Great Grandmothers Chocolate Babka Recipes

THE BEST CHOCOLATE BABKA RECIPE

Steps:

• Add all-purpose flour, sugar, active dry yeast, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir to combine.
• Stir in the eggs and water. Knead until the ingredients are well-incorporated.
• Cut the butter into small cubes. Add one cube in at a time as you knead the dough until it's shiny and elastic.
• Place the dough into a large, oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it refrigerate overnight or at least 6 hours. Remove the dough from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for at least 40 minutes.
• When using a whole chocolate bar, chop the chocolate into pieces and set it aside. If using chocolate chips, keep them as is. In a heavy saucepan over medium-low, combine the butter, sugar, chocolate, and cocoa powder.
• Cook and stir until the chocolate sauce becomes creamy. Set in the fridge so it cools and thickens into a spreadable consistency.
• Butter two 9-inch bread pans. Line them with parchment paper.
• Divide the dough into two pieces. Roll each piece into a rectangle.
• Use a knife to spread the filling on each rectangle of dough.
• Starting from the long side, roll the dough rectangle into a roll and pinch the end to seal it.
• Use a sharp knife to cut the roll lengthwise into two pieces. With the cut side facing up, twist the two pieces together. Pinch the edges and gently press them together to seal.
• Move each babka into a loaf pan. Cover with a towel and let it rise in a warm place for 45 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Remove the towel from the loaves and place them in the preheated oven. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
• Combine the sugar with water in a heavy bottom pot. Bring it to a simmer and stir until the sugar is fully dissolved.
• Once the babkas are fully-baked, brush the tops with the syrup. Remove the babkas from the pan and allow them to fully cool before serving.

CHOCOLATE BABKA

Steps:

• Make the dough: Sprinkle the yeast over the milk in a liquid measuring cup; add a pinch of sugar and set aside until bubbly, about 7 minutes. Combine the flour, the remaining 1/3 cup sugar, the eggs, yeast mixture, salt, vanilla, nutmeg and lemon zest in a large bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead until soft and smooth, about 5 minutes. Knead in the butter in three additions, dusting the dough with flour if it's too sticky. Transfer the dough to a large bowl; cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch down the dough, re-cover with plastic wrap and let rise in the fridge overnight.
• Make the filling: Heat the sugar, heavy cream and salt in a saucepan until scalding. Pour over the bittersweet chocolate chips, butter and vanilla in a bowl. Whisk until smooth and shiny. Let cool to room temperature.
• Make the topping: Whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a separate bowl; work in the butter with your fingers until the mixture is sandy and chunky. Stir in the mini chocolate chips; set the topping aside.
• Form the loaves: Cut the dough in half with a bench scraper or chef's knife. Using a rolling pin, roll each half into a 12-by-16-inch rectangle. Using an offset spatula, spread the filling on both dough rectangles, all the way to the edges. Starting from a long side, tightly roll each rectangle into a log. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and refrigerate 15 minutes. Unwrap the logs; cut each in half lengthwise with a bench scraper or chef's knife. Twist the halves together a few times, starting from the middle. Coat two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans with cooking spray and line with parchment, then spray the parchment. Place a dough twist snugly in each pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 1 1/2 hours.
• Finish and bake the babka: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush each loaf with butter and sprinkle with the topping. Bake until browned, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, make some simple syrup: Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan; simmer, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Let cool. Pull the loaves out of the oven and immediately poke a bunch of holes in each with a wooden skewer. Pour 1 1/4 cups simple syrup evenly over the loaves.
• Let sit 10 minutes, then remove the babka from the pans, remove the parchment and let cool completely on a rack.

CHOCOLATE BABKA ("LITTLE GRANDMOTHER")

Steps:

• Pour milk into a measuring glass or small bowl, sprinkle yeast and a pinch of granulated sugar over milk. Stir once. Let sit for about 5 minutes, until foamy
• In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, egg yolk, and remaining 1/4 cup of granulated sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. Whisk the egg mixture into the yeast mixture.
• Combine salt and 2 cups flour into a bowl fitted with the paddle attachment. Add egg mixture and beat on low speed until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Clean off paddle attachment and switch to a dough hook. Add the 7 tablespoons of butter a tablespoon at a time and beat on medium-low until butter is completely incorporated and dough is smooth, about 8-10 minutes. The dough is sticky.
• Lightly flour a large, clean surface and turn out the dough onto it. Knead a couple of times until very smooth (dough will still be fairly sticky). Transfer the dough to a large buttered bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 1/2 - 2 hours, then move straight away into the refrigerator for 45 minutes.
• While the dough is rising, heat the chocolate, cocoa, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon of salt in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until all is melted together and smooth. (I used a double boiler.)
• Lightly flour a clean surface and turn out the chilled dough onto it. Roll out to a 22x12" rectangle (will be fairly thin) and orient so that the long side is facing you. Use an offset spatula to spread the chocolate gently over the dough to the outside edges, being careful not to rip the dough.
• Preheat the oven to 350° and butter an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan.
• Roll up the dough (away from you) in jelly roll style, tugging very gently to keep the roll fairly tight. Cut the roll into exact half and place one of the halfs over the other half in an X. Twist the right end of the X together, twisting twice, then twist the left end of the X together, twisting twice (total of 4 twists). Transfer the bread to the buttered pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a dark, warm place for 30 minute to rise.
• Make the streusel while the bread is rising: In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Pour in the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter and stir. Stir in the flour until it forms moist clumps.
• Whisk the egg and cream together in a small bowl. Brush some of the egg wash evenly over the entirety of the bread, then sprinkle the streusel over the top. Bake the babka for 50-60 minutes, turning the pan halfway through baking.
• Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let it cool for about 15 minutes. Turn the bread out onto a rack, running a knife along the edges if needed before turning out. Let cool completely.

CHOCOLATE BABKA

Steps:

• Warm the milk and melt 1/4 cup butter in a glass or ceramic bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds, or on the stovetop in a saucepan. Combine the bread flour, 2 cups all-purpose flour, yeast, and 1/4 cup sugar. Add the water, the milk-butter mixture, the egg, and the salt to the dry ingredients and mix well.
• Use the dough hook in a stand mixer on low speed or knead the dough by hand until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 15 minutes. If the dough is too wet, add more bread flour, about 2 tablespoonfuls at a time (up to 8 tablespoons) to make a workable dough; too much flour can make the dough dry. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rise until double in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Make the chocolate filling and the streusel while the dough is rising. For the filling, stir together the finely chopped chocolate, the cinnamon, and 1/4 cup sugar. Cut in 1/4 cup chilled butter with a fork. To make the streusel, combine the confectioners' sugar and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour; cut in 1/4 cup chilled butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• When the dough has doubled, punch the dough down and cut it into two equal pieces. Loosely shape each piece into a ball. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rest for 10 minutes.
• Roll out one portion on a lightly floured surface to form a 15x4-inch rectangle. Sprinkle with half the chocolate filling, roll up to form a long log, and seal the seam. Attach the ends to form a circle and place the ring, seam-side down, on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the second piece of dough. Use a serrated knife or kitchen shears to cut slits at 1-inch intervals around the rings. Cover the rings with damp kitchen towels and let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Brush the loaves with the egg wash, if desired. Sprinkle streusel on top. Bake the loaves for about 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheets to promote even browning, until the bread is a deep golden brown.

GRANDMA'S CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
• Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
• Cream sugar and butter together in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Mix in eggs and maple extract. Add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with coffee, beating batter until smooth after each addition. Pour batter into the prepared pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.