Chocolate Cinnamon Babka
Babka is a rich, yeasted cross between bread and coffee cake with an equally rich Russian and Polish culinary heritage. The name is derived from the Russian baba, which means grandmother, an appropriate name for this wonderful comfort food. While it is mostly known as a popular Jewish bread filled with some combination of chocolate, cinnamon, almonds, even poppy seeds and sometimes topped with streusel, it can also be filled with raisins or soaked with rum, as in baba au rhum. The dough is rich enough that it can also be used for brioche and kugelhopf. In American bakeries, babka is most often formed as a twisted loaf with veins of the sweet filling running throughout, baked either in a loaf pan or freestanding. However, the Israeli version, known as kranz cake, uses a dramatic shaping technique that many of my recipe testers found appealing. This recipe is my favorite version, with both cinnamon and chocolate in the filling. Of course, you can leave out the chocolate and make a cinnamon sugar version, or leave out the cinnamon and make just a chocolate version, but I say, why leave out either? It’s easier to grind the chocolate chips or chunks if they’re frozen. After you grind them, you can add the cinnamon and butter and continue to process them all together. The streusel topping is also optional, but I highly recommend using it on the freestanding versions.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 1 large loaf
Ingredients
Filling
Streusel Topping (optional)
Preparation
Do ahead
Step 1
Whisk the yeast into the lukewarm milk until dissolved, then set it aside for about 5 minutes before mixing it into the dough.
Step 2
Cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. If using a mixer, use the paddle attachment and mix on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes. If mixing by hand, use a large wooden spoon and beat vigorously for about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla to the egg yolks and whisk lightly to break up the yolks, then add the yolks to the sugar mixture in four portions, mixing until each is incorporated before adding the next. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high or continue mixing by hand for another 2 minutes, until the mixture is fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple of times during the process.
Step 3
Stop mixing and add the flour and salt, then pour in the milk mixture. Resume mixing at low speed, or continue to stir by hand, for 2 to 3 minutes, to make a soft, supple, tacky dough. If using a mixer and the mixer begins to struggle, switch to the dough hook; if mixing by hand, use a very sturdy spoon or your hands.
Step 4
Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead by hand for 2 minutes more, adding more flour as needed to make the dough pliable. The dough should be a beautiful golden color and feel soft and supple. Form the dough into a ball.
Step 5
Place the dough in a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and leave at room temperature for about 2 1/2 hours. It will rise somewhat, but won’t double in size. If it rises significantly in less time, you can move to the shaping step or place it in the refrigerator overnight to be rolled out the next day.
Filling and baking
Step 6
Prepare the filling while the dough is rising. Grind the chocolate in a food processor until it’s nearly powdered; if you don’t have a food processor, chop the chocolate as fine as possible with a knife or metal pastry scraper. Add the cinnamon and pulse or stir a time or two to incorporate. Cut the butter into 8 to 10 pieces, add it to the food processor, and pulse until the butter is evenly dispersed into the chocolate mixture; or cut the butter into the chocolate mixture with a metal pastry scraper to make a streusel-like chocolate crumble.
Step 7
Once the dough has risen, roll it into a 15 by 15-inch square on a lightly floured surface. It should be between 1/4 and 1/8 inch thick. As you roll, frequently lift the dough with a metal pastry scraper or bowl scraper and dust with more flour underneath to prevent sticking. Sprinkle the chocolate mixture over the dough, breaking up any clumps, so the filling covers the surface of the dough evenly, leaving a 1/4-inch border.
Step 8
Roll up the dough like a jelly roll and place it seam side down on the work surface. With firm but gentle pressure, rock the log back and forth to extend its length until it is 18 to 24 inches long.
Step 9
For a loaf shape, grease a 5 by 9-inch loaf pan. Carefully twist the log from both ends without tearing it, just enough to accentuate the chocolate spiral. Coil the log into a circular snail shape, then stand the coil on its end so it’s perpendicular to the counter rather than lying flat. Press down on the coil to compress it into a loaf shape. Place it in the greased loaf pan or on a parchment-lined sheet pan with the smoothest, domed side up. For a coffee cake style of babka, grease a tube pan such as a Bundt pan or kugelhopf mold with butter, vegetable oil, or spray oil, making sure to grease the tube. Wrap the log around the tube and press the dough into the pan to connect the ends of the log. (Or you can use the Israeli kranz cake shaping method, as shown in the photos on page 159.)
Step 10
Cover the tube or loaf pan loosely with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, until the babka fills the pan or has increased to about 1 1/2 times its original size. At this point, you can proceed directly to baking or refrigerate the babka overnight. If holding it overnight, remove the dough from the refrigerator about 2 hours before you plan to bake it.
Step 11
Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Use a toothpick to poke a few holes in the top of the babka to eliminate possible air pockets between the layers of chocolate and dough.
Step 12
While the oven preheats, make the streusel if you’d like to use it. Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse to combine, or cut the butter into small bits, then add the other ingredients and stir or mix with your hands. The texture should resemble cornmeal. If using streusel, brush the top of the babka with egg wash (see page 135), then scatter the streusel over the top.
Step 13
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake until the top is a rich dark brown, the sides are a rich golden brown, the loaf sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom, and the internal temperature is about 185°F (85°C) in the center. The babka will begin to brown quickly because of the sugar, but it won’t burn. The total baking time is 50 to 60 minutes for a loaf, and just 35 to 45 minutes for a tube pan. The sides may feel soft because of air pockets in the spirals. The babka will soften as it cools.
Step 14
Cool for at least 90 minutes before serving. The babka is best served at room temperature after the chocolate has had time to set.
Variations
Step 15
You can use almond paste in place of the chocolate filling, or simply add sliced almonds to the chocolate filling.
Step 16
Another nice variation is adding 1 1/2 cups (9 oz/255 g) of golden raisins, dried cherries, or dried cranberries and 1 teaspoon of orange zest to the dough during the final minute of mixing. For an added treat, soak the dried fruit in 3/4 cup (6 oz/170 g) of rum or brandy overnight before adding it to the dough, as you might for panettone or stollen.
Step 17
An alternative method for preparing the filling is to barely melt the chocolate, cinnamon, and butter in a double boiler or microwave, then stir the ingredients together and form them into a pliable 16-inch square on a sheet of parchment paper that has been misted with spray oil. Cool this chocolate square in the refrigerator until it is firm. You can transfer this sheet of chocolate directly on top of the babka dough after you roll it out.
Kranz Cake Babka
Step 18
You can prepare the chocolate filling by spreading the barely-melted mixture on a sheet of parchment paper or silicone baking mat, then refrigerating it until firm.
Step 19
Cover the rolled out dough with the chocolate (using either the sheet method or the sprinkle method), then roll the dough into a log. Using a metal pastry blade, cut the log down the middle lengthwise. Cross one piece over the other, then continue to criss-cross the pieces in both directions to form a braid (see page 97 for more on 2-braid loaves).
