Chocolate Babka for Hanukkah

One of the best things about baking is that you get to explore different recipes from different cultures. This week I tried baking a babka, because it’s Hanukkah. Some would argue that babka is a bread, which others would argue that it’s a cake. I would argue that it doesn’t matter what it is, because it’s delicious. I chose to make a chocolate babka, but traditionally, I believe it’s filled with cinnamon and sugar. You could choose to fill your babka with just about anything, even something savory, if you’d like. I think the next time I try it, I think I’ll use Nutella and some roasted hazlenuts. 

Here’s What You’ll Need:

For the Dough:

¼ Cup Whole Milk (Warm)

1 ½ Teaspoons of Dry Active Yeast

3 Tablespoons of Sugar

2 ⅛ Cups All Purpose Flour 

¾ Teapoon Fine Salt

¼ Teaspoon Nutmeg

2 Eggs (At room temperature)

5 Tablespoons of Butter (At room temperature)

For the Filling:

¼ Cup Sugar

¼ Cup + 2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream

3 Ounces of Chocolate (Bittersweet or Dark)

4 Tablespoons of Butter

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla

1 Pinch of Fine Salt

For the Topping:

¼ Cup All Purpose Flour

1 ½ Tablespoons of Dutch Cocoa

¼ Teaspoon of Fine Salt

2 Tablespoons of Butter (Melted)

6 Tablespoons of Chocolate Chips

For the Simple Syrup:

⅓ Cup Sugar

⅓ Cup Water

Here’s How To Make It:

Step 1: Warm your whole milk in the microwave or in a small saucepan to about 100 degrees, then add your yeast and let it sit for ten minutes.

Step 2: In a KitchenAid mixer with the dough hook or in a bowl with a wooden spoon, mix the sugar, flour, salt, and nutmeg together. Add the butter, eggs, milk with yeast, and vanilla into the dry ingredients until your dough starts to look smooth and elastic.

Step 3: Butter a bowl, add your dough to the buttered bowl, cover it in plastic wrap, and let it sit for about 2 hours in a warm place.

Step 4: After your dough has risen for 2 hours, punch it down, cover it again and put it in your fridge for four hours to overnight. The longer you leave it, the more flavor you’ll develop.

Step 5: Make your chocolate filling! In a saucepan on medium, heat your sugar, heavy cream, and salt for about five minutes or until the sugar has dissolved. Put this mixture in a bowl and stir in chopped chocolate, melted butter, and vanilla until it looks so smooth and delicious that you want to start dipping your fingers in and licking them off. Let this mixture come to room temp, then put it in the fridge with your dough.

Step 6: Now it’s time for the topping! In a small mixing bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa, and salt. Next, stir in the melted butter until is comes together in clumps, then add in the chocolate chips and stir until it looks a bit crumbly. Set it aside.

Step 7: Take your dough out of the fridge, along with your chocolate mix and let it come to room temperature. Butter a bread loaf pan, then line the pan with parchment, making sure you have enough of the parchment hanging out that you can use it as a makeshift handle once your babka is cooked.

Step 8: Once your dough has come to room temperature, sprinkle a surface with flour and roll your dough out into a rectangle. Confession, mine wasn’t a perfect rectangle, it was more of an ameba. Try to get it to be about 9 x 17 inches or so. 

Step 9: Once the dough is rolled out, cover it in the yummy chocolate spread, then roll it up tightly using the long side. Wrap your roll in a dishtowel or plastic wrap and put it in the freezer for ten minutes.

Step 10: After ten minutes are up, take your roll out of the freezer, unwrap it, and slice it lengthwise, exposing the chocolate mixture. Twist the two halves into a braid, fold it in half, and place it into the loaf pan. Cover it and let it rise for about one and a half hours.

Step 11: Now that your dough is almost ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Top your dough with the topping. Then bake for around 40 minutes. 

Step 12: While your bread is baking make some simple syrup. In a small saucepan, boil sugar and water together for about two minutes, then turn it off and let it cool a bit until your babka is done baking.

Step 13: Tap gentle on your babka to see if it makes a hollow noise after the time is up. You can also use a long toothpick to see if it comes out clean. Once it’s fully baked, pull it out of the oven and poke lots of holes in it all around. Pour the syrup over the babka, letting it soak up all the syrup.

Step 14: Let your babka cool on a cooling rack for two to three hours, then slice and enjoy!