Babka. Funny Name, Delicious Coffee Cake

The chocolate filling is ribboned in the cake.

You can't find a commercial coffee cake with this flavor, or of this quality. That's because it's made from real butter, real chocolate, real vanilla extract.

Babka” means “grandmother” in Polish and Ukranian, perhaps because it's the kind of sweet that a grandmother would stake her reputation on. Some people call it a Kranz cake. It is somewhere between a cake and a bread (the dough is, in fact a rich brioche dough). It is a staple in the repertoire of Ashkenazic Jewish cooking.

The recipe is presented first. The backstory of this recipe is at the end. Please read through the entire recipe first, so you understand the steps. This recipe yields two standard loaves or one ring-shaped coffee cake. That’s about 12 to 15 servings, depending on how large the pieces are cut.

Step 1: Make the Brioche Dough

This dough needs to be chilled for about 4 hours or more before shaping, so plan accordingly.

Ingredients:

·      2 ¼ teaspoons yeast

·      4 ounces whole milk that has been heated to a boil and cooled (this de-activates an enzyme that interferes with yeast)

·      3 tablespoons sugar

·      12 ounces all-purpose unbleached flour, plus more for dusting the counter

·      3 eggs

·      1 yolk

·      1 teaspoon kosher salt

·      8 ounces softened butter

1.     Whisk together the yeast, milk, sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer.

2.     Add the flour, eggs, yolk, and salt. Mix with dough hook for about 6 minutes. It should clean the sides of the bowl, but not the bottom.

3.     Once the dough is developed, add the softened butter a tablespoon at a time.

4.     Let the dough sit covered, at room temperature, about 90 minutes to proof.

5.     Do a business-letter turn, return it to the bowl. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight. The chilling is essential so that the butter doesn’t leak out during baking.

6.     About three or four hours before baking, remove the dough from the refrigerator so that you can fill it, shape it, and proof it one last time before baking it. Those steps are explained below.  

Step 2: Make the Filling

There are two filling options below. Choose one. Each is excellent. You can make the filling ahead of time and refrigerate it, but it must be at room temperature and spreadable before you use it.

Filling #1—Chocolate filling with optional add-ins

This is a fun and delicious filling because the sky is the limit when it comes to the optional add-ins.

8 ounces dark chocolate pieces

8 ounces butter

2/3 cup (66 grams) cocoa powder

1 cup (100 grams) powdered sugar

Optional add-ins (about 6 or 7 ounces total): nuts, dried fruit (such as cherries or raisins), chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, toffee pieces, pretzel pieces

Melt the butter, add the chocolate. Let sit until chocolate is fully melted, then stir again. Add the rest of the ingredients. The filling needs to be room temperature and spreadable when you are ready to use it.

Filling #2—Frangipane and cake crumbs

Frangipane is a type of almond filling that is commonly used in pastries. Cake crumbs provide the chocolate flavor. This is a good way to use up leftover cake or brownies.   

·      4 ounces sliced almonds, ground into a powder, or almond flour

·      3 ounces soft butter

·      ½ cup sugar

·      Pinch of salt

·      1 egg

·      ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

·      ½ teaspoon almond extract

·      Optional additional flavorings (you can mix and match): 1 tablespoon rum, 1 teaspoon grated orange zest, a pinch of cinnamon or ground cardamom

·      About 10 ounces of chocolate cake crumbs or brownie crumbs.

Combine everything except the cake/brownie crumbs. Mix until smooth. Add the cake/brownie crumbs just until combined. No need for a perfectly smooth filling. The crumbs add texture.

Step 3: Shape the Babka

Decide which shape below you want. Your choices are two loaves or one ring-shaped coffee cake. Below, I show pictures for the ring-shaped coffee cake.

1.    Two Loaves

Divide the brioche dough into two pieces. Grease two standard loaf pans (approximately 9” x 5” x 3”).

Working with one piece at a time, roll the dough into a rectangle about 10 inches by 8 inches, about 1/4 inch thick. Spread with the filling. Roll up from the short side so that it stays long. Cut the roll down the middle lengthwise and braid the two halves so that the chocolate layers are facing up. (“Braid” means that you are twisting the two strands together by flipping one strand over the other for the whole length, see the photo below.) Place into a standard loaf pan that has been greased. Tuck the ends under if the braid is too long for the pan.  

Repeat with the second half of the brioche dough.

2.    Ring-Shaped

Roll out the dough into a rectangle about 22 inches wide by 10 inches deep. Spread it with the filling. Roll it up from the short side so it stays long. Slice the roll lengthwise down the middle. Braid. Arrange the braid into a 10-inch diameter angel-food cake pan (or a 10-inch diameter tube pan) that has been greased and floured.

Quirky note: I like to improvise my own set-up for the baking pan, and I've included a photo below. I use a 10-inch cake ring (greased), along with the core of the angel food cake pan (greased). I place both the ring and the core on a large pizza pan that is lined with parchment. I find that this set-up allows me to unmold the cake easily once it is baked. Note that there are two types of cake rings: Fixed diameter and expandable. I like to use an expandable cake ring and adjust the diameter to the width of the ring of dough, allowing room for expansion (about an inch or two all around). This is my preference. You can do whatever works for you.

The dough is rolled out, and the filling of your choice is spread over the surface. Then the dough is rolled up the long way.

 This is the rolled up dough with the filling in it. Sometimes the dough stretches a bit when you roll it like this. No problem, just work with it.

The roll was cut lengthwise, and braided. Braiding simply means that you twist the two strands around each other.

I like to use an expandable cake ring (greased), with an angel food core in the middle (also greased). The pan underneath is a pizza pan with baking parchment on it. I find that this set-up gives me a lot of flexibility with a ring-shaped coffee cake, and it's easier to unmold.

Step 4: Proof the Babka

Cover the babka with greased plastic. Don’t pull the plastic tight, you want to give dough room to expand higher than the top of the pan (especially with the loaf pans). Let proof either at room temperature if baking the same day, or in the refrigerator overnight. (If the unbaked babka has been refrigerated, allow about 2 to 3 hours for full proofing before baking – the chocolate filling will keep the dough cold longer, so it’s going to take longer to proof.)

Step 5: Bake the Babka

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Beat an egg with a teaspoon of water and a pinch of salt or sugar. Brush the egg on the babka, making sure to get into the folds. Avoid letting the egg drip between the dough and the pan (if it does, don’t stress out, just be more careful next time). Let dry for 10 minutes, then brush again.

Bake at 375 for 10 minutes, then lower to 350 degrees. After 15 minutes, check to see if the tops are browning too fast. If so, cover with foil. Continue to bake until the internal temperature is around 200 degrees, about 35 to 55 minutes more, depending on the shape of the babka.

High altitude adjustment: Use convection heat at 375 degrees, and then at 350 degrees.

Step 6: Glaze and Sprinkle with Toasted Almonds

Glaze

·      1 cup powdered sugar

·      Enough milk or water or orange juice to make the glaze the correct consistency (about 1 to 3 tablespoons of liquid)

·      ½ cup sliced almonds or slivered almonds, toasted

Combine the powdered sugar and liquid. Add the liquid by the tablespoon, stirring until it is the consistency of egg whites. As soon as the cake is out of the oven, brush it with the glaze and sprinkle with toasted almonds. After 10 or 15 minutes, unmold it from the loaf pans or cake pan. Let cool before slicing.

 The finished cake, with glaze and toasted almonds. Because the brioche dough is rich with sugar, butter, and eggs, it browns easily. Keep an eye on it as it bakes, and cover with foil if it is browing too quickly.

The Backstory

In August 2018, my daughter and I took a three-hour baking course at a culinary school in Los Angeles. The instructor was Rose L., a tattooed young woman whose website bio says she is “actively involved with food justice issues.” Like many in Los Angeles, she had obviously had training as a performer. She knew how to command an audience. More importantly, she knew what she was talking about when it came to baking.

She was a master at using the bench scraper to knead dough—a great technique to know. She told us about a polish pastry called povitica, which is similar to babka. And she taught us to coat challah (and babka) with two egg washes, letting the first one dry before applying the second. You must take your time in the application. Whatever does not get egg wash will pull apart during the baking, so being thorough is key.

The brioche recipe I’ve shared here is my version of what she gave us in class. I tweaked it, and added a bit more butter to make it richer. My daughter figured out that increasing the amount of filling is a welcome adaptation. In short, this babka recipe is top-notch, far better than any commercial version out there.