If you’re making challah, you can make a babka, too. Just prepare a large batch of dry babka filling and you’ll have fresh chocolate babka every week!
Babka is a big job, right? Make a dough, make a filling, make a mess – you know what I’m talking about. But it doesn’t have to be. I’ve got it down to such a simple process that I don’t hesitate to make a fresh loaf whenever we’re in the mood.
I make challah just about every single Friday. It’s how I transition from the work week to Shabbos mode. I rotate between a couple of different dough recipes to satisfy every member of the family. The best dough for babka is one that has a larger amount of eggs, so when I make Leah’s challah, I make sure to use some of the dough for a couple of babkas. (If your recipe does not have many eggs, consider adding just one egg. This could take a couple of attempts with some trial and error. Or just use Leah’s recipe…)
I like to start with the dough shaped in a thick snake which I roll into a rectangle. [B] Once you’ve rolled your dough as thinly as possible, spread a thin layer of neutral oil (like canola) over the dough [C] and then just add the dry babka mix that you’ve prepared in advance [D] (like we’ve discussed in this post). Roll up the dough [E], bend into a horseshoe [F], twist and place in your loaf pan [G]. I like to slice into the twist about half an inch down to get a more oozy gooey babka! Then brush the babka with an egg wash and sprinkle some sweet challah crumbs on top. Bake about 5 minutes less than you’d bake your challah. By the time the challah is ready to go into the oven, the babka will be cooling on the countertop!
- 5 cups sugar
- 2 cups cocoa
- ½ cup flour
- 1 Tbl vanilla sugar
- 1 Tbl instant coffee
- 1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
- Combine in a large ziploc bag and shake it all around. Store in the bag or in an airtight container in your pantry.
- Bonus variation: After spreading the dry babka mix, add a layer of shredded halva and then continue from rolling the dough as above. After adding the crumbs, sprinkle some more shreds on top. This is just next level!
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