Great Grandmother's Chocolate Babka
- Level: Intermediate
- Yield: Two 9-by-5-inch babkas
- Total: 4 hr (includes rising and cooling times)
- Active: 1 hr
Ingredients
Dough:
One 1 1/4-ounce packet active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
Vegetable, canola or olive oil (whatever you have on hand), for greasing
Filling:
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch kosher salt
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Topping:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch kosher salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
Assembly:
All-purpose flour, for dusting
Nonstick cooking spray
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
Directions
Special equipment:
two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans- For the dough: Sprinkle the yeast over the milk in a liquid measuring cup and set aside until bubbly, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl and whisk together. Add the eggs, vanilla, yeast mixture, lemon zest and nutmeg; stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead until soft and smooth, about 5 minutes. Knead in the butter in three additions, dusting the dough with flour if it's too sticky. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
- For the filling: Combine the heavy cream, sugar and salt in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat until scalding. Pour over the chocolate chips, butter and vanilla in a medium heatproof bowl. Let sit for a minute to melt, then whisk until smooth and shiny. Let cool to room temperature.
- For the topping: Meanwhile, whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a separate medium bowl. Work in the butter with your fingers until the mixture is sandy and chunky. Stir in the mini chocolate chips. Set aside.
- For the assembly: Cut the dough in half with a bench scraper or chef's knife. Using a rolling pin, roll each half into a 12-by-16-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Using an offset spatula, spread the filling on both dough rectangles, all the way to the edges. Starting from the long side, tightly roll each rectangle into a log. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
- Unwrap the logs and cut each in half lengthwise with a bench scraper or chef's knife. For each babka, twist the 2 halves together a few times, starting from the middle. Coat two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans with cooking spray and line each with parchment, leaving an overhang on the 2 longer sides so you can pull the babka out of the pan after baking. Place a babka snuggly in each pan. Brush each loaf with the melted butter and sprinkle with the topping. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the babkas until browned, about 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make simple syrup: Combine the sugar and 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan; simmer, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Let cool, then pour into a squeeze bottle. Pull the loaves out of the oven and immediately poke a bunch of holes into the babkas and squeeze some simple syrup into the holes. You will use 1 1/4 cups simple syrup evenly for the two loaves.
- Let sit 10 minutes, then remove the babkas from the pans and remove the parchment. Let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing and serving.