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4.16 from 13 votes

Chocolate Babka Recipe

Chocolate Babka is a sweet, soft and buttery bread featuring decadent chocolate filling running through it. Top it off with chocolate glaze or sugar syrup glaze and you are in for an ultimate treat!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Resting Time8 hours
Total Time1 hour
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 18 Slices
Calories: 424kcal
Author: Neha

Equipment

  • 1 Hand/stand Mixer
  • 2 Mixing Bowl
  • 2 Loaf tins (8 x 4 - inch)
  • 1 Spatula
  • 1 Rolling Pin

Ingredients

For babka dough:

  • 4 and ½ cups All-purpose flour
  • ½ cup Granulated Sugar
  • 2 and ¼ tsp Instant yeast
  • 4 large eggs
  • ½ cup milk (slightly warm at 110° F, I used whole milk)
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 10 Tablespoons unsalted butter (at room temperature)

For Chocolate Filling:

  • ½ cup Powdered sugar
  • ¾ cup Heavy Cream
  • 6 Ounces (170 gms) Bitter sweet Chocolate (65% to 70% cocoa content)
  • 1 Stick (8 Tablespoons) Butter (at room temperature, cubed)
  • 2 tsps Pure vanilla extract

For Sugar Syrup:

  • ⅓ Cup Water
  • ⅓ Cup Granulated Sugar

Instructions

For the Dough:

  • Take milk, granulated sugar and yeast in a cup/large mixing bowl fitted with a dough hook attachment and mix it well. Allow the mix to rest for 5 minutes, it will prove the yeast.
  • Now add flour and eggs in the mixing bowl (and add yeast mix too, if you mixed it in a cup). Mix everything on low speed and form a rough ball of dough. This step will take about 4-5 minutes. The dough will be very sticky at this point.
    Increase the speed to medium and continue to knead until a smooth and elastic dough forms, about 5 minutes. At this point the dough will gather around the dough hook and won't stick to the sides of bowl any longer.
    Allow the dough to rest uncovered for about 5 minutes. Gluten in the dough will now relax and butter will incorporate better in it this way.
  • Now add salt and softened butter in the dough (one tablespoon at a time), turning the mixer at medium speed again. Allow butter to combine in the dough well before each addition.
    Continue to knead the dough till it no longer sticks to the side of bowl again and becomes stretchy.
  • Form a ball out of dough and place it in a greased bowl. Cover it with a clean kitchen towel/cling wrap and let it rise in a warm place for approximately 1 hour or until it doubles in size.
    Overnight instructions:
    At this point you can also chill the dough in refrigerator overnight (for about 8-10 hours) and roll it then. Chilling the dough enhances its flavor profile and makes it easier to roll. I always let the dough chill overnight.

For Chocolate filling:

  • In a heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium heat, combine cream and sugar. Simmer and stir till sugar dissolves completely into cream. Now add in chocolate and butter and stir them in too until the mixture gets smooth. Turn the flame off and add vanilla. Let it cool down at room temperature until it reaches to a thickened spreadable consistency. It will take about an hour.
    Make ahead instructions:
    Filling can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for about a week. Bring to room temperature before spreading on the dough.

Rolling and Shaping the dough:

  • Once the dough has risen, gently punch it down to release air. Bring it to floured surface and divide the dough into half. 2 loaves will be made out of it. We are working with one piece of dough at a time. Keep other half covered in the refrigerator until ready to use.
  • Apply some flour over the dough and roll it out into a large rectangle of 12x16-inch size, using a rolling pin. Now with a spatula or palette knife, spread half of the chocolate filling evenly over the dough, leaving a small border around the edges.
  • Starting from one of the long sides of the rectangle, tightly roll the dough and seal the seams. Using a sharp knife, cut the logs in half crosswise. Place logs on a large parchment paper in cross shape, one on top of the other.
    Twist the logs to form braid like structure. Lift the dough with the help of parchment paper and place in the loaf tin along with parchment paper. Repeat for the second loaf.
  • Brush with some milk and cover loaves with kitchen towel. Let them rise for the second time in a warm place for about an hour or until well puffed.

Bake and Glaze:

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake loaves on center rack for about 40-45 minutes until they turn golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on top.
  • Once the breads are done baking, take them out of oven and immediately brush glaze over the top of loaves. This will add a delightful sweetness and seal in moisture in the bread.

To make Syrup:

  • By the time bread is baking, prepare a simple syrup by boiling water and granulated sugar in a small sauce pan over medium-medium high heat. Cook until the sugar dissolves completely and the syrup comes to a boil and thickens a little.
  • Allow breads to cool for 30 minutes in the pan, then take them out using parchment paper overhangs and discard the paper.
  • Slice and serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

How to store it:
Store the loaf at room temperature for 2-3 days, covered tightly at all times. This bread freezes well. Roll a few layers of cling wrap over the loaf and cover it with foil then. Freeze it for a month.
Defrost at room temp. covered. Warm up in a pre heated oven at 320 deg F, for about 10 minutes. Individual slices can be warmed up in microwave for a few secs too.
Tips to make perfect Loaf:
  1. If you want yeast to act faster, dissolve it in a warm mixture of milk(110F) along with 2 tablespoons of sugar.  Add to the dry ingredients after the yeast proves.
  2. Always chill the dough before rolling. It makes rolling so much easier and you will get pretty distinctive swirls in the baked bread!
  3. To check if the cake has baked successfully, take a long toothpick to get to the middle of the loaf. It must go in without any resistance. Or make sure the internal temperature has reached 190°F.
  4. Don't forget to apply syrup in the end. It keeps the surface shiny and gives an enhanced taste. It also prevents the surface from drying out.
  5. In case you don't have a stand mixer you can mix the dough ingredients initially with a wooden spoon. Then knead it all into a dough.
  6. Tent the loaf with foil during baking if you notice the top is turning brown too soon.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Slice | Calories: 424kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 19g | Sodium: 153mg | Sugar: 19g