chocolate babka
After realizing that both Alex and my families loved the same decadent grocery store chocolate babka growing up, I set out to find a recipe to recreate it at home. I waded through dozens and dozens, convinced that something was off in each of them, continually closing my eyes and trying to remember exactly what makes it what it is.
First, it’s completely over-the-top. The chocolate to bread-like dough ratio is unseemly. It often seemed impossible that they could construct something with even more filling than structure. I rejected all of the recipes that didn’t suggest a mind-boggling amount of chocolate.
Second, the quintessential taste is not just chocolate, no siree: it’s chocolate-cinnamon. Rejecting all the recipes that didn’t play on this combination, the stack of possibilities further thinned.
Finally, the chocolate babka we grew up eating had an extra little something-something–streusel topping with a few chunks that always fell into the twists and folds–something I remember clearly from all the times we’d pick the pieces out, or fight over those with the biggest pebbles. Almost all the recipes I looked at involved no streusel.
But just like that, Martha Stewart* saved the day. Unseemly amounts of chocolate? Check. Cinnamon? Check. Streusel? Check. Five sticks of butter? Oh my god I didn’t sign up for this!
For real, people, this nearly ties with those pecan bars as the most fattening thing I have ever made. Two and a quarter pounds of chocolate. One and a quarter pounds of butter. A pound and a half of sugar. The truth is, this recipe made me a nervous wreck. The cost of the ingredients and caloric heft of them aside, it was a tremendous amount of work, a true labor of love, a task not eased by a kitchen with just a single eensy counter.
But I’m not here to complain, because the effort was not for naught. We cut into a single slice hot from the oven Wednesday night, unable to hold off any longer, and were just stunned. It is exactly what we remember. Callebraut chocolate, other top-notch ingredients and no extended wait on a supermarket shelf made it, dare I say, even better.
I realize that this is not exactly a recipe that anyone will be running out to try this very evening–you’d be correct to be daunted, even if the reward is substantial. But a good lot of the reason I was driven to creating this site was to pass information along where there is a dearth of it: this recipe works. And a recipe that works, and allows you to create something your family loves at home instead of wading through the labyrinth of ingredient lists, packaging dates and other well-placed supermarket doubts, is no small thing in my book, or in my belly.
* Disclosure! Martha Stewart is an advertising partner, but no, this does not mean that I give her recipes any free passes.
One year ago: Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies
Chocolate Babka
When shaping the babka, twist dough evenly throughout the length of the roll a full 5 to 6 turns. The babka can be prepared up to step 8 and frozen for up to a month before baking. When ready to bake, remove from freezer; let stand at room temperature for about 5 hours, and bake.
Makes 3 loaves (but I made two full-sized and three miniature ones)
1 1/2 cups warm milk, 110 degrees
2 (1/4 ounce each) packages active dry yeast
1 3/4 cups plus a pinch of sugar
3 whole large eggs, room temperature
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups (3 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, room temperature, plus more for bowl and loaf pans
2 1/4 pounds semisweet chocolate, very finely chopped*
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Streusel topping (below)
1. Pour warm milk into a small bowl. Sprinkle yeast and pinch of sugar over milk; let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. In a bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup sugar, 2 eggs, and egg yolks. Add egg mixture to yeast mixture, and whisk to combine.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour and salt. Add egg mixture, and beat on low speed until almost all the flour is incorporated, about 30 seconds. Change to the dough hook. Add 2 sticks butter, and beat until flour mixture and butter are completely incorporated, and a smooth, soft dough that’s slightly sticky when squeezed is formed, about 10 minutes.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead a few turns until smooth. Butter a large bowl. Place dough in bowl, and turn to coat. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
5. Place chocolate, remaining cup sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl, and stir to combine. Using two knives or a pastry cutter, cut in remaining 1 1/2 sticks butter until well combined; set filling aside.
6. Generously butter three 9-by-5-by-2 3/4-inch loaf pans; line them with parchment paper. Beat remaining egg with 1 tablespoon cream; set egg wash aside. Punch back the dough, and transfer to a clean surface. Let rest 5 minutes. Cut into 3 equal pieces. Keep 2 pieces covered with plastic wrap while working with the remaining piece. On a generously floured surface, roll dough out into a 16-inch square; it should be 1/8 inch thick.
7. Brush edges with reserved egg wash. Crumble 1/3 of the reserved chocolate filling evenly over dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Refresh egg wash if needed. Roll dough up tightly like a jelly roll. Pinch ends together to seal. Twist 5 or 6 turns. Brush top of roll with egg wash. Carefully crumble 2 tablespoons filling over the left half of the roll, being careful not to let mixture slide off. Fold right half of the roll over onto the coated left half. Fold ends under, and pinch to seal. Twist roll 2 turns, and fit into prepared pan. Repeat with the remaining 2 pieces of dough and remaining filling.
8. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Brush the top of each loaf with egg wash. Crumble 1/3 of streusel topping over each loaf. Loosely cover each pan with plastic wrap, and let stand in a warm place 20 to 30 minutes.
9. Bake loaves, rotating halfway through, until golden, about 55 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake until babkas are deep golden, 15 to 20 minutes more. Remove from oven, and transfer to wire racks until cool. Remove from pans; serve. Babkas freeze well for up to 1 month.
* After chopping the chocolate into moderately sized chunks, I used the food processor to pulse the rest of the chocolate in two batches to small bits. It saved a lot of time!
Streusel Topping
Makes 3 3/4 cups.
1 2/3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, and butter. Using a fork, stir until fully combined with clumps ranging in size from crumbs to 1 inch.
