Chocolate Babka
This is one of our favorite desserts. It looks fancy and tastes rich and chocolaty. A traditional recipe would use butter, milk, and egg to enrich the dough. I've made it with and without dairy and it is hard to tell the difference between the two.Dough:½ cup milk of your choice, unsweetened unflavored11 teaspoon sugar2 teaspoons active dry yeast1 egg45g (3 Tablespoons) vegan butter245g (3 Tablespoons) coconut oil2280g (2 cups) all-purpose flourFilling:50g (3 ½ Tablespoons) vegan butter250g (3 ½ Tablespoons) coconut oil2150g (¾ cup) sugar80g (3 ounces) dark chocolate (chocolate chips or chopped chocolate)340g (5 Tablespoons) cocoa powder1 teaspoon cinnamonSyrup:100g (½ cup) sugar125 ml (½ cup) water1 Tablespoon honey
Dough:Warm milk in the microwave for about 30 seconds (it should be barely warm). Mix milk, 1 teaspoon sugar, 2 teaspoons yeast and 40g (about ¼ cup) flour in a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer). Set this mix aside and let it stand for 10 to 15 minutes until it is bubbly and some bubbles break the surface.Heat the vegan butter and coconut oil until just melted. Its ok if a few lumps remain. Set aside to cool.Once the milk-yeast mix is bubbly, add the egg and stir well. Add in the vegan butter-coconut oil mix and mix well. Add the remaining 240g flour and mix to incorporate. Knead by hand or with the dough hook of your stand mixer for about 5 minutes. Dough should be smooth and fairly soft and should pass the windowpane test.Place the dough in a bowl lightly greased with vegan butter. Cover tightly (with a lid or plastic wrap) and place in the fridge for at least 6 hours, overnight is best.Filling:Melt vegan butter and coconut oil in a small pan. Add sugar and stir until mostly dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the dark chocolate. Let it stand for a minute and then stir it in to melt. Add the cocoa powder and cinnamon and stir to combine. Let the filling cool to room temperature.Assembly:Prepare a 9"x5" loaf pan by greasing it with cooking spray or vegan butter. Cut a piece of parchment large enough to sit in the bottom of the pan and cover all the sides. Place the pan in the center of the parchment and mark the four corners of the bottom of the pan with a pencil. Cut diagonally from each corner of the parchment in to the corresponding dot on the parchment.
The parchment should then fit neatly into the pan and overlap at the corners.
Lightly flour your work surface and roll out the dough to a 15" x 15" square. Spread the filling over the dough evenly. Spread close to the edge along the right, left, and bottom edge but leave a ½ inch to 1 inch border at the top. Roll the dough up, starting at the bottom edge and rolling towards the top, to form a log.
Press the top edge of dough firmly into the log to seal. Pinch the right and left dough edges to seal. If your dough feels soft or warm, place the log in the freezer for 10 minutes before continuing.Cut the dough log in half lengthwise, leaving a small area connected on one end.
Gently rotate the cut cut halves so that the cut surface is facing up. Lift the right side over the left and repeat until you have formed a twist.
Tuck the ends under the twist.
Carefully lift the twisted dough into the loaf pan. You may have to squish it together slightly to fit.Cover the loaf pan with plastic wrap and place it in a warm place. Let it rise for 1 to 2 hours until it looks puffy, and the dough doesn't spring back when lightly pressed.While the dough is rising make the syrup. Bring the water, sugar, and honey to a boil in a small pot. Let it boil for 4 minutes then remove from heat and set aside.Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake the babka for about 30 minutes. you should see light browning on top of the babka and a toothpick inserted into the pastry should come out clean. If you hit chocolate filling, that will stick to your toothpick - try to find a few spots to test without chocolate.Slowly pour the syrup over the babka. It will seem like to much and may pool around the sides of the pan, but keep going, trying to spread it evenly and slowly over the top of the babka.Let the babka cool completely in the loaf pan.
A note on timing: I like to make the dough and filling the night before I plan to serve the babka. I put the dough in the fridge overnight. The filling goes in a glass container with a lid and sits on the counter overnight. Working with chilled dough and room temperature filling makes the shaping much easier. The syrup can be made the night before or during the babka's rise time. It should have a chance to cool at least partially before pouring over the baked babka.1. I'm using unsweetened plain almond milk, but your favorite milk (cow, soy, oat, etc.) should work as long as its unsweetened and not flavored.2. I'm using a combination of vegan butter and coconut oil. If you eat dairy, you can use real butter in place of both. If you prefer to use all vegan butter or all coconut oil, that should work as well. The vegan butter I use is salted - if you do not use a salted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon salt to the dough (you could add a pinch of salt to the filling too if you like).3. I'm using Enjoy Life chocolate chips. They are allergen friendly and delicious! If you prefer a bar chocolate, coarsely chop it so it will melt easily. Be sure to check the label on any chocolate chips or bars of chocolate as they often contain allergens including dairy even in some labeled "dark" chocolate.