Chocolate Almond Babka
Bringing Joy to the Lives of Shut-Ins
If you’re anything like me, you’re filling your time with lots and lots of kitchen projects. This was my project number 21 or 22 (honestly, I’ve lost count at this point). But it’s worth it for sanity points, skill-building, and man do we deserve this babka right now. Chocolate Almond Babka is delicious, easily-shared, and so worth the two days (two days!) it takes to make. And when we have the days to do it, I think we should!
Chocolate Almond Babka
From Eat Some Wear Some
**Recipe takes 2 days to make**
Dough:
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (or 1 packet)
1/2 cup hot water, straight from the tap (approximately 110℉)
3 large eggs, room temperature
530 grams (4 1/4 cups) all purpose flour, plus more for the board
100 grams (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt (I use Diamond Krystal Kosher Salt)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed and at room temperature
Filling:
130 grams (4 1/2 ounces) dark chocolate, roughly chopped (or you can use chocolate chips)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
50 grams (1/2 cup) powdered sugar, sifted
30 grams (1/3 cup) Dutch processed cocoa powder, sifted ( I really love Droste Cacao)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted*
Glaze:
1/3 cup water
75 grams (6 tablespoons) granulated sugar
MAKE THE DOUGH
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the yeast and water together. Add the eggs and whisk gently until just combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt and then add it to the egg mixture. Mix everything with the dough hook on a low speed until it begins to come together and look like a shaggy dough. Small dry bits are okay, but if it’s very dry, you can sprinkle in additional warm water and re-mix gently, a tablespoon at a time.
With the mixer on the lowest speed, add the butter a few cubes at a time, mixing until incorporated into the dough. The dough will become very soft and sticky again. This is okay!
Scrape the sides of the bowl with a stiff spatula or (better yet) a greased wooden spoon, making sure there isn't any dry flour at the bottom of the mixing bowl. With the mixer on medium-high speed, beat the dough with the dough hook until soft, smooth, and sticky. It is more than okay that it may be sticking to the sides of your bowl again.
To prevent sticking, flour your hands and lightly flour a large wooden cutting board to turn the dough out onto. Scrape date dough onto the floured cutting board or counter. Gently knead the dough 4-5 times just to bring it into a soft ball. Grease the inside of a large bowl with butter (or nonstick cooking spray) and place dough ball inside, cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise for one hour in a warm place. Laundry rooms with the dryer running are great for this.
Once the dough has risen for an hour, remove it from the bowl and place on on a large piece of plastic wrap. Gently press the dough into a 1-inch-thick rectangle (dimensions are not important at this time, but I made my the size of a small rimmed cookie sheet, since that’s what I was putting it on in my fridge). Wrap the dough in the plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight.
MAKE THE FILLING
When your dough has risen, you can begin to make the filling. Melt the butter and chocolate in a small heat-proof glass bowl set over a small pot with simmering water. Once the chocolate and butter have melted, slowly whisk in the powdered sugar, cocoa powder and cinnamon. Remove from heat, setting on a tea towel, and keep whisking until smooth. Set aside for now and immediately get your dough from the fridge.
ASSEMBLE THE BABKA
Lightly grease 2 standard loaf pans (9” x 5” worked well for me) with unsalted butter.
Unwrap the cold babka dough and set it on a lightly-floured work surface with the long side of the rectangle facing you. Cut the babka in half down the middle so you have almost two perfect squares. Put one of the halves back in the plastic wrap and into the fridge while you work with the first one.
Dust the first babka dough with flour and roll out to a 9” x 20” rectangle, keeping the long side facing you. If it starts to stick to the counter or rolling pin, dust with a little more flour and/or use a bench scraper to help release it from the surface.
Using a large soup spoon, spread half of the chocolate mixture evenly over the dough, followed by half of the toasted almond slices over all of the chocolate, leaving a 1/2” border all around. Brush the long end farthest away from you with a little water (you could also use your finger dipped in water, kind of like when you make spring rolls). This will be the “glue” to keep the dough together. Starting from the edge closest to you, roll the dough up evenly with the filling into a long, tight cylinder. Seal the dampened end onto the log by gently pressing.
Put this first log on a baking sheet and put in the fridge to firm up for 10-15 minutes while you repeat the process with the second piece of dough up to this stage. Note: both rolls will need to have been chilled prior to baking, so make sure the second piece of dough gets to chill time, too.
After the logs have chilled, remove them from the fridge and place the first one onto a cutting board. Trim last 1/2” off the log. Using a paring knife, slice through the log in half lengthwise completely so you have two long, separate pieces. With the cut sides up, pinch the top ends gently together. Lift one side over the next, forming a gentle twist while working to keep the cut sides facing up. At the end of the twist , pinch the ends together and carefully transfer to the first prepared loaf pan, scrunching it together to fit snuggly and with the layers of chocolate filling visible as much as possible. Repeat with the second dough.
Cover each of the assembled babka loosely with plastic wrap and a damp tea towel and leave to rise another 1 - 1/2 hours in a warm place.
BAKE THE BABKA
Place one of your oven racks in the middle of your oven and pre-heat to 375°F.
Remove the towel and plastic wrap from each babka and place them in the oven on the rack. Bake for 30-40 minutes, checking them after 25 minutes, for browning. If the breads begin to become too dark, tent them loosely with a piece of aluminum foil while they continue to bake through.
To check for doneness, insert a skewer into the center of the loaf - an underbaked babka will feel stretchy/rubbery inside and may come back with dough on it, while a fully-baked one will have almost no resistance. If the babka needs more time, put it back for another five minutes, and retest.
MAKE THE GLAZE
When your babka have about ten minutes left or so, make the glaze.
In a small pot, bring the sugar and water to a simmer until all of the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool for a couple of minutes (not completely; you will want this very warm). Get a pastry brush and set aside.
As soon as the babkas leave the oven, brush the syrup all over each loaf top. It may seem like a lot of syrup, and you may not actually use all of it entirely, but make sure it is very glossy and moist while getting every nook and cranny. It is perfectly fine if you have pools of syrup in the loaf pan. Let them cool about halfway in pan, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool the rest of the way before slicing and serving.
Babka can handle being in a sealed container or plastic bag for about 3-4 days. Any longer and you may want to put them in the freezer to slice and toss whenever you have a hankering for some!
*toasting almonds - the easiest method I have found that reduces the chances for burned almonds on the stove is actually done in the oven. I use my toaster oven, but your regular oven works perfectly, too. Turn the oven onto 375 degrees. Cover a rimmed cookie sheet with foil. Spread the sliced almonds (this also works for any shape of almond, slivered, sliced, or whole) on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, toss the almonds, and bake for two more minutes. Remove/toss/bake/remove/toss/bake until your almonds have just begun to smell like a toasted PB+J sandwich (I promise you this is what they smell like… to me, at least). Once they are toasted to your liking, immediately place in a bowl to cool - if they stay on the pan, they will continue to brown and possibly burn.
