This year’s reading of Parshat Noah is on October 21. The tradition is to celebrate by baking and enjoying rainbow treats.

“I love the rainbow monkey bread babka because not only is it unique, gorgeous and delicious, it does not require you to dye the dough,” Mandy Silverman, founder of Mandylicious, told the Journal.

While Silverman’s recipe below is with babka dough, you can also use challah dough to make it.

“This cake batter filling in this is way easier to color and is out-of-control delicious.” – Mandy Silverman

“Traditional rainbow Parshat Noach challahs and babkas are so beautiful, but dying the dough can require quite a bit of kneading time and food coloring,” she said. “This cake batter filling in this is way easier to color and is out-of-control delicious.”

Mandylicious Rainbow Babka Monkey Bread

Ingredients:

Babka Dough:

¾ cup water

1 ¼  teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1 egg yolk

¾ cup margarine or butter, melted

1 tablespoons vanilla

1/3 cup sugar

3 ½ cups bread flour

2 tablespoons instant bread machine yeast

Extra water and flour as needed for consistency

Cake Batter Filling:

1 cup white cake mix

6 oz softened cream cheese or vegan cream cheese

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

3 tablespoons melted butter

1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

Food coloring

Cake Batter Frosting:

3 tablespoons melted butter or vegan butter

1/3 cup milk or water

3/4 cup white cake mix

1/3 cup powdered sugar (plus more if you would like it thicker)

1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

For the Dough:

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and knead well for 5-7 minutes. Be sure to check that the dough is the right consistency adding flour or water, one tablespoon at a time as necessary.

Allow to rise in a large bowl covered with a towel (or in a dark place covered with plastic wrap) for 1 ½ hours.

For the Filling:

Mix cake mix, cream cheese, powdered sugar, melted butter and vanilla extract together until smooth,

Divide into 6 small bowls and add a different color of food coloring gel to each as desired. Mix together until the filling in each bowl is completely saturated

For the Frosting:

Mix all ingredients together until smooth.

Putting it Together:

Roll dough into a 16×18 rectangle.

On top, spread the filling colors in stripes, going the long way.

From the 18” side, slice into 1/2-3/4” wide slices and roll up into a spiral. This way, all the colors will be incorporated in each roll.

Tip: Alternate which side you are rolling up from to be sure all colors of your rainbow have a chance to stand out!

Place rolls in a well greased bundt pan.

Cover and rise for 30 minutes.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Cool slightly before flipping onto a plate.

Once cooled, frost as desired. Top with rainbow sprinkles.

A staple on most cookie platters — and in Jewish delis and bakeries — Italian Rainbow cookies are actually more of an almond-flavored sponge cake.

“The original version of Rainbow Cookies has layers of red, green and white, representing the Italian flag,” Lenny Rosenberg of Bea’s Bakery told the Journal. “Over the years, Jewish bakeries have adopted and adapted the recipe.”

While this recipe has a layer of yellow cake instead of white, you can customize the colors however you would like.

Italian Rainbow Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

8 oz almond paste

3 sticks of sweet butter, softened (1 ½ cups)

3 whole large eggs, separated

¼ cup whole milk

2 teaspoons almond extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon red food coloring

¼ teaspoon green food coloring

½ cup raspberry jam

1½ cups semisweet chocolate chips, melted

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 F, and grease three 9-by-13-inch quarter sheet pans with cooking spray, then line each with parchment.

In a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar, almond paste, and 1 stick of the butter. Mix until smooth and lump free, being sure to break down the almond paste as best you can. Add the remaining 2 sticks of butter and continue to mix until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Gradually add the egg yolks, followed by the milk and almond extract. Mix until combined. Add the flour and slowly mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Once the flour is combined, set aside.

In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until they form stiff, fluffy peaks. Fold the whipped egg whites into the flour mixture to form a smooth batter, then divide equally between 3 bowls.

Stir the red food coloring into the first bowl of batter until evenly pink colored. Then, stir the green color into the second bowl of batter until evenly green colored. Leave the third bowl untouched.

Keeping the batters separate, evenly spread each of them into a greased and parchment-lined quarter sheet pans. Bake, rotating halfway through, until set; 10 to 12 minutes. Then let cool completely.

Once cooled, spread half of the jam to cover the surface of the green cake and place the undyed layer, making sure the parchment is discarded, directly on top, sandwiching the jam. Repeat this step by spreading the remaining jam on top of the undyed layer and placing the pink layer directly on top of it, discarding the parchment.

Cover the cake with plastic wrap and top with another sheet pan. Weigh down the layers with heavy plates or cans, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Remove the weights and plastic wrap. Spread half of the melted chocolate over the top of the cake and refrigerate until set; 30 minutes.

Once solid, flip the cake onto a cutting board, discarding the bottom layer of parchment, and spread the remaining melted chocolate in an even layer over the surface.

Return to the refrigerator and chill until set, 30 minutes.

Once set, trim the cake into a 7½-by-10½-inch rectangle, reserving all trim for snacking. Cut the cake into 1½-inch squares, then serve.