Cheese Babka Recipes

JEWISH CHEESE BABKA

Steps:

• Stir yeast and 1/2 teaspoon sugar into warm water. Set aside until frothy.
• Grease 3 (9 x 5-inch) loaf pans.
• Scald the milk over medium-high heat, and place in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer. Add 4 ounces room-temperature butter and stir to melt. Add 1/2 cup sugar, salt, yeast mixture, and 3 beaten egg yolks.
• Add flour, and knead until shiny and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, turning to coat both sides, cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise until doubled. This may take as long as 2 hours.
• In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese, 3 egg yolks and 1 1/2 cups sugar until smooth. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, prepare the crumb topping by mixing together 6 tablespoons flour and 8 tablespoons sugar and cutting in 4 tablespoons cold butter as for pie dough. Set aside.
• Punch down risen dough and divide into 3 parts. Working with 1 part at a time and covering the rest, roll into a large rectangle 1/8-inch thick.
• Spread dough with one-third of the cheese filling. Fold in the sides of the dough, and then roll up tightly as for a jellyroll. Place in 1 of the prepared pans. Brush with beaten egg white and sprinkle with one-third of the crumb topping.
• Repeat with remaining dough and remaining 2 loaf pans. Cover loaf pans with greased plastic wrap and let rise until above the rim of the pan.
• Place rack in center of oven and heat to 350 F. Bake babkas for 40 to 50 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer registers 190 F. Let cool in pan 5 minutes. Using a knife, loosen babka from sides of the pan. Cool completely in the loaf pan. Then turn out onto a rack.

CHEESY GARLIC BABKA MUFFINS

Steps:

• For the dough: Whisk together the warm milk, yeast and 2 teaspoons sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Allow to sit until it begins to bubble, about 5 minutes. Turn the mixer to medium and add the salt and eggs. Mix until the eggs are incorporated. Add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, then reduce the speed to low and add the flour in batches, allowing the flour to fully incorporate with the dough between additions. Continue to mix until well combined. Add the butter in small pieces, allowing each addition to become fully incorporated before adding more. Turn the mixer to medium and let the mixer knead the dough for 10 minutes. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Place the dough in the bowl, cover with a towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• For the filling: Spray a 12-cup muffin tin and set aside. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll it out into a 12-by-18-inch rectangle. Brush the olive oil over the dough and sprinkle with the chile flakes, garlic, Gruyere, pine nuts and oregano. Starting from the longer side, roll the dough up tightly, similar to how you make a cinnamon roll, and pinch the edges to seal, placing it seam-side down. You should have an 18-inch log. Cut into 24 slices, then smush two slices into each muffin cup, cut-side up and overlapping. (This whole process is a little messy and rustic but when they bake and rise they will look beautiful.) Cover with a kitchen towel and set aside for 30 minutes.
• To finish: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Beat the egg together in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon water. Brush the tops of the muffins with the egg wash and sprinkle with flaky salt, pepper and Parmesan. Bake until puffed and golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Allow the muffins to cool slightly, then use a sharp paring knife to run around the edges to release them from the tin.

CHEESECAKE BABKA

Steps:

