Endless Swirls of Rich Dark Chocolate Filling layered between buttery yeasted cake – this is a Classic Dark Chocolate Babka Ring that is a total showstopper!
*This recipe was developed in partnership with Scharffen Berger Chocolate. As always, all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the quality brands that make Lion’s Bread possible.
Origins of Babka
A babka is a sweet braided bread or cake that originated in the Eastern Jewish communities of Poland and Ukraine in the early 19th century. It is popular in Israel and in Jewish communities throughout the whole world.
Babka is part bread and part cake, and the name is thought to be derived from a popular Easter cake made in Poland called “baba” which means “grandmother” in Polish.
Housewives making dough for challah bread, braided bread eaten on the Sabbath and Jewish holidays, would have prepared extra dough, to be filled with cinnamon or jam, which was then rolled up and baked as a special treat.
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Flavor Variations of Babka
There are several variations of babka, spoiler: they’re all delicious!
Other popular flavors are cinnamon babka, dried fruit babka, apple babka, and sweet cheese babka. No matter the filling, they are always doused in a sweet simple syrup right when they come out of the oven. The simple syrup helps keep the cake moist for several days, although I doubt it will last that long!
Where did Seinfeld Get the Famous Babka?
Jerry and Elaine stop at Royal Bakery to purchase a chocolate babka while Kramer and George go to buy wine. Showing up to a dinner party with a famous chocolate babka was extremely important for Jerry.
INGREDIENTS for Homemade Babka
Flour – I recommend using unbleached all purpose flour for this Babka Ring. If you have bread flour, you can absolutely substitute that!
Eggs – For the most consistent results, use AA large organic eggs here. Organic eggs are usually richer, as you can see by the color of their vibrant yellow yolks.
Butter – unsalted butter is the way to go here! The recipe calls for kosher salt, and I like to control the amount of salt that goes into my babka.
Oil – I always like to use avocado oil, but you go with any neutral oil that you have on hand. Possible substitutes are canola or grape seed oil. Just stay away from a fruity extra virgin olive oil, the flavors will be too strong.
Raw Honey – The enriched dough calls for raw honey as a sweetener. It adds moisture, tons of flavor to the dough, and helps achieve that golden brown caramelization. If you can’t find raw honey, use any good quality honey that you can find.
Scharffen Berger 100% Cacao Cocoa Powder – this incredible rich dark cocoa powder has beautiful fruity notes, and adds deeply rich chocolate flavor to the Babka filling.
Scharffen Berger 62% Cacao Baking Portions – I love Scharffen Berger’s new baking portions because they make measuring out the chocolate so simple. The flavor is so delicious, and takes all of my bakes to the next level. This is my go-to chocolate and I can’t recommend them highly enough.
Kosher salt – I always use Morton’s kosher salt. If you’re using diamond crystal, add an extra 1/4 teaspoon (1g).
ingredients
What does Babka Taste Like?
In the past couple of years, Chocolate Babka has gained tons of popularity on social media. The best way I can describe the flavor is thin layers of enriched pastry, rolled up with a dark chocolate filling, baked till golden brown, and brushed in a light sugar syrup. It almost sounds like too much, but trust me, it’s just right.
When do you Eat Babka?
Babka’s rich, buttery, brioche-like crumb, woven with ribbons of chocolate, is unfussy and approachable. You can eat it as dessert or breakfast, as a brunch side or a quick snack. The only trouble is not finishing a loaf as soon as you start it, because one good bite of babka demands another.
rolled and sliced
How to make a Homemade Dark Chocolate Babka Ring
Make the dough:
In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, salt, and cornstarch. Whisk to combine. Make a well in the center of the bowl, then add the melted butter, eggs, avocado oil, milk, and granulated sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. When the mixture becomes thick and sticky, start mixing by hand. Pinch to incorporate the ingredients.
Begin kneading the dough in the bowl, by hand, until it becomes fairly smooth, and forms a ball. This should take about 3 minutes of kneading.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise at room temperature for about 1.5 hours or until it has doubled in volume.
Make the Filling:
make the filling. In a medium size bowl, add the softened butter, cocoa powder, brown sugar, salt, and melted semisweet chocolate Baking Portions. Use a spoon to combine until the mixture is totally smooth, with no lumps remaining. Set aside.
Shape the Babka Ring:
Dust a large work surface generously with flour. Pour the risen dough out into the work surface, and use a floured rolling pin to to roll the dough out into a large rectangle that is approximately 20” long and 14” wide, 1/4” thick. Spoon all of the chocolate filling out onto the rectangle of dough. Use an offset spatula to gently smooth the filling out into an even layer, leaving a 1/2” border on all sides. With the long edge facing you, begin rolling the dough up tightly into a log.
