Babka Buns
Ingredients
Dough:
- 2 oz yeast (3 packets or 6¾ tsp dry yeast)
- 1¾ cups warm water
- 7 cups flour
- 3 sticks margarine, softened
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 whole eggs
- 2 egg yolks
Filling:
- 1 cup cocoa
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup water
- 1 egg
- 1 (approx. 4-ounce) package instant chocolate pudding
- 2 sticks margarine, melted
Streusel Crumbs (optional):
- 1 stick margarine
- 1 cup flour
- ¾ cup sugar
Instructions
- In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine flour, margarine, sugars, salt, eggs, and yolks. Add yeast/water mixer and mix to combine. Let dough rise for 1 hour. The dough will be sticky.
- Prepare the filling. In a medium bowl, combine cocoa, sugar, water, egg, pudding powder, and margarine, and mix with a spoon. Set aside.
- Prepare the streusel crumbs, if using. In the bowl of an electric mixer, or by hand, combine margarine, flour, and sugar and mix or knead to form crumbs. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- To assemble, divide dough into 4 equals parts. Roll out each part on a floured surface into an approximately 6-inch by 18-inch rectangle. Spread filling evenly over doughs and roll each up into a long strip.
- Cut strips into 1½-inch pieces. Line the buns in rows on prepared baking sheet, leaving ¼-inch space between each piece. Sprinkle with streusel crumbs.
- Bake for 30-45 minutes, until golden brown. I like to lift out one bun to make sure the bottom is not raw before removing from oven.