• Dough: In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the dough hook, beat together milk, yeast, flours, eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt, and butter on low speed until well combined. Transfer dough to work surface and form into a 10-by-8-inch rectangle, about 1 inch thick. Wrap in parchment; refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.
• Butter Package: Place butter between two pieces of parchment or plastic wrap. Using a rolling pin, gently beat until butter is slightly softened, then roll into a 9-by-7-inch rectangle. Loosely wrap in plastic; refrigerate at least 2 hours.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to an 18-by-9-inch rectangle with a short side parallel to edge of work surface. Place chilled butter package on top half of dough. Fold bottom half of dough over butter to cover completely and firmly press to adhere butter and dough to one another. Pinch edges to seal. Roll out dough once more to a 24-by-7-inch rectangle. Fold top and bottom of dough toward center until they meet. Fold bottom half up to cover top half, rotate dough package 90 degrees, and roll out dough to a 28-by-7 1/2-inch rectangle. Repeat folding process. Wrap dough in plastic; refrigerate 1 hour or freeze for later use.
• Filling: In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese on low speed until softened. Beat in ricotta until just combined (do not overbeat). Add half the egg (reserve remaining half for egg wash), vanilla seeds, lemon zest, confectioners' sugar, and cornstarch; beat until combined. Refrigerate 1 hour.
• Streusel: In a medium bowl, stir together butter and sugar. Mix in flour until large clumps form. Cover; refrigerate 1 hour.
• Spray three 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pans with cooking spray. Roll out dough to a 27-by-9-inch rectangle. Divide into six 13 1/2-by-3-inch rectangles. Transfer filling to a pastry bag and pipe one-sixth of filling in a line down the center of each rectangle, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides. Pull edges of dough up and pinch to enclose filling. Place two filled portions of dough, seam-side down, on work surface to form an X. Working from center of the X, twist ends. Transfer to prepared pan, seam-side down. Repeat process with remaining dough.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly cover pans with a kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. (Dough should just reach edge of pan.) Gently brush dough with egg wash. Break streusel into pebble-sized pieces and gently sprinkle over loaves, dividing equally. Bake until crust is firm and golden brown, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Transfer pans to a wire rack; let cool 10 minutes. Invert loaves onto racks; let cool completely. Lightly dust with confectioners' sugar.

BASIC BABKA

Steps:

• Stir white sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and salt into hot milk in a small bowl until butter is melted and mixture is lukewarm. In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, sprinkle yeast over warm water; stir to dissolve.
• Stir milk mixture into yeast mixture. Add 2 eggs and 2 1/2 cups of the flour; beat on high until combined. With mixer on low, add remaining 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup at a time.
• Switch to the dough hook; mix until dough leaves sides of bowl, about 5 minutes. Set dough in a large, lightly greased bowl, turning dough to coat top. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Prepare walnut filling while dough rises. Lightly beat 3 eggs in a large bowl. Stir in brown sugar, 1/3 cup melted butter, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Fold in walnuts.
• Punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a large, lightly floured surface, cover with the bowl, and let rest 10 minutes. Line three 9x5-inch loaf pans with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on long sides.
• Divide dough into thirds; roll each third out to a 12-inch square on a lightly floured surface. Spoon 1/3 of the walnut filling onto each dough square and spread to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Roll up each square tightly as for a jelly roll. Pinch ends and seams closed to seal. With your palms, roll logs back and forth until uniformly round.
• With a sharp knife or dough scraper, cut 1 log in half lengthwise to form 2 striped strands. Working quickly, twist strands loosely together with cut sides facing out, making 2 or 3 wide, horizontal twists. Fit into one of the prepared pans, patting back any loose filling and tucking ends under, if needed. It might look like a mess now, but it comes out beautifully!
• Repeat with remaining logs and pans. Cover pans with a towel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Loaves should not rise above top edges of pans.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Brush loaf tops with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter.
• Bake loaves until puffed, well browned, and a thermometer inserted in centers registers 200 degrees F (93 degrees C), 35 to 45 minutes. Tent with foil if tops brown before loaves are done. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then use parchment to lift from pans and transfer to a wire rack.
• Cool completely, about 1 hour. Glaze if desired, then slice crosswise to serve.

POLISH BABKA WITH OPTIONAL CHEESE FILLING

Steps:

• Add yeast to lukewarm (hot will kill the yeast)water and let stand until softened or dissolved, about 5 minutes.
• Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
• In a separate bowl, add salt to egg yolks and beat until thick; then add to sugar and butter mixture.
• Add yeast and water, lemon rind, cinnamon and cardamom.
• Add flour alternately with milk and beat well to make a smooth batter.
• Add raisins and knead by hand until batter leaves the fingers.
• Let rise in a warm draft free place until double (about 1-1/2 hours). Punch down and let rise again until double.
• Generously butter a fluted tube pan. Sprinkle with fine bread crumbs and fill with dough. Brush with mixture of egg yolk beaten with 2 tablespoons water. Sprinkle with almonds and let rise again. Bake in preheated 350 degrees F oven for 45-60 minutes.
• Optional:.
• Mix cheese filling ingredients together.
• Place 1/2 the dough in the prepared pan place the filling mixture on the center of the dough, place the rest of the dough on the mixture. Try to pinch the dough together so filling is encased inside. Or roll out into a log about 20x 10. Then place cheese filling in the center down the long side of the roll, bringing the sides over to encase the filling. Then place into prepared pan and let rise 30 minutes. Brush with eggwash and sprinkle with almonds. Bake 350 for 45-60 minutes.