Wow. I mean, just wow. I too have been pining for the babka of my youth, and you not only described it, but you recreated it, and gone where others have yet to tread-you put forth a recipe that makes it sound possible! I really don’t know whether to thank you or run away from the computer as fast as I can hoping I can erase this possible attainable Babka from my head. I made your Mom’s scrumptious coffee cake last week, and I tried the same amnesia trick, to no avail. I think I’m going to make this and freeze it, and have to break fast for yom kippur, because that’s the only way I can come up with possibly justifying eating it; if I haven’t eaten all day. I can’t believe how powerful the collective memory of the East Coast Jewish girl born in the 70’s is!
oh, thank you so much for this recipe. i’ve been mourning the loss of chocolate babka (and pickles) ever since 2nd ave deli closed.
i could see how this recipe made you all nervous! i’m just going to take your word for it because there is no way i could ever make anything that calls for that much butter.
Oh, Deb! My, you inspire me. I’m terrified of baking with yeast, but these look good enough to force me to Face My Fear. I adore your blog and your Fever for Food. Perhaps I’ve fallen in love with you, will you marry me? Oh, wait, you’re already married. Um, and so am I. Well, lets have a blogging affair!
Keep up the wonderful, happy, sticky-fingered work
OMG! The last time I tackled a recipe with that much butter, I was making Julia Child’s brioche. I made that for 2 months solid, and got an incredibly overweight husband, and group of coworkers. Oh and I broke my dough hook on my artisan Kitchenaid! (I got a free replacement for that hook, and 2 years ago, I upgraded to a Pro6) At least this recipe won’t heat my Kitchenaid motor this time. Hmmm, just in time. Hubby has lost the 30 lbs, time to put it back on for the winter! Ha ha!
Just for reference, I had meant to put the amount of butter, sugar, etc. in context in the post, but ran out of space/time.
Although it is–no doubt–an absolutely incredible amount of ingredients, it’s not completely out of step with other desserts. First, the recipe yields 3 loaves, meaning that each loaf has 1 2/3 sticks of butter. A typical loaf-style cake has one stick of butter in it, and another quarter to third of a stick if it has streusel on top. A single layer of a 9″ inch cake tends to have one stick of butter (or a half-cup of oil) in it as well. One loaf also has the chocolate of one batch of chocolate chip cookies, and easily serves 12 (I’d argue 24, because the slices are rich enough that a half-slice is plenty, but I apparently hit Sweets Overload faster than others). The sugar is in-step with other recipes, and is less than one would have in an iced cake.
Is babka healthy? My god, no. But, when cooking in quantities, its easy to get overwhelmed by the big numbers, forgetting that you’re just making more.
Oh, heavens, this looks good. I’m sitting here trying to find an interesting non-dairy dairy dessert to go with tonight’s (very rare) meat meal and you toss this out–not fair! I can’t wait to give it a try.
There should be some kind of surgeon general’s warning on this post. Just reading it makes me about plotz from babka lust.
Magpie — Sorry! I just dug and dug for my mother’s (absolutely perfect in every way but I haven’t had a chance to blog yet because why would I when mom always makes it) German apple cake recipe that she makes for the high holidays, but I don’t have it. (It uses oil, not butter.) Mom, if you’re reading this, AHEM. Please? Thanky.
As a naive Californian, I’ve never heard of babka. Is it cake? Bread?
Babka is closer to cake than bread, but uses a brioche-like rich yeast dough as its base, and is traditionally either rolled with cinnamon, raisins/almonds/orange zest or chocolate. (There could be other varieties, but I’m not familiar with them, though I read once about a cheese babka and was drooling at the thought of it.) It’s Eastern European in origin. Some are topped with streusel, others with one of those white pastry icings. Alex tells me that “babka” in Russian means old lady, but not in a nice way. I haven’t figured out what to make of that yet.
If craving sweet, delectable, utterly heart-clogging fat such as this is wrong, I don’t want to be right! It’s not about need, it’s about desire! OK, going to go my nutrition bar now and curse myself through breakfast.
Yummy!
OK, I’ve never had babka, but I’m going to start with this one! Thanks!
Hello – I used to make this recipe with a friend who had a fancy stand mixer, but she’s since moved away. Do you think it could be done without a stand mixer?
I’ve been following this blog for a short while. It is outstanding! The pictures are beautiful and the food looks delicious. Are you selling any of the goodies? You guys eat all this?!
Hi Megan — Yes, absolutely. The only part I used my stand mixer for was making the dough, which can be mixed by hand and then kneaded, with just a bit of extra effort. The most important thing is to make sure all the butter is incorporated in the dough before you start kneading, something that will be easy if the butter is fully at room temperature/soft. When its time to knead it, don’t worry about it making a mess on the counter. Just scrape everything back into the bowl and it will rise normally.
Faye — One went to our dinner last night, the next will got to my parents next week for Yom Kippur, and the tiny ones will be in the freezer until we need a dessert for a party or something. I understand that they freeze well.
Hi Deb, thanks for your response. Please add my email to your mailing list. I know I would be interested in most anything you are doing, food and photography-wise. Your blog is a pleasant surprise every day. Thanks.
Oh, wow, that looks just like the babka of my youth, which my mother would pick up from bakeries on Avenue J and Avenue M in Brooklyn. Fantastic stuff, and we were all addicted to it. The closest thing I’ve ever made was monkey bread. I can’t wait to make this myself – it’ll be a fantastic surprise for my family.
Deb, your pictures make my mouth water! Seriously, I started reading this post and thought to myself, “I want chocolate babka for lunch.” How much time do you think I should set aside for this cooking endeavor?
Being from the west coast I had never heard of Babka until the episode centered around it on Seinfeld! I had always wondered exactly what it was. Thanks. OH…don’t worry about the fat/calories in the recipe…Paula Deen would approve! : )
You can use her line: “Honey, I’m your cook not your doctor!”
this loooks amazing! i might try it this weekend. thank you for posting!
I have actually been wanting to try making babka for a long time, but didn’t really know where to begin. Thanks for the recipe! Look forward to trying it out.
One question remains – do you do the bibbi babka dance as you make this?
C’mon, no Perfect Strangers fans out there? ;)
(looks fabulous! much better than Balki’s!)
Can you just mail me a loaf? I’m too lazy and cheap to do it myself.
That looks awesome.
