This chocolate babka recipe is a labor of love. But the rich, moist, soft brioche bread (decadent with chocolate swirls) makes just the most special holiday treat!
This recipe for chocolate babka comes from the cookbook of the famous chef Yotam Ottolenghi-Jerusalem. His glossy chocolate Krantz cakes looked soooo delicious on the page that I just knew I wanted to try them right away!
After trying (and devouring) homemade chocolate babka, I promise you’re missing out on the best recipe for the holidays. It is soft and rich yet not over the top. My family and I can't seem to get enough of babka cake!
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What Is Babka Cake?
Babka is a Jewish recipe for a buttery, dense bread. Think of it as a cake-and-bread hybrid. It’s similar to brioche bread, enriched with eggs and butter, but it’s richer and wrapped around swirls of dark, luscious chocolate.
The crumb is soft, moist, and firm, unlike the cake crumb, which is spongy and tender. With a gooey chocolatey filling, each bite of babka bread is utterly divine! As Yotam Ottolenghi says, "It is scrumptiously soft and sweet, like a cross between a rum baba and a Danish pastry."
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Great for gifting; it’s a treat you’ll love to share.
All good things take time, like this chocolate babka recipe. But it is nothing short of incredible, making the time invested more than worthwhile.
You simply can't go wrong. Just follow the instructions, and it’s a fail-proof recipe.
Buttery, chocolatey, and absolutely scrumptious to satisfy the sweetest cravings.
Take away the time it takes to proof the bread; the easy chocolate babka recipe comes together quickly!
Chocolate Babka Recipe Ingredients
Flour: All-purpose works the best, like in most bread recipes.
Sugar: Powdered or caster sugar for the bread dough and icing sugar for the chocolate filling for babka.
Yeast: I used active dry yeast. Like always, test the yeast before you add it to the dry ingredients.
Butter: The original recipe for babka asks for unsalted butter. I used salted, softened butter and cut into cubes.
Nuts: My chocolate babka filling had walnuts, not pecans, like the original, because I didn’t have any. They worked great!
Chocolate: My preference is always dark, so I melted 70% dark chocolate. If you prefer lighter chocolate, go for it.
Cocoa powder: For an intense chocolate flavor!
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Chocolate Babka
Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.
Step 2: Stir in the eggs and water until the mixture comes together. Use a stand mixer or mix by hand.
Step 3: Incorporate cubes of softened butter one by one until you have a shiny, smooth, and elastic babka dough.
Step 4: Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
Step 5: Make the filling - combine melted chocolate, butter, icing sugar, and cocoa powder in a small bowl.
Step 6: Mix all ingredients well to make a spreadable chocolate paste.
Step 7: Remove the dough from the fridge and divide it into two portions. Roll each portion into a rectangle, approximately 14" x 11".
Step 8: Spread the chocolate filling evenly on both rectangles, leaving a 2 cm border. Sprinkle chopped walnuts and sugar over the chocolate filling.
Step 9: Roll each rectangle tightly into a log, starting from the long side.
Step 10: Roll into a tight log. Cut the uneven ends and place the logs in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.
Step 11: Cut each log lengthwise into two. With the cut side facing up, pinch the ends of both sides together.
Step 12: Braid the dough by placing the right-side dough over the left-side dough. Continue down the length. Gently tuck in both ends under themselves. Repeat with the second rectangle.
Step 13: Line two loaf pans with parchment paper and place the braids, cut sides up, into the pans. Cover the pans with damp tea towels and let them rise in a draft-free area for 1.5–2 hours.
Step 14: Preheat the oven to 190°C. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Step 15: While the easy chocolate babka bakes, make the sugar syrup. In a saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a boil. Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool.
Step 16: As soon as the babka comes out of the oven, brush each loaf liberally with the sugar syrup.
Final step: Leave the bread in the pans until just warm, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Pro Tips
- You can easily double or halve the chocolate babka recipe.
- After step 10 (filling and rolling the dough into a log), I like to refrigerate the bread loaves for 15 -20 minutes. It is easier to cut and braid the bread when chilled. Plus, the chocolate is firmer, so less mess.
- After the second proof, the bread will not double in size; it will increase by 15 to 20% only.
- Give the bread ample time to rise during this second proof- about 90 minutes.
- Don't skimp on the sugar syrup right at the end. Even if you think it will be too much sugar, keep pouring. Trust me, the recipe for chocolate babka calls for it. The cake will be perfectly sweetened and deeply flavored.
- Let the bread cool after the sugar syrup. It’s the hardest part of the chocolate babka recipe because the bread smells amazing, but it’s essential.
- Babka cake is great at room temperature, but you can eat it warm too. It’ll be a little crumbly, but, trust me, you won’t care.
