter, Gaia, was sweet enough to sleep through everything allowing us to focus on the experience completely. As we always travel with our (also foodie) golden retriever, Pi, we were warmly welcomed with a big smile and some fresh cold water for all of us. Pi was very eager to get started.
We started with the perfect brunch material; The Croque madame french toast – A pair of brioche pastries stuffed with cheese and topped with a béchamel sauce and sunny side up eggs. Pure corruption. The two soft buttery brioches are filled with gouda cheese in one, and the other Sainte Maure cheese which makes them perfectly moist and soft. Topped with perfectly made eggs, where the yolk is completely liquid. Between the two a warm béchamel sauce to complete the dish leaving every bite with a soft “ahhh..”. (Cost: 13€/ 15$)
With that, we ordered the Tortellini with spinach, ricotta and pistachio. This is made with homemade pasta from durum wheat and egg yolks. The sauce is made of local olive oil, moist tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, spinach and parmesan. It was simple, delicious and fresh. (15€/ 17$)
What’s for dessert?
Probably the most inspiring part of Kadosh is what’s in their dessert display inside. The choice is endless and everything is fresh and beautiful, the layers of flavor and texture are very unique and brilliantly executed.
My husband loves hazelnut so we just had to try this big hazelnut profiterole. From tasting it I am guessing it’s covered with a crisp shell, filled with praline pastry cream, a heart of hazelnut crunchiness (or something of the sort), chocolate and all that’s good in life. Topped with a rich cream and garnished with hazelnut chunks, hazelnut skin (brilliant!) and chocolate. (8.8 €/ 10$)
We also took this chocolate hazelnut tart that had a chocolate pâte sucrée filled with what tasted like a hazelnut pastry cream, chocolate dome filled with hazelnut butter and something crunchy and amazing. covered with chocolate glaze and garnished with hazelnut halves and skin as well as a gold leaf. (8.8 €/ 10$)
As we drove back home, much later than planned and subsequently stuck in afternoon Tel Aviv traffic, we weren’t grumpy, just very pleased and trying to figure out when our next visit to Cafe Kadosh is going to be.
- 300 grams all purpose flour
- 45 grams sugar
- 18 grams fresh yeast
- 100 ml water
- 60 ml milk
- 30 g soft butter
- 6 grams table salt
- 160 grams of butter
- To a mixer bowl, add flour, sugar, yeast, water, milk, butter and salt. using a kneading hook, knead together for about 8-10 minutes, until a firm, non-sticky dough is formed. Grease a bowl with butter and wrap in plastic, refrigerate for 8 hours.
- Slice the butter lengthwise into rectangles about half a cm thick, and place them side by side on a baking paper to form a large rectangle. Place another baking paper on top and, using a rolling pin, roll the butter until a uniform rectangle of 12cm * 15cm (5inch/6inch) is formed. cover with the baking paper and keep refrigerated until use.
- Flour your surface lightly and roll the cold dough into a rectangle of about 15 x 25 cm (6inch/10inch), place the butter on top and fold the dough above it to cover completely. pinch around to make sure it's sealed inside and turn it around so that the fold is turned towards you.
- Roll out again (no need to cool at this time) and make a 3 fold (envelope). Wrap in plastic wrap and cool for about half an hour.
- After half an hour roll again and this time make a 4 fold (book). Wrap in plastic wrap and cool for 3 hours until the dough is very cold.
- Roll out the dough again and make another 3 fold. Wrap and cool for half an hour. The dough is now ready for shaping.
- Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1.5 cm (0.5inch). Use a 8.5cm (3.2inch) cookie cutter to cut out the cronuts and a 2.5cm (1inch) cutter to cut a smaller circle in the middle (I used the back side of a piping nozzle). Place them on a tray lined with baking paper and cover with a loose plastic bag.
- Let the dough rise for about 1-2 hours, until it has doubled and fry in hot oil (180 degrees) for about 1 minute on each side, until golden and crisp outside but still soft and chewy in the middle.
- Place onan absorbent paper to release all the oil and let cool completely
- You can fill with patisserie cream and cover with chocolate ganache or even just roll in sugar, fill with nutella, lemon curd, whatever you like.
Leave a Reply