Recipe

Chocolate Babka Recipe

	Borinda / All my dishes 2 years, 7 months ago Gale Gand's recipe from her Chocolate & Vanilla book. Her recipes are great and her instructions are detailed to ensure success. This recipe takes me back to NY and kaffee klatching with the ladies. Prep:4m Cook:45m Servings:12	Borinda
	timeconsuming traditional easterneuropean

Does this look good? Yeah! / Nope

Fans

linebb956

coffeebean

annieamie

mystic_riv

Ingredients

for the sponge:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. sugar

1 + Tbsp active dry yeast

1 cup warm milk (about 95 degrees)

for the dough:

1 large egg

5 large egg yolks

1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

for the chocolate filling:

1 7-ounce tube almond paste

1 large egg white

1 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Directions

Make the sponge by stirring the flour, sugar, yeast, and milk together in a medium bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit about one hour, until bubbly.

For the dough: In an electric mixer with a paddle stir the egg, egg yolks, sugar, salt, and vanilla until well blended. Add the flour and the sponge and and blend this with a dough hook until a "shaggy" dough forms.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 3-5 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic but not sticky. Lightly grease a large bowl and place the dough in there and cover with plastic wrap. Let this rise at room temperature about 1 1/2 hours.

make the filling while the dough rises: In a food processor blend the almond paste, egg white, and butter until smooth. Add the chocolate and blend just until it is incorporated. Set aside. (you can make this up to 2 days ahead and store in the refrigerator and take out to room temp. when needed)

Turn the dough back onto a lightly floured surface and punch it down to deflate. Use a rolling pin to create an 8x14" rectangle which is about 1/4" thick. let this rest for about 5 minutes with a tea towel covering it to keep the dough moist.

Spread the filling over the dough to within 1/2" of the edges and then roll it up lengthwise, ala a jelly-roll, and pinch the seam along the bottom to seal it. Flatten this log a bit with the rolling pin and then twist the log 6 to 8 times. This gives the beautifully swirled filling.

Place one end of the log in the center of a 9" cake pan and then wrap it around itself forming a spiral in the cake pan. (YOu can cover it at this point with plastic and refrigerate overnight and then let it come back to room temp. for about 1/2 hour or until it has doubled in volume before baking. Great for brunch.) Cover the pan lightly with a clean, damp kitchen towel and place out of any drafts, and let this rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes 1 hour.

Place in a Preheated 350 oven and bake until the cake is golden, about 45 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool on a rack.

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Comments

debra47 2 years, 7 months ago said:
This looks out of this world!

unswissmiss 2 years, 6 months ago said:
This is making my mouth water. (And no crumbles! I hate crumbles.) I'm going to try it as a log, without rolling it up in the cake pan, the way they sell it at Zabar's.

borinda 2 years, 6 months ago said:
The loaf is how I always had babka, too, back in NY.

image 2 years, 6 months ago said:
Sounds delicious. Thanks.

linebb956 1 year, 8 months ago said:
Wow.. how could they give this a low rating?

annieamie 1 year, 8 months ago said:
I'm going to make this tomorrow morning. I haven't had a good babka in ages! And a chocolate one? Ohhhh yum! Maybe I should just start the recipe now! Thanks, Borinda! I'm so glad you shared this recipe!

mystic_river1 1 year, 2 months ago said:
Very nice thanks. 5

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