That looks so great. The butter factor is a bit scary though. I’d never heard of babka before, where is it from?
Okay, now that I’m off of cloud nine.
Chocolate plus streusel, what’s not to love!
this is way too good to ever make. and if you have to ask you wouldn’t understand. damn girl, i am impressed. if i was still in nyc i would so make this for a family occassion but here in tn i dunno if they’ll get it all the way. this is food of my jewish childhood. i wish i could just have one little slice…
OMG, i haven’t even thought about chocolate babka since i worked in a bakery in college. i’m totally gonna find a reason to make this! thanks for the recipe.
Wow, I’m usually a lurker, but that looks and sounds amazing. And I don’t even like chocolate that much. The dough just looks fantastic. And the recipe doesn’t look too hard to divide into three, if I only want one loaf.
Oh how delightful. Thank you Deb…I think I might have to make this for Christmas breakfast. On another note, I just don’t get this odd fear of butter. Dear people, butter is not the devil…so eat and be merry. I mean, one ought not to have food this rich everyday, but once in a while, it’s positively beneficial, both to the soul and the taste buds. It’s regular consumption of processed horror food that clogs us up, not the odd delicious chunk of quality decadence.
mmm. Looks heavenly! I will make this some day.
The baked good I’m trying to recreate from my childhood is the teiglach my grandparents would buy from Lord’s Bakery in B’klyn for the High Holy Days. My favorite!
oh lala… have one question: do you think this also works without the streuseltop? with just the eggwash, or cream brushed on top? is it sweet enough to stand on it’s own? thanks from berlin, where this crazy babka will be baked tomorrow. can’t wait!
Why oh why did you have to put that image in my head? That is just one baked good it never occurred to me to tackle but now I will be dreaming of it.
Where in the WORLD do you find chocolate like that? Is it a city thing, because if so I’m going to have to add “chocolate by the pound” to the list of disadvantages to rural living.
#35
I LOVE THAT YOU MADE THIS!
YES!
I AM SHOUTING!
CAN YOU HEAR ME, from california to ny?
I’ll make you a deal… you get one of those in the mail for me and i will send you a cumin pot de creme from my menu, ok? it comes with innovative haroset…
Hey there, look at you getting a mention in the NYT Magazine :D
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/16/magazine/16food-t.htm
I’ve been dying to make this since I first saw the recipe, years ago. But, since I have neither space for 2 frozen babkas or 3 loaf pans, I can just sigh…Anyone have luck scaling down the recipe?
Congrats on the NYT shout-out!
Lydia — I’d give it six hours. I look back it it now and I’m not entirely sure why I needed six (though I’m pretty sure my dough took a full two hours to rise, and the in-the-loaf step took more than 20 as well), but it seems the safest bet, assuming that if you made it in the evening, you’d let them cool on the counter overnight filling your pad with the most delicious smells.
Mary — I’d never seen that before! It was hilarious. If I ever get crazed enough to make this again, oh I’ll be singing, all right. And Alex will be covering his ears, as always.
Jelena — It’s one of those “Old Country,” Eastern Europe things.
nyjlm — You know, I never remember eating them growing up, but what a great idea. If I can find a good recipe, maybe I’ll tackle them soon.
Anna — I think so. It will get nice and shiny like an egg bread or challah (or, at least the part of one of mine that didn’t get covered in streusel is). Good luck!
Comn — Actually, it was kind of gross. I found it on a teensy, forgotten shelf UNDER the cheese counter at the Garden of Eden (kind of like a mini-Whole Foods with better produce) by our apartment. I seriously don’t even know they left the chocolate there. The WF by here sells big old hunks of baking chocolate, too. I figure it was still cheaper than buying bags and bags o chocolate chips. After roughly chopping it by hand, I let the food processor do the rest of the work.
Shuna — Haroset? That is BRILLIANT. Inspired. I love the way you think. If I can figure out a good way to ship one, you’re on. I’ll cash in on the pot-de-creme when I come for another visit.
Anita, Corlie — Holy cow, man! What a fun thing to wake up to. I love Hesser, I love Steingarten, and the NYTimes Magazine food essay is the first thing I read every Saturday morning (after my new blog comments, obvs.) Whee! And fritters? Cinch city! Those chorizo-cornmeal ones are so on.
A shout-out from Amanda Hesser!!! SQUEAL!!!!
Becca — Thank you.
Sharon — Sorry, didn’t mean to skip you. I was actually intimidated to sub-divide (I hate splitting eggs) the recipe, but it doesn’t mean it can’t be done. A few exchange to keep in mind:
1 large egg = (approximately) 1 tablespoon yolk + 2 tablespoons white
1 packet yeast = 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 teaspoons
and of course: 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons
It’s a little mathy, but not impossible.
I’ve never actually tried babka, but I have gazed at Martha’s recipe several times thinking I would like to try it – but I have always been too daunted! Your description, however, is making me reevaluate…
Wow. Just wow. Now I know what I want to make for brunch next weekend. This looks gorgeous.
Just cuz I’m curious, is the title of this post supposed to be a play off “Mmm Bop”? Because if it wasn’t intended, that makes it so much funnier.
How funny. I found it necessary to make chocolate babka this week too. I used a recipe from epicurious and, although I didn’t chop the chocolate finely enough, I think it came out very good. No cinnamon, though, but slightly less butter. However, after eating half of one loaf, I think I require hospitalization.
Wow, I just said I was craving babka…TODAY!
You’re in the NYTimes today (click!). How cool do you feel, congratulations!
Wow! Look at you with your NY Times mention (“Bless This Mess” by Amanda Hesser) – how exciting!
I just shed a(nother) tear for my KitchenAid mixer which is in storage back in Canada. How do you suppose this would turn out with just a pair of eager hands at my disposal? Even half as good as that picture looks would probably be good enough!
I believe Amanda has just challenged you to some salt cod fritters…when shall we expect them?
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/16/magazine/16food-t.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
congrats on the nytimes namedrop, i guess meghan beat me to the punch, but i just read it. awesome!
