Babka is a sweet yeast cake-bread hybrid, popularized in the US by Eastern European-Russian Jews during the 1900s. It’s made by filling yeast dough with chocolate or cinnamon, then twisting and baking it in a loaf pan.
I’m calling this bread babka-inspired, rather than babka, because I made quite a few substitutions — including swapping out butter for ground nuts, using soymilk instead of regular milk, increasing the filling-to-bread ratio, etc.
The result, however, is nothing short of heavenly. Think: soft, brioche-like layers, swirls of dark chocolate, and a kick of lemon, finished with a simple sugar glaze.
It’s surprisingly less complicated and labor intensive than you might expect, although it does require a few hours of rising time. Absolutely worth the wait.
Dark Chocolate Swirl Bread (babka-inspired)
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen and Rivka Friedman
Yields one 9×5 inch loaf
Dough:
3 1/2 cups + 1 TB flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp instant yeast
zest of 1 lemon
2 eggs
6 TB water + 1-2 additional TB if needed
3/4 tsp fine sea salt
8 1/2 TB butter (I used salted)
Filling:
3/4 cup cashews (raw/roasted are both fine)
1 1/8 cup walnuts (raw/roasted are both fine)
3 TB butter
3 TB milk of choice (I used soymilk)
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup powdered sugar
scant 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 egg yolk
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Syrup:
2 TB sugar
1.5 TB water
Instructions
For the dough:
Combine flour, sugar and yeast. Add eggs, zest, and 6 tablespoons of water. Mix together until the dough forms a mass. Dough will be dry at first, so it’s okay to add 1-2 additional tablespoons of water — but try mixing for a few minutes first. Add salt and butter, mixing with hands until fully combined. Knead for 10 minutes until dough forms a smooth-ish ball (try not to use additional flour, as this will dry out the dough).
Coat a large bowl with oil. Place dough inside, cover with plastic and allow to rise at room temperature (or in the oven) for 2-3 hours, until dough is about doubled in size.
After dough has doubled in size, place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes while you assemble the filling. This will make it easier to roll and shape.
For the filling:
Throw nuts into the food processor, and run for a few minutes until the nuts form a paste. Scrape down sides as necessary. Melt chocolate chips and butter together until smooth (I used the microwave). Add to food processor, along with all remaining filling ingredients. Process until smooth, being sure not to over-process.
Form the loaves:
Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Roll dough on a well-floured counter to about 1/4 inch thickness.
Spread chocolate filling over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around. Brush edges of dough with water. Roll the dough up like a log.
Cut the log in half lengthwise, so that you have two long, filled strips. Lay them side by side, with the cut side up. Pinch top ends together, and overlay strips to form a twist. Keep the cut sides facing up. Move carefully into loaf pan. The dough may looks like a mess at this point, but don’t worry! It will even and fill out as it bakes.
Cover and let rise 1 1/2 hours at room temperature.
Bake:
Bake loaf at 375°F (190°C) for 30-32 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. If you’re leaving it longer than 30 minutes, I would recommend covering it with foil at this point so that it doesn’t brown.
Make the syrup:
While bread is baking, prepare syrup. Add sugar and water to a pan, and bring to a simmer. Once sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and allow mixture to cool. When you remove the bread, immediately brush the top with room-temperature syrup.
Allow to cool in pan for at least 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack (so that the loaf doesn’t fall apart). Devour!