My recipe for chocolate babka.

Recipe adapted from Melissa Clark from The New York Times Cooking.

During the lockdown in Paris due to COVID-19, Jan and I have found ourselves baking our asses off. It’s been one week and we have already made cinnamon rolls, fondant Baulois, berry muffins, spelt bread, banana bread, and most recently: chocolate babka.

Yesterday, I was inspired to make chocolate babka. While figuring out what to bake next, I suddenly remembered the chocolate babka my boss had brought home one day. He said it was from a Parisian bakery that is known for making the best chocolate babka in the city. It was perfect. Soft, moist, with thick layers of fudge chocolate—wow. When I thought about this babka yesterday, I knew I had to try to make it at home. Home for 24 hours a day for 2 weeks, I have all the time in the world.

Scroll down for my adapted recipe for chocolate babka.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Babka

The recipe

Time: 3.5 hours, plus 6 to 24 hours’ rising
Yield: 2 loaves
Cuisine: Polish - Eastern European
Keywords: chocolate babka, chocolate streusel, homemade babka

Ingredients

For the dough:

½ cup (118 mL) whole milk
1 package active dry yeast (¼ ounce/7 grams)
⅓ cup (67g) granulated sugar, plus a pinch
4¼ cups (531g) all-purpose flour, more as needed
1½ tsp fine salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon zest
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
4 large eggs lightly beaten, room temperature
10 tbsp (140g) unsalted butter, room temperature

For the fudge filling:

½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
¾ cup (177 mL) heavy cream
Pinch kosher salt
6 ounces (170g) bittersweet chocolate, between 66-75 percent dark cocoa
8 tbsp (112g) unsalted butter, diced, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract

For the chocolate streusel:

½ cup (60g) all-purpose flour
3 tbsp (45g) light brown sugar
1½ tbsp (11g) cocoa powder
½ tsp salt
4½ tbsp (64g) unsalted butter, melted
⅓ cup (60g) mini semisweet chocolate chips (optional)

The Syrup:

⅔ cup (135g) granulated sugar
⅔ cup (158 mL) water

Instructions

Step 1

Prepare the dough: In a small saucepan, warm the milk until it’s lukewarm but not hot. Add yeast and a pinch of sugar and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes, until slightly foamy.

Step 2

In an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, or in a food processor, mix together flour, 1/3 cup sugar, the salt, the vanilla, the lemon zest and the nutmeg. (If you don't have a mixer or processor, use a large bowl and a wooden spoon.) Beat or process in the yeast mixture and eggs until the dough comes together in a soft mass, about 2 minutes. If the dough sticks to the side of the bowl and doesn’t come together, add a tablespoon more flour at a time until it does, beating very well in between additions.

Step 3

Add half the butter and beat or pulse until the dough is smooth and elastic, 3 to 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. Beat in the rest of the butter and continue to beat or pulse until the dough is smooth and stretchy, another 5 to 7 minutes. Again, if the dough sticks to the sides of the bowl, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.

The butter and dough will eventually come together.

Step 4

Butter a clean bowl, form the dough into a ball and roll it around in the bowl so all sides are buttered. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let it rise in a warm, draft-free place (inside of a turned-off oven with the oven light on is good) until it puffs and rises, about 1 to 2 hours. It may not double in bulk but it should rise.

Step 5

Press the dough down with your hands, re-cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight (or for at least 4 hours).

Step 6

Prepare the filling: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, cream and salt. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar completely dissolves, about 5 minutes. Scrape mixture into a bowl. Stir in chocolate, butter and vanilla until smooth. Let cool to room temperature. Filling can be made up to a week ahead and stored, covered, in the fridge. Let come to room temperature before using.

Step 7

Prepare the streusel: In a bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Stir in melted butter until it is evenly distributed and forms large, moist crumbs. Stir in the chocolate chips. Streusel can be prepared up to 3 days ahead and stored, covered, in the fridge.

Step 8

Prepare the syrup: In a small saucepan, combine sugar and 2/3 cup (158 mL) water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves.

Step 9

Butter two 9-inch (22cm) loaf pans, then line with parchment paper, leaving 2 inches of paper hanging over on the sides to use as handles later.

Step 10

Remove dough from refrigerator and divide in half. On a floured surface, roll one piece into a 9-by-17-inch (22 x 43 cm) rectangle. Spread on half the filling (there's no need to leave a border). Starting with the long horizontal side, roll into a tight coil. Transfer the coil onto a dish towel or piece of plastic wrap and stick it in the freezer for 10 minutes. Repeat with the other piece of dough.

Step 11

Slice one of the long dough rolls in half lengthwise to expose the filling. Twist the halves together as if you were braiding them, then twist the braid into an 8-shape. Place into a prepared pan, letting it curl around itself if it’s a little too long for the pan. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until puffy (it won’t quite double). Alternatively, you can cover the pans with plastic wrap and let them rise in the refrigerator overnight; bring them back to room temperature for an hour before baking.

Step 12

When you're ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 degrees (175 Celsius). Use your fingers to clump streusel together and scatter all over the tops of the cakes. Transfer to oven and bake until a tester goes into the cakes without any rubbery resistance and comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. The cakes will sound hollow if you unmold them and tap on the bottom. An instant-read thermometer will read between 185 and 210 degrees.

Step 13

As soon as the cakes come out of the oven, use a skewer or chopstick to pierce them all over going all the way to the bottom of the cakes, and then pour the syrup on top of the cakes, making sure to use half the syrup for each cake.

Step 14

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.

Notes

I substituted the granulated sugar in the streusel with light brown sugar. I prefer the caramel flavor the light brown sugar gives the streusel.

The lemon zest really takes the babka to another level.