Chocolate Babka

By susanwadle

Ingredients

• For the Dough:
• 1 cup whole milk, lukewarm
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 3 large egg yolks
• 2 large eggs
• 6 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups (about 17 1/2 ounces) bread flour
• 1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
• 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• For the Filling:
• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, very soft
• 1 large egg, beaten

Details

Servings 10
Preparation time 45mins
Cooking time 45mins
Adapted from seriouseats.com

Preparation

Step 1

In medium bowl, whisk together milk and yeast. Whisk in egg yolks, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. In large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, salt, and cardamom. Add liquid ingredients to dry and stir to completely combine. Loosely cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature until doubled in size and surface is covered with large bubbles, 2 to 3 hours. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or preferably overnight.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Spray 10-inch tube pan with non-stick cooking spray. In small bowl, combine chocolate, cocoa, and cinnamon.

On a well-floured surface, roll babka dough into a 12 by 16-inch rectangle. Spread softened butter evenly over dough. Sprinkle chocolate mixture evenly over buttered dough.

Starting with the long end, gently roll up babka into a cylinder shape. Pinch seam to seal. Place cylinder into prepared pan, seam down and slightly overlapping both ends of cylinder. Brush top with egg and let rest at room temperature about 30 minutes.