Challah ?bout a giveaway?

Upon hearing a knock, I opened my front door to find a  pink-clad Lorelei holding the most beautiful bouquet of flowers and two overflowing bowls of risen babka dough (not to mention a large canvas tote packed to the brim with colored sugars, shaped sprinkles, cookie cutters, and the most organized recipe binder upon which I?ve ever laid eyes).  One only wishes all knocks upon the door yielded such wonderful treats (and of course, such wonderful guests).

I really can?t rave enough about Lorelei.  Aside from the fact that she?s always baking up super-yummy treats over at Mermaid Sweets, Lorelei has a heart of gold.  I consider myself quite lucky that she lives in the Bay Area?and quite lucky to call her a great friend.  (Oh, and you should know, Lorelei can roll out babka dough like a pro!  She handles that rolling pin like nobody?s business.)

By now, you?ve probably gotten the hint that Lorelei and I planned a baking date and decided to make a halva-laced babka!  Delicious, right?  Imagine honey-scented halva crumbled atop a layer of nutella and chocolate and chocolate chips, all of which get rolled up into a beautiful, golden babka dough.  Yum!

(So, you might as why this post title involves the word ?challah.?  Well, we baked our baked the babka free-form, so it ended up more like a challah than a babka.  Plus, the word ?challah? worked better in the title!)

Lorelei gets all the credit for preparing the dough.  She mixed up one batch of lactose-free babka dough and one batch with milk.  While the golden doughs attempted to escape the confines of their bowls, we started making the halva.  I admit to being a huge halva fan.  I love sesame-, semolina-based desserts, and halva certainly covers those bases.  Its crumbly texture and honeyed flavor work miracles on the taste buds.  This halva is a dessert worth making, even if you?re not making the babka.  (But please don?t blame me when you end up eating half the pan!)

(Lorelei thought the babka was super yummy, too!)

Once the halva was made and cooled (read: stuck in the freezer in a desperate attempt to cool it quickly), Lorelei and I divided our doughs in half and then layered them with goodies like nutella, dark chocolate chips, pecans, crumbled halva, and honey.  After a bit of make-shift braiding and a stint in the oven (during which time mouth-watering smells took over the kitchen), we whisked the babkas onto a cooling rack and admired their shiny beauty (thanks egg wash!).  It took huge amounts of will-power to refrain from face-planting into the yeasty goodness.  (Okay, okay, I might have sneaked a bite.)

The verdict?  Amazing.  I found myself tiptoeing into the kitchen throughout the day to tear bits and pieces of the babka from the loaf.  The recipe calls for lemon zest in the dough, and this hint of citrus adds a total depth of flavor to the bread.  The best part?  You can fill this dough with any goodies you like!

To get the halva recipe, go here.

To get the babka recipe, go here.

And didn?t I mention a giveaway?  That?s right: my first give-away.  After baking my latest version of chocolate chip cookies, I got some questions about where to find coconut flour (one of my new favorite ingredients).  Well, fear not, people.  I have some coconut flour for you!  All you need to do is leave a comment on this post between now and 11:59pm on Wednesday, June 3, and I?ll randomly select one winner to receive a package of Bob?s Red Mill coconut flour in the mail!