CHEESE BABKA

Steps:

• Sprinkle the yeast and the pinch of sugar over the warm water; stir to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.
• Combine the 1/2 cup butter, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, 2 teaspoons of vanilla, milk, and 3 eggs in a bowl with 1 cup of flour and mix well. Add the yeast mixture and beat for 1 minute. Gradually add the remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, adding small amounts of flour as necessary to prevent sticking. Shape the dough into a round, and place it in a greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Beat together the farmers' cheese, 1/3 cup sugar, sour cream, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and dried lemon peel in a bowl until smooth. Set the filling aside. Lightly oil a 10-inch fluted tube pan (such as a Bundt®).
• Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a 10-inch by 12-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Spread the cheese filling evenly over the dough. Roll the dough up like a jelly roll, starting from the long end; twist the dough 6 to 8 times to form a rope. Pinch the seams and ends closed and arrange the rope of dough in the greased pan. Cover loosely and let rise 1 hour.
• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake the babka until deep golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes; invert the babka onto a wire rack and remove the pan. Allow the babka to cool for at least 2 hours before slicing.

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE BABKA

Steps:

• Make the dough: Combine the granulated sugar and water in a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the top and stir gently. Let stand until the yeast begins to soften and turn foamy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar and salt in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment.
• Stir the yeast mixture into the pumpkin mixture. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined. Mix in the flour in three or four batches on low speed until just combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat in the butter, a few pieces at a time, until fully combined. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until the dough is smooth but still sticky, 4 to 6 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl and add the dough, turning to coat in the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours. Punch down the dough, cover again and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
• Make the cream cheese filling: Beat the cream cheese, egg yolks, confectioners' sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl and beat with a mixer until combined. Set aside.
• Make the pecan filling: Stir together the brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice and pecans in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter and mix until the pecans are coated and the sugar looks like wet sand. Transfer 1/2 cup of the pecan filling to a small bowl and combine with the flour (this is the topping). Set both bowls aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Lightly butter two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans. Line each pan with parchment paper, leaving at least a 2-inch overhang on the long sides. Butter the paper and place the pans on a large rimmed baking sheet.
• Punch down the dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough in half. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll out each piece into a 10-by-18-inch rectangle. Spread each rectangle with half of the cream cheese filling and sprinkle each with half of the pecan filling. Starting at a long side, roll up the dough into a tight log. Pinch the ends to seal in the filling. (If the dough becomes too soft, refrigerate the logs on a baking sheet until firm.) Fold the dough in half into a horseshoe shape, then cross the right half over the left, twisting into a figure-eight shape. Twist once or twice more, then fit into the prepared pans. Loosely cover each pan with plastic wrap. Set aside until slightly risen, about 20 minutes.
• Brush the tops of the dough with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the pecan topping. Bake the babkas, rotating the pans halfway through, until dark golden brown, 50 to 60 minutes. (If the tops begin to brown too quickly, tent with foil and reduce the oven temperature to 325˚ F.) Transfer to a rack and let the babkas cool completely in the pans.

CHEESE BABKA MADE EASY IN THE BREAD MACHINE

Steps:

• Dough:.
• Add all wet ingredients to bread machine.
• Top with flour and place yeast, sugar and salt in separate corners.
• Or add the ingredients according to your bread machine.
• Set machine to large loaf, dough cycle and press start.
• At the beep add the zest, cinnamon, cardamom, raisins, and or cranberries.
• Cheese filling:.
• Mix cheese filling ingredients together.
• Prepare pan:.
• Generously butter a fluted tube pan. Sprinkle with fine bread crumbs.
• When cycle has finished remove dough to a floured surface.
• Punch down dough and shape and roll out into a log about 20x 10. Then place cheese filling in the center down the long side of the roll, bringing the sides over to encase the filling. Then place into prepared pan covering with plastic wrap and let rise 60 minutes or till risen to top of pan.
• Brush with eggwash and sprinkle with almonds.
• Bake 350 for 45-60 minutes.