This looks incredible! Quick question: is the baking time the same when doing mini-loaves? I would assume not, but wanted to be sure. Thanks!
These pictures…I can almost taste it. And again I must ask: can we get any of these in desktop-size? I desperately want to see that brick of chocolate every day!
wow this looks so good and I want to make it so bad but 5 sticks of butter, i will have to wait for a special time…Thanksgiving is coming up soon.
Speaking of Yom Kippur, do you have a kugel recipe you’d like to share? It’s my turn to make the kugel and thought I’d change it up a little (hopefully my family won’t mind!)
Yay for the NY times mention!
OMG! Your chocolate babka looks as good as the Dean and Deluca variety that a youn family friend brings us every Christmas. If I could make babka that good I would be happy (and plump!)
Hi Deb,
I’ve been an avid reader of your blog since i discovered it … not sure where/how… anyway, i just had to try my hand at making the babkas :) i split the recipe and made 2 loaves – turned out super! i just used smaller loaf pans… my family loved it.
#38 – Sharon: i ended up with a bit too much chocolate filling for when i split the recipe in half .. so maybe go with 10 ounces of chocolate?
#50 – Sheena: i didn’t use a mixer… just a wooden spoon and some elbow grease :) check out commet #17.
I have a request! I’ve been looking for a good hamentaschen (did i butcher the spelling?) recipe… so please consider it a future request for your blog! :)
take care!!
Oh boy!! that looks soooooo good. Being from N.Y. and now living in Va. I sure do miss having babka. I don’t think I could make it, it seems so difficult. I guess I could try, what do I have to lose but some ingredients. Love this blog. Joanne
Elise — Hmm… I just might!
Jamie — Wow! Fantastic! I’m glad it worked for you, and that there is someone else out there that can confirm its greatness. I’ll keep you posted on hamentaschen. I made some tasty ones a few months ago, but struggled with the dough. I need to revisit it.
Holy cow! I am making this tomorrow. Thank you, Deb! Hey, when you say to rotate it in the oven – do you mean turning the loaf pans around 180 degrees, or 90, or move them from rack to rack? Sorry to be such a ‘tard.
I spent the afternoon finely chopping chocolate by hand. The smell is killing me. Must… have… babka!
Brooke — Ha! I wasn’t sure, so I did both. Really! That said, I always turn things 180 and rotate if I’m using two racks when I bake, because I know my oven is uneven. I’m sure that was the reason it was suggested.
I used the food processor to chop the chocolate. I should update the recipe to say so, huh?
Yeah, probably so, although in my case it wouldn’t have mattered. I have yet to own a food processor where the engine doesn’t die on me almost immediately! I think I have the Cuisinart jinx.
I’ve been stalking for a while, but had to comment on this one. that looks exactly like the babka we used to get as kids at the neighborhood bakery (that has since disappeared). the topping – oh my gosh the topping. I always saved it until last. this would be great for a special occasion!!!
Thank you for posting this recipe. We went to NYC a few weeks ago, and brought home a choc. babka from one of those well-known Manhattan food places. It cost $15! I wouldn’t have paid that, but I was buying other things and didn’t think when the total was more than I was expecting. And the worst was that it was not quite fresh, and not as tasty as the one we got on a previous trip.
Anyway, we made this recipe last night. It was not hard to do, but it did take 6 hours (we don’t turn on the furnace until Nov. 1 so the kitchen was a little cool for the yeast to work its magic). It was so hard to sleep last night since the house smelled so good! I am not ashamed to admit that I had babka for breakfast and lunch today.
Thank you Debbie for such a wonderful recipe. I’m a new subscriber and was delighted to try this recipe. It was delicious and the aroma was all over the house. I brought it to work and everyone loved it.
YUHUMMMM!! I finally got around making these yummy looking babkas and let me tell you – they were de-lish!
One hint, if your house is not warm enough to rise the dough, heat you oven for about 15 mins on 350F, then stick in your dough and voila – it doesnt take as long to rise. Also, if anyone has heard of Trader Joe’s – they sell chocolate in Pound bars. For my taste this had almost a bit too much chocolate in it (and believe me I am a chocolata-holic!!) but I also love my bread – and I had a hard time finding it sometimes. I think that might be because my second rise wasnt long enough.
Deb – thank you so much for all the yummy recipes!! and GORGEOUS pictures. My favorite recipe by far is the apple-anise-yogurt cake, which I’ve made several times. =)
thank you and keep up the AWESOME work!
Will definitely try this one. My favorite babka is from Zingermans Deli in Ann Arbor, MI.They also mail order. Authentic recipes, great food source.
I’m Italian but my Polish/Jewish friends have converted me to trying many of their ethnic dishes. How about 3 milk cake?
Love the picture of your chocolate babka.
I absolutely love to cook and I can tell just by reading the receipt that this is going to be dangerous to have in the house. That’s okay, I like living dangerously when it comes to my babka! Anyone have a good recipe for 7-layer cake? My parents grew up in New York City and my father got us hooked on this cake when I was a kid. Since moving to the South it’s become impossible to find. Anytime I mention it to a baker they think I mean just any cake with 7 layers.
The one I’m looking for has 7 very thin layers of sponge cake. In between each cake layer is a wide layer of light and airy cocoa butter cream. Then the entire cake is enrobed in this rich fudgy icing that gets slightly stiff on the top layer but is soft just beanth the surface.
I finally made this today. It was actually a google search for chocolate babka that lead me to discover smittenkitchen about a year ago and I have been a faithful reader ever since. This went together easier than I feared. The whole process took 4.5 hours. I made half the recipe, using the spare egg white from the dough as the egg wash, with a splash of milk rather than cream. I used a pound of chocolate. I made one large loaf and one medium loaf. I took the smaller loaf out at the 55 min. mark and left the big one in for the additional 15 minutes. The streusel came out a bit too hard. It might soften up over night, I’m hoping. The babka itself was absolutely fantastic. Thanks so much.