- I highly recommend weighing the ingredients using a kitchen scale.
Chocolate Babka Recipe FAQs
If you don’t want a chocolate filling for babka, use a spread like Nutella and save time. It lends the same moisture, lushness, and characteristic texture. Or you can make cinnamon babka with cinnamon sugar, just like we do with cinnamon roll muffins. You can also try apple babka using the delicious apple butter. A coffee cinnamon filling would be amazing too like in these coffee cinnamon rolls!
Babka cake keeps well for 2–3 days on the countertop. In the refrigerator, it lasts for 6 to 7 days.
Yes, you can! If you use 8 by 4 loaf pans like me, you’ll be able to make 2 krantz cakes. Enjoy one and freeze the other for later. Wrap it well (after it has cooled completely), and it’ll last for 2–3 weeks.
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Babka Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 1/4 cup All purpose flour
- 1/2 cup Caster sugar/powdered sugar
- 2 tsp Dried active yeast
- 3 Eggs
- 1/2 cup Water
- 1 pinch Salt
- 2/3 cup Butter, cut into small cubes and softened The recipe asks for unsalted, but I used salted butter
- Vegetable oil for greasing the bowl
Chocolate filling
- 1/3 cup Cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup Icing sugar
- 4.5 oz Dark chocolate 70%, melted
- 1/2 cup Butter, melted The recipe asks for unsalted, but I used salted butter
- 1/2 cup Walnuts, chopped
- 2 tbsp Caster/ powdered sugar
Syrup
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 1/3 cup Water
Instructions
Dough
- Place the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a mixing bowl. Stir it all well. Add the eggs and water and mix it all well, for 5 minutes, till the dough starts coming together. A stand mixer works the best for this recipe, though you can do this dough by hand too.
- Now start adding the softened cubes of butter, a few at a time. Continue mixing till the dough is shiny, smooth, and elastic, about 10 -12 minutes.
- Place the dough in a big bowl, lightly greased with oil, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and leave it in the fridge overnight.
Filling
- Mix together the melted chocolate, butter, icing sugar, and cocoa powder in a small bowl. This should be a spreadable chocolate paste.
- Take the dough out of the refrigerator, and divide it into 2. Roll each half into a rectangle 14'* 11* roughly. Spread the chocolate filling evenly on both rectangles, leaving a 2 cm border all around. Sprinkle with the chopped walnuts and 2 tbsp caster sugar.
- Roll the dough tightly into a log, starting from the long side. Cut the uneven ends of the logs.Refrigerate the logs for 15-20 minutes .Cut the log lengthwise into 2. With the cut side facing up, pinch the ends of both sides together.
- Start with the right side dough, take it over the left side dough, and continue down the length, making a braid. Gently tuck in both ends under themselves. Repeat with the second rectangle.
- Line 2 8"* 4" loaf pans with parchment paper. Place the 2 braids carefully with the cut sides showing on top. Cover the pans with damp tea towels and keep them in a draft-free area for 1.5 - 2 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 190C. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Syrup
- Bring the sugar and water to a boil. Take it off the heat and allow it to cool.
- As soon as the breads come out of the oven, brush each loaf liberally with the sugar syrup. Leave the breads in the pan till they are just warm. Take them out on a cooling rack to cool completely. We preferred to tear into the loaf while it was still warm! Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- You can easily double or halve the chocolate babka recipe.
- After filling and rolling the dough into a log, I like to refrigerate the bread loaves. It is easier to cut and braid the bread when chilled. Plus, the chocolate is firmer, so less mess.
- The bread will not double in size after the 2nd proof. It will increase by 15 to 20% only.
- Give the bread ample time to rise during this second proof- about 90 minutes.
- Don't skimp on the sugar syrup right at the end. The cake will be perfectly sweetened and deeply flavored.
- Let the bread cool well after coating it with the sugar syrup.
- Babka cake is great at room temperature, but you can eat it warm too. It’ll be a little crumbly, but, trust me, you won’t care.
- I highly recommend weighing the ingredients using a kitchen scale.
Julie says
Easy to follow recipe.
Delicious results
Natasha Minocha says
Thank you so much, Julie! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! xx
Anita says
Hi, Natasha
Can you suggest egg substitute.
Thanks
Natasha Minocha says
Hi Anita, I'm sorry I haven't tried making this eggless so am not sure what would work well here. Maybe you could just try leaving it out altogether.Eggs are used here to enrich the dough. Without eggs, you'll get a good dough, but a lighter one. Hope this helps.:)
Simi says
Tash, your pics are amazing
Natasha Minocha says
Thank you so so much Simi! Means a lot coming from you! xoxo
Simi says
Tasha, your pics are amazing