Chocolate Babka

Wow. Chocolate. Pastry. More chocolate. Warmed and melty. And, as a bonus, Jewish grandmothers rejoicing everywhere. This is a recipe that hits the spot. Make extra and freeze it if you want any to last, because you'll be gulping down these pieces as fast as you can.

No idea what babka is? Basically, it's a Jewish chocolate roll-type cake. Or, at least most commonly made in chocolate but beware if the word chocolate is not written before babka. You would not want to end up with a non-chocolate one! The dough is made, a chocolate filling is prepared, and then it's rolled up into a log shape then twisted from there. You eat it in bread-type slices with rich chocolate swirls emblazoned throughout. Just trust me - it's yummy.

Obviously, a babka can only be so healthy. i did my best to lighten in a few places, but in this case you'll just need to suck it up and go to the gym for an extra long workout. It's chocolate. It's cake. Enjoy it in moderation, hit the gym or take a long walk, and all will be fine in the end. And it's worth it.

Difficulty: medium
Time: 3 hr 45 min (much of it rising time)



Chocolate Babka
Ingredients
(dough)
6 tbsp + 1 tsp sugar
1 package yeast
3/4 c warm 1% milk (heating instructions below)\
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg yolk (beaten)
3 c flour (roughly)
3 tbsp margarine, cut into pieces and softened
2 tbsp butter, cut into pieces and softened
(filling)
1/2 c sugar
3 tbsp cocoa (unsweetened)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
(streusel)
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp margarine, softened

(this recipe is based upon a similar one from Cooking Light)

You'll need to separately assemble the dough, the filling, and the streusel. Since the dough takes time to rise, we'll start with that.

Heat your milk so it is 105-110 degrees. This is warm, but not hot. Make sure not to over-heat it or you will risk killing the yeast. Put the milk in the stand of a food mixer with a dough hook attached and add 1 tsp of sugar. Add the yeast and dissolve them in, quickly. Then let them stand for 5 minutes. At the end of that time the mixture should be getting slightly bubbly/frothy. (If it's not, your yeast is dead! Beware the lack of growth of your dough later on... aka, get fresh yeast.)

Add the remaining 6 tbsp of sugar, vanilla, salt, and egg yolk. Add about 2 2/3 c flour and beat with the dough hook for 1-3 minutes or until well beaten and combined. Add the butter and beat again until well beaten.

The dough is very sticky at this point, so sprinkle some flour on your hands and a hard surface. Scrape the dough out and knead on the prepared surface, adding a little flour at a time, until it's smooth and elastic. It will stay very soft, but you do not want it to be sticky. (You should probably not add more than 1/3 cup of flour remaining.)

Spray a bowl with cooking spray. Form the soft dough into a ball and put it into the bowl, flipping to coat. Put a towel over the bowl and put in a warm place free from drafts. Let it rise for 1.5 hours or until it has doubled in size. If you can push a finger or two into the dough lightly and the indentation remains, the dough has finished rising. Punch it down and let it rest for another 5 minutes.

While it's finishing rising, you should prepare the filling and get the pan ready. Put parchment paper in the bottom of a loaf pan. Spray the paper and sides with cooking spray. Set aside.

To make the filling, mix together the sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and semisweet chocolate in a small bowl until well blended. Also set this aside.

Now, flour a surface again and when your dough is ready put it there. Flour a rolling pin and roll out your dough so that it is a 16" square. It should be thin, but not super thin. Sprinkle the chocolate filling evenly over the entire square of dough, but leave about 1/4"-1/2" border on all edges so the chocolate doesn't spill out.

Roll up your dough, start with one side and rolling it up as you would an exercise mat. It should look like a log roll when it's rolled up. Pinch the ends and the side seem to firmly seal and keep the chocolate inside. Now, the fun part! Take each end in a hand and twist the dough as if you were ringing out a towel. Twist it about 4 times, or enough to fit into the prepared loaf pan. This is where babka gets its characteristic swirls of chocolate.

Once the dough is firmly fitted into the pan, cover it with a towel and put it in a warm place that is free from drafts. Let it rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

While it is rising, make the streusel. Mix together the powdered sugar, flour, and softened butter in a small bowl, using a fork. It should be a crumbly type topping. Also get your oven pre-heating to 350.

When the dough has finished rising, sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top. Then bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. The dough should sound hollow when you tap it with your knuckles. Let it cool on a wire rack for a few minutes and then dig into this luscious treat!