ZIE GESHUNDT!!
It seems that Martha Stewart recipes are often hit-and-miss. I’ve browsed through her website, mostly cookie stuff, and half the time I see reviews where several folks have had their heart broken. What gives? And who puts up those recipes anyway? Does Martha even know?
I’ve never had babka, and this looks like one hell of a recipe, but I’m too curious. The sad thing is I’m mostly curious because of that Seinfeld episode my boyfriend is always on about.
Well, under the influence of too much cold medicine, I decided to make the babka today. First response: holy cow. This is really good, and my loaves turned out seriously massive.
In my druggy, sniffly haze I decided not to do the strudel topping, and also didn’t do the egg wash. I also didn’t use the entire amount of chocolate insides–I used a bit to sprinkle over the top instead of the strudel. I also decided to just make two loaves instead of three, or two and two tiny ones. This was a pretty good idea until I remembered that things with yeast rise. I have two 1.5 foot babka now, each about six inches across in the middle.
They’re also not as puffy as yours look in the pictures–like, the sliced babka that’s all tall and swirly? I think since I just did two, the dough couldn’t hold up to the weight of those pounds of chocolate. Mine spread out instead of up. The bread part though is surprisingly good and flakey despite that. I think it just sort of turns into a delicious, chocolatey mess of layers in that very fat, flat middle (no complaints here).
So, this didn’t turn out like it was supposed to, but I’m still hooked. My only complaint is that my lips are chapped and it hurts to open my mouth wide to get it around babka.
Final note (I promise–not trying to spam ya here!)–I think what hooks me so fast on this is that the bread is flaky and light and the chocolate/cinnamon combo reminds me of gingerbread, which is pretty much my favorite thing ever.
Anyway, thanks for posting this recipe! I love it!!
Hi Dwilah — Glad you liked the babka. You said your loaves “spread”–did you put them in loaf pans?
No, I forgot to mention that (realized it as soon as I hit post). I only have one of that size loaf pan. Originally, I had planned to use a couple different just small glass casserole pans, like 9×9 ones, and do small loaves. Instead, I decided–and I blame this on the medicine head–to put just the two giant loaves side by side in my biggest casserole pan. They did puff up during baking; they’re a good five inches high. While I was watching them bake I was worried they’d melt into puddles and stick together like cookies can do (I don’t bake much with yeast doughs). They didn’t though; the two loaves ended up touching but broke apart like soft rolls when I pulled them apart.
Thanks for the response–I love your blog. :)
He brought us up in southwest OH, but my Long-Island-raised-Irish-Polish-Catholic dad bought us babka & rugulah every chance he got when we were tiny, mostly during Christmas trips to visit the grandparents in Manhattan. I’m gonna practice this recipe as a Christmas present for him this year – let you know how it goes!
Wow. Amazing! About 1000 Xs better than the stuff in the supermarket. I made this last night, took one loaf to work today for an event, froze one to take to a friend’s this weekend, and kept the third to gorge myself on (I seriously had it for breakfast, lunch and dinner today- apparently I’m trying to get really fat). People at work even said it was the best babka they’ve ever had!
I was a little intimidated by the recipe since this was the first time I’ve baked with yeast. And then I said to myself “What is your problem? You made yeast do all sorts of crazy things in a lab for 4 years [I'm a scientist, who used to experiment on yeast], you can sprinkle some into warm milk easy-peasy!” And I did. And it was good. And fun! And now I am excited to try other breads.
The only difficulty I had was that the first loaf I attempted was kind of a mess, I rolled the dough too thin and the chocolate filling kept busting through when I was twisting and folding, and it didn’t look so cute, but the final rise helped it all smoosh back together and it baked just fine.
Anyway, thanks so much for the recipe- love your site!
I supervise a group of volunteers who bake bread to raise $’s for our church. We baked 50 last Saturday and they all turned out well. I used ganache. It works. We also put struesel on the top. They are very good sellers. Men buy most of them. I understand babkas are always round. We ran out of round pans so we made them in rectangular loaves. They all sell. Can’t wait to try yours. Your dough is what I call “super dough” similar to what we use for poppy seed, nut rolls and sweet cheese rolls. Kay
This recipe has made me a hero among my friends!! I have made it twice, getting three gorgeous loaves from each batch…..enough to share with two worthy friends and keep a loaf for myself.
The recipe took time, but it was easy to follow the instructions in each step. When you’re making something this special, it’s worth taking your time to enjoy the process.
The results (both times) were out of this world to taste and picture-perfect to look at!
Made it over the summer. Out of this world. Will make again.
Just made this for thanksgiving. Truly excellent. I wasn’t able to twist the dough, though, much more than a turn without it wanting to tear. I made one loaf sized one for baking, and then some medium and small ones to freeze. I ran out of filling before the dough and made two small ones with M&M bits and baked one. Even that came out pretty tasty.
Just finished making these for Thanksgiving tomorrow — unbelievable. The callebaut chocolate absolutely makes it. My kitchen currently looks like a tornado went through it, but it was worth it!
Absolutely delicious! Better than the Green’s Babka you can buy at grocery stores (they seem to be the only company making them…). I’m just making them for my second time now and it’s definitely easier this time around. A++++!
Just wondering how long you baked your two mini-loaves for — I only had two regular-sized pans and baked those off immediately, but I froze the minis and am planning to bake them tomorrow. My goal is to then overnight them to my friend who just had a baby, but I’ll need some serious willpower to get both of them into the box untouched! Thanks again for a fabulous recipe — it was a major hit at Thanksgiving!
I actually don’t remember how long the minis baked for. I would just start by checking halfway through the cooking time, and every five or ten minutes after that if they’re not done. Good luck.
