The one thing I love about baking babka in the summer, is the fact that the dough is rising so quickly. The heat outside helps it rise easily and fill the bowl quickly. From there the road to a fresh babka is short, so the heat outside does not really make me skip baking babkas, but on the contrary – it just makes me bake more and more!
The following recipe is actually a classic chocolate babka in a gