This babka dough produces a pull-apart bread that is rich, buttery, and intensely chocolaty.
Better Chocolate Babka
This chocolate babka recipe has been refined over time, resulting in a rich, buttery, crumbly and intensely chocolaty dessert. The dough is made with a hint of orange zest for a unique twist, and the filling is a decadent chocolate paste. Despite the seemingly complicated process, the end result is well worth the effort.
Ingredients
- 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- Grated zest of half an orange
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup water (cold is fine) and up to 1 to 2 tbsp extra, if needed
- 3/4 tsp fine sea or table salt
- 2/3 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- Sunflower or other neutral oil, for greasing
Filling
- 4 1/2 ounces dark chocolate (or approximately 3/4 cup chocolate chips)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold is fine
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional)
Syrup
- 1/3 cup water
- 6 tbsp granulated sugar
Directions
Make the dough: Combine the flour, sugar, yeast and zest in the bottom of the bowl of a stand mixer. Add eggs and 1/2 cup water, mixing with the dough hook until it comes together. If it doesn’t come together at all, add extra water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough forms a mass. With the mixer on low, add the salt, then the butter, a spoonful at a time, mixing until it’s incorporated into the dough. Then, mix on medium speed for 10 minutes until dough is completely smooth. Coat a large bowl with oil and place dough inside, cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight.
Make filling: Melt butter and chocolate together until smooth. Stir in powdered sugar and cocoa; mixture should form a spreadable paste. Add cinnamon, if desired.
Assemble loaves: Coat two 9-by-4-inch loaf pans with oil or butter, and line the bottom of each with a rectangle of parchment paper. Take half of dough from fridge. Roll out on a well-floured counter to about a 10-inch width and as long in length as you can when rolling it thin. Spread half of chocolate mixture evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around. Brush the end farthest away from you with water. Roll the dough up with the filling into a long, tight cigar. Seal the dampened end onto the log. Transfer the log to a lightly floured baking tray in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes made it much, much easier to cut cleanly in half. Repeat with second dough.
Trim last 1/2-inch off each end of log. Gently cut the log in half lengthwise and lay them next to each other on the counter, cut sides up. Pinch the top ends gently together. Lift one side over the next, forming a twist and trying to keep the cut sides facing out. Transfer the twist as best as you can into the prepared loaf pan. Cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise another 1 to 1 1/2 hours at room temperature. Repeat process with second loaf.
Bake and finish cakes: Heat oven to 375°F. Remove towels, place each loaf on the middle rack of your oven. Bake for 30 minutes, but there’s no harm in checking for doneness at 25 minutes. A skewer inserted into an underbaked babka will feel stretchy/rubbery inside and may come back with dough on it. When fully baked, you’ll feel almost no resistance. If you babka needs more time, put it back, 5 minutes at a time then re-test. If it browns too quickly, you can cover it with foil.
While babkas are baking, make syrup: Bring sugar and water to a simmer until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and set aside to cool somewhat. As soon as the babkas leave the oven, brush the syrup all over each. Let cool about halfway in pan, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool the rest of the way before eating.
- Babkas keep for a few days at room temperature. Longer, I’d freeze them. They freeze and defrost really well.