Hi Deb- Thank you for this recipe. If it wasn’t already 6 pm and I had the chocolate I would be in the kitchen right now making this. I told my children I was making Polish Raisin Babka – wow – the turned up noses and squinchy eyes! They pleaded for me to make chocolate. I didn’t have any idea where I would locate a recipe. Here you are – the recipe I have been looking for. I will try this tomorrow. I know you made some in smaller loaves, have you ever tried a round loaf in a mini bundt pan? I don’t have enough loaf pans – and I would love to give some of this to friends. What do you think? If I don’t have a reply from you by tomorrow am – I will let you know how they turned out in the smaller bundt pan. Thank you for all your experimenting and posting this for all of us to share.
Wow! Even though the recipe does not say “Do not drink wine while preparing…” I think it is going to turn out… Hoping for the best… :)
Unable to find babka in Fresno, I made your recipe for my husband as last night of Chanukkah treat. The loaves are as beautiful as they are crumbly, rich, and delicious. I am considering framing a picture of one to hang in my kitchen.
I made this over the holidays. It took me all day, but the results were amazing. I’m so glad you tracked down the recipe with the most chocolate. However, without a functional food processor at my parents’ house, the chopping was quite an undertaking!
so, you say they freeze well up to a month… what do you recommend for defrosting?
Thanks!
You can defrost it in the fridge for a day for a gradual defrosting or just leave it out at room temperature.
I made this last night– but I used the 72% chocolate from Trader Joe’s (which I’ve heard is actually Callebaut)and thought the filling turned out too hard. I think there might not have been enough fat in my chocolate. What percentage did you use for your filling?
I spent all day Sunday making this Babka, did everything exactly as in the recipe, it smelled great all over the house, BUT when I took it out of the oven after baking it for 55 min at 350 it was all dry and burnt on top. Next day (yesterday) it was even dryer-VERY DRY. I felt that it was such a wait of a day and money. What did I do wrong?
Sounds like it got overbaked. Your oven may bake things faster than it should at those temperatures. It would be worth getting a $5 over thermometer, and in the future, start checking in on your recipes when they’re 1/2 to 2/3 of the way through their baking times, knowing that your oven works quickly.
THANKS A LOT for your response, I will keep trying. I trust your judgement that this recipe is supposed to work. My ultimate goal is to make a perfect Parve Babka(any ideas for the recipe?), but at first I will work on this one
my feet are ACHING from the amount of time i had to spend in the kitchen cooking this up! it looks like they’re gonna come out great, but the instructions were unclear at times…can’t wait to try it!
deb–again, i’m a longtime reader, and i really love your recipes. i’ve made more than i can count, and they always turn out great (and your adaptation of ina garten’s yogurt cake? i made it with orange and blackberry a year ago, and I still get requests for it).
i made the babke last week, and i have a question. I don’t have a stand mixer, and I think the incorporation of the butter (even though it was at room temperature) made my dough screw up. It came out dry and with a weird texture that I didn’t love. Do you think melting the butter in this case would help? I know the dough might be a little tougher…
Also, if that doesn’t work, any other suggestions for good dough recipes to use in this case? Do you think I could adapt a challah recipe to this?
Can this cake be frozen? Will it still taste fresh and moist when defrosted?
We froze ours. The key to things tasting fresh and moist when defrosted is to: a) wrap it very well, at least three times in plastic wrap. b) not keep it in your freezer too long, if things tend to pick up smells. Two months is fine in a lot of freezers; in mine shoddy one, I don’t keep things for more than a month.
a bread machine is great for doughs like this and means the only real work to do is the filling and shaping
Is twisting the filled loaves hard to do without lengthening the loaves or are they supposed to get lengthened
i am sure i am gaining weight just from reading the recipes on your blog. your photos are so gorgeous
In Wyoming we don’t hear about babka, see any babka, let alone ever taste such a thing. Thank you for introducing this to us out here on the priarie. It is midnight and my mom and I just finished eating our second slices straight out of the oven. It only took us four hours and they (two very large and one small) all turned out bea-ooo-tee-ful! Sweet Dreams.
hi~!
could i ask what’s the importance of the twisting? is it for the swirled effect?
please and thank you!
Wei — Yes. It’s not a straight “rolled” bread/cake but more twists and turns.
Deb, you genius! Each Easter I attempt chocolate Babka to welcome spring, and have had a variety of outcomes. NEVER a good enough outcome to equal yours. The outrageous chocolate-to-dough ratio’s the thing. Now I finally have permission to go nuts with the chocolate, thanks to you. Eight am tomorrow we’ll have a go. Blessings on your little head!
Just thought I’d follow up with a little note – I made this bread (so lovely) months ago and brought a loaf to work to share. Today, one of my coworker yelled to me over the cube walls, “Will you make that cinnamon chocolate bread, again?” She says she thinks about it almost everyday. ;^) I’d say that’s a successful recipe!
I was just searching for a chocolate babka recipe and, of course, you had one! Looks just like what I wanted. Would it be complete sacrilege to use mini-semisweet morsels instead of doing all that chocolate chopping? Just trying to save a little time. Lots of family coming into town and staying with us. Thought this would be good to make/freeze for Sunday brunch with lots of people.
The babka looks delicious;) I didn’t have any semi-sweet chocolate on hand, so i used a box of Mexican Chocolate Bars… i tried breaking them up in the food processor but the blade almost broke.. so, i melted the chocolate (i didn’t add cinnamon since mexican chocolate already has a bit of cinnamon) over a double boiler and added the butter once it cooled. It was definitely messier doing it this way since a lot of the chocolate slipped out when i rolled up the dough… The dough looks like it’ll be delcious :) The loaves are in the oven AT THIS MOMENT so i’ll let you know how they turn out :)
I made this recipe today. It was delicious! And relatively easy to make. I love making new types of bread and this was so good. I got two big loaves and three small ones from the dough. I probably could have stretched it to four small loaves though. Thanks for the awesome, awesome recipe!