With the seam facing down, use a very sharp chef’s knife to slice the log in half lengthwise. Turn the cut side up, exposing the beautiful chocolate layers.
Start twisting the babka up, keeping the cut side up. Trim the edges. Bring the top to meet the bottom, and create a ring, pressing the ends together to create a continuous circle.
Line a 9” round cake pan with parchment paper. Gently lift the babka ring and place in the prepared cake pan. Cover the top loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and place in a warm place to rise for about an hour.
Make the Simple Syrup:
In a small sauce pan, combine the granulated sugar and water. Whisk to combine. Allow the mixture to come to a boil, and let simmer for 5-6 minutes, until the mixture thickens slightly, and all of the sugar dissolves. Set aside.
Brush the top of the risen dark chocolate babka ring with beaten egg, and bake for 30-35 minutes until the top is deeply golden brown, rotating the pan 180° halfway through so that the babka bakes evenly.
Remove the babka from the oven and immediately brush with the warm simple syrup. Use all of the simple syrup. It slowly soaks in and keeps the babka very moist.
Allow to cool before serving. Enjoy!
bake in a 9-inch round cake pan
proofed and brushed with egg wash
brushed with plenty of simple syrup
Did you make this Dark Chocolate Babka Ring? Rate and Comment below to let me know what you think!
Tag me @lions.bread or #lionsbread so I can see all of your creations – I love to see my recipes from the blog come to life in your kitchens.
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-LeAnne
Dark Chocolate Babka Ring
endless swirls of rich dark chocolate filling layered between buttery yeasted cake
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 4 ½ cups unbleached all purpose flour 540 g
- 1 tablespoon dry active yeast 10g 10 g
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt 5 g
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch 12 g
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 114 g
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or any neutral oil, 25 g
- 1 cup whole or 2% milk 250 g
- ¼ cup granulated sugar 60 g
Dark Chocolate Filling:
- ½ cup Scharffen Berger 100% cacao unsweetened cocoa powder 50 g
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 145g
- ½ cup dark brown sugar, packed 100 g
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt 3 g
- 4 oz. Scharffen Berger 62% Cacao Semisweet Chocolate Baking Portions, melted 113 g
Simple Syrup:
- ¾ cup water 180 g
- ¾ cup granulated sugar 160 g
- pinch of kosher salt
- 1 large egg beaten for egg wash
Instructions
Make the dough:
In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, salt, and cornstarch. Whisk to combine. Make a well in the center of the bowl, then add the melted butter, eggs, avocado oil, milk, and granulated sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. When the mixture becomes thick and sticky, start mixing by hand. Pinch to incorporate the ingredients.
Begin kneading the dough in the bowl, by hand, until it becomes fairly smooth, and forms a ball. This should take about 3 minutes of kneading.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise at room temperature for about 1.5 hours or until it has doubled in volume.
Make the Filling:
In a medium size bowl, add the softened butter, cocoa powder, brown sugar, salt, and melted semisweet chocolate Baking Portions. Use a spoon to combine until the mixture is totally smooth, with no lumps remaining. Set aside.
Shape the Babka Ring:
Dust a large work surface generously with flour. Pour the risen dough out into the work surface, and use a floured rolling pin to to roll the dough out into a large rectangle that is approximately 20” long and 14” wide, 1/4” thick. Spoon all of the chocolate filling out onto the rectangle of dough.
Use an offset spatula to gently smooth the filling out into an even layer, leaving a 1/2” border on all sides. With the long edge facing you, begin rolling the dough up tightly into a log.
- With the seam facing down, use a very sharp chef’s knife to slice the log in half lengthwise. Turn the cut side up, exposing the beautiful chocolate layers.
- Start twisting the babka up, keeping the cut side up. Trim the edges. Bring the top to meet the bottom, and create a ring, pressing the ends together to create a continuous circle.
- Line a 9” round cake pan with parchment paper. Gently lift the babka ring and place in the prepared cake pan. Cover the top loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and place in a warm place to rise for about an hour.
Make the Simple Syrup:
- In a small sauce pan, combine the granulated sugar and water. Whisk to combine. Allow the mixture to come to a boil, and let simmer for 5-6 minutes, until the mixture thickens slightly, and all of the sugar dissolves. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Brush the top of the risen dark chocolate babka ring with beaten egg, and bake for 30-35 minutes until the top is deeply golden brown, rotating the pan 180° halfway through so that the babka bakes evenly.
- Remove the babka from the oven and immediately brush with the warm simple syrup. Use all of the simple syrup. It slowly soaks in and keeps the babka very moist.
- Allow to cool before serving. Enjoy!
The post “Dark Chocolate Babka Ring” first appeared on Lion’s Bread Blog.