Chocolate Babka Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Buttery, delicious, chocolatey this decadent Chocolate Babka is a must make. Your family & guests will be forever grateful to you!

Prep Time1 2 45

Cook Time40

Total Time1 3 25

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Eastern European, European, Jewish

Servings: Loaves (20 Servings)

Calories: 356kcal

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

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.

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.

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!

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.