I made the chocolate babka today! came out unbelievably! though a bit expensive to make with all the chocolate in it. Wasn’t too hard to make either. Thanks for the great recipe!
hi, i was watching seinfield now then the episode with “chocolate babka” brought me here! i was wondering what’d lokk like, so this is it. sounds delish, even though i hate using yeast, i’ll try this recipe, too sexy with the chocolate-sugar-butter action…hmmm
My daughter requested that I try making Chocolate Babka today. Unfortunately, the kosher bakery in our community closed about a year ago taking with it the best chocolate babka I can remember eating. So now I’m bleary-eyed from reading recipes online that might provide me with this incredible dessert that our family loves. You seem to have the key components covered; tons of chocolate and of course the crumb topping. I can’t wait to try it. Calories and fat be darned!!!
Four other friends and I got together this past weekend to make a group project out of this recipe. Getting it together was much faster with many hands – we started around 4, and had finished loaves by 8. The babka was pretty amazing, warm or cooled. Funny that no one else has mentioned this in the comments, but my friends and I agree that it was on the overly-sweet side. I would halve the sugar so that the flavor of the cinnamon and the buttery bread comes through more. Thanks for the recipe!
I doubled this recipe and made it with kids! It turned out perfectly. We don’t have any loaf pans, so I used two hotel pans roughly three times as wide as the recommended loaf pan and made tin-foil seperations between the loaves. It worked better than I could have hoped. Many hours of work, but worth it for the incredible babka. Thank you, Deb!
hey there. i just made it last night. i was suprisingly scary and overloaded with chocolate. I think next time, i might dial down the chocolate. i’d like to taste the bread too… i like the sides and tops of the bread but i find the middle to be too heavy with chocolate (and nearly sank). i want to spread the chocolaty goodness in the middle to another piece of brioche bread.
i think this is a good base for a eggy brioche type dough. i might also make it into a cinnamon raisin bread… kinda ruglach-ish.. no?
Rugelach is generally made with a cream cheese pastry dough, like in this recipe, and not a yeasted dough.
Oh yeah, it’s time to make this baby. I have a recipe that I always go back to (posted on my blog) but I think I’ll give yours a try ;-)
Just attempted this today, is currently in the oven. Never tried anything this difficult so am hoping it comes out ok. Had trouble twisting it but i think that’s because I did the chocolate layer too thick?
Really hoping it comes out well!!
I love smitten kitchen and came straight here to find a recipe for Rosh Hashana dessert. I made these babkas yesterday and the result was perfection. I made one x-large, one large, and three mini loaves from this recipe. They are almost exactly like the babkas my nana used to buy at Diamond Bakery on Fairfax in LA. The only slight difference is those babkas had more crumbly streusel and mine were hard (but still so tasty!). I took the large loaf for dinner at a friend’s house last night and I still don’t think they believed I made it! The recipe is very easy to follow, but it helps to have all the right kitchen utensils, especially the food processor for the chocolate. Some changes: I couldn’t afford the Callebraut so I used 5 4.25-oz bars of Hershey Special Dark and 3 1/4 4.4-oz bars of Hershey Milk. It still tastes divine. Also, after reading the comments on the Martha Stewart recipe page and here, I didn’t use all the chocolate filling or streusel topping (saving it for another use). Thanks for sharing this great recipe. It’s not for the first-time baker and took me about 4 hours from start to finish, but is well worth it.
It is indeed a daunting recipe but worth it for the super delicious end-result. I’ve baked it several times but usually for special occasions. Definitely something to do when you have plenty of time and not too many interruptions from the kids or spouse.
As for the chocolate- I’ve used everything from Hershey’s dark to Valhrona- I can tell the difference but most of my tasters don’t have a preference.
Can you clarify step 7? I get the first rolling and pinching and the first set of twists. But I don’t understand what comes next – what is the left and right side? by length or width? My guess is the long way makes more sense. And then fold and pinch which ends? Thanks.
Hi Jon — After you roll the whole thing up, you fold the roll over on itself (first sprinkling some filling over one half). It basically makes the twist pattern even more knotty and complex. Hope that helps.
I finally decided to overcome my fear and make this decadent dessert. I have the dough proofing in the oven right now. I chopped all of the chocolate by hand and I do declare I broke a sweat doing it, although, this is Texas and one could break a sweat getting out of a cold shower!
While I was waiting for the butter and eggs to get to room temp, I decided to also make the pickled grapes. They look mighty pretty in their canning jars, I can’t wait to try them tomorrow!
Thanks again, Deb for all of your wonderful recipes. I have had so much fun recreating them and sharing the results with my friends and my facebook community. I always link your site and have made a few smitten junkies out there. Keep up the great job! <– exclamation point for emphasis, not hostility.
Five hours later and the babka was a big hit. It was a little too chocolate-y in my opinion, but my friends raved about it. They are wanting to buy me a food processor as a thank you so “next time” it will be easier. Another great recipe!
Hi there!! thanks so much for this recipe! I just made it today and they are in the oven as we speak… a few notes, though:
-I cut the recipe in half… it is easy to do, the actual dough uses 2 eggs, and 2 yolks.. (the extra egg is just for egg wash)…. I just used my extra egg white for the wash… I put the dough in 2 loaf pans and they made 2 medium loaves
-The proofing: I also found that for the first rising time..it took about 2 hours to double in size..and the second rising..it took about 1 hr. instead of 30 minutes to puff up nicely… just wanted to point that out, since some might not be familiar with making bread…you have to let it puff!! I’m in Canada, and it’s November, so I wrapped a tablecloth around the bowl to help keep it warm while it rose…maybe in the summer it will take less time…
-The filling: I used good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips, and they ground up in the food processor quickly.. i then added the cinnamon & butter and mashed up the whole thing in there…
thank you so much for this I have been dying to try it… I don’t know how long they will take to bake..I can post again with my baking times in case anyone wants to half the recipe also… :)
Ok..i had the 2 medium sized loaves in for 30 minutes..they looked done, so i shut off the oven and left them in there for about 15 minutes or so.. im afraid i may have overbaked, my oven is strong… but i dont think so..even though I cut it in half, i had them in for WAY less than the recipe stated…
my mom the bread expert “tapped” the bottom and they sounded hollow so she stated they were done… they smell incredible!! :) :)
Just came back from a visit to New York, with a chocolate babka in tow (it’s either that or bialys every trip if I can manage it), and this time decided to see if I could find a recipe out there to make it myself. I’m so glad yours googled up first! Since my challah takes 6 to 8 hours with 2 risings, that part isn’t so daunting at least. Thanks for making it possible to live in Minnesota but keep those memories alive from growing up in NY!
THIS IS AMAZING. I think there must be crack in it. Like Katie (post #129) I make challah with several risings, so this recipe didn’t seem daunting. I actually found it easier than expected, and the results are incredible. I served it last night for dessert to several people–some had heard of it, some had not–and everyone raved about it. It’s addictive. I put the rest in the freezer to prevent myself from eating it all, but I keep slicing off pieces and microwaving them anyway. YUMMM. Speaking of microwaving, in order to get a faster rise, I heat glass of water till boiling, place it in the back corner of the microwave, and then put the bowl with the dough in it and shut the door (do NOT turn on the microwave). It creates a very warm, enclosed environment that makes the dough rise very fast. I do the same with the loaf pan before baking. Faster babka = yay! I am going to serve it to my family for Thanksgiving as well. Try this recipe! It is way better than all the others on the web.
deb,
this is the first time i have ever commented on your site here, but i’ve been a huge fan of yours for almost a year. smitten kitchen is always the first place i go when i want to bake/cook something divine. sooo, i just got home (arkansas) after a thanksgiving visit to charlotte, nc to see my good old dad, a jewish new yorker through and through. he took me to dean & deluca to graze their sample plates of cinnamon and chocolate babka breads. we ate way too many samples and knew we needed our own so we bought a loaf before we left. so i get home tonight with babka on my mind and think, hey, maybe i’ll find a good babka recipe online and here you are! after reading the recipe, i am a little intimidated, (i’m still a novice baker), but i heart babka so much and really want to send my dad a homemade one, that i will roll up my sleeves and rock this recipe out. thanks, deb, you are the best! p.s. my favorite recipes of yours include the jacked up banana bread, your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe (best cookies i have ever had in my whole life), and that fantastic matchstick zuchinni saute : )
Well, this babka recipe is definitely close to my grandma’s recipe and I found it to be the most user friendly. It came out great! I wish there was a good version of this recipe for one babka instead of 3 as I am not fond of splitting eggs into thirds. However, I was nervous throughout the whole 5 hour process as I was simultaneously studying for grad school finals and it all turned out wonderfully! Thanks for the great recipe. I filled it a bit differently, melting the chocolate and using a brush to spread on softened butter as my grandma suggested and it came out great! I’d like to post a picture of it but I don’t know how. Good luck to those who make it, its worth the time!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I just made it for presents for everyone in my office because we always buy babkas to celebrate people’s birthdays. Mine were a real hit and I can’t thank you enough! I made 2 regular sized loaves and 3 small, like you did. How much earlier do you take the smaller ones out of the oven? I did about 10 mins, but I’d love an expert’s advice. Thanks!
I just made this and it worked great! A wonderful time baking with my mother. We halved the recipe and made one regular loaf and one small. I just started reading this blog, and it’s wonderful– beautiful photos and writing. Thanks a bunch!
Just made this yesterday for a New Year’s Day open house. It is incredibly rich and I agree with the people who find it overly chocolated. I think it’s a matter of opinion, though. I also only had chocolate chips (no blocks) and although I whizzed small batches in the food processor they never got properly small–this may be part of the overly rich flavor in mine.
It is very much like the ones I used to buy in Canarsie Brooklyn in the late 80s. It’s a lot of work (making croissants was easier!) but worth it. I think it’ll be easier next time. Thank you!
omg this is SUCH a good babka! I didn’t find it to be too hard to follow…I did roll the dough out a bit thin, but that only made it seem too chocolatey. This is seriously the best babka I’ve ever had – I’m used to digging through babka’s from Junior’s trying to find the best part! lol
Thanks soooo much for posting.
This babka only gets better with age, btw – at least, that’s my opinion =)
I just baked this today after eyeing the recipe for months. It was perfect! I only made a 1/3 batch and baked three mini loafs. I didn’t trust myself with a full batch
Looks awesome. Going to try tomorrow.
Can you explain “butter the pan, then line with parchament paper”.
If you butter the pan, do you sort of stick the parchment paper on top of the buttered pan?
I’m trying to see from the photo if there is parchment paper hiding down but I can’t tell.
Is this an especially important step?? I don’t get it!!?
Thanks!
SweeTooth — That’s exactly what you do; butter the pan, then line the bottom with parchment paper. You’ll probably be okay without the parchment but it gives you extra security if the babka wants to stick.
I made this yesterday (baked one loaf and froze the other two) but I think I over-baked it. I baked it a few minutes less than specified times, and I might’ve taken it out earlier but I was afraid of a doughy center. The top was deep golden when I took it out. As it is, the interior is fantastic when I microwave it, but the edges are hard. Is there an interior temperature I can check for with a thermometer to tell when it’s done?
All in all, a beautiful recipe. Very impressive to behold and I love the cinnamon chocolate swirls!
Ok, so I am nervous to try this recipe…but it looks too good not to try. But I do have a quick question. I am still kind of new to this whole baking thing and I don’t have an electric mixer with a paddle attachment or a dough hook. Is this going to be a problem? I am really excited to try this recipe and would be completly bummed out.
I just made this over the last couple of days – my chocolate buying options were a bit limited so some dark chocolate toblerone was used, and despite my comprehension skills failing me at times (I’m blaming lack of sleep for the extra egg in the dough, thus requiring additional flour to get to a less sticky state), OMG, it looks insanely good! Have made two loaves, and have shaped and frozen 8 mini loaves.
When my dad bought this in Philly, it also had some golden raisins mixed with chocolate and cinnamon mixture. There was also chocolate drizzled on top with the streusel and few more scattered raising. Yum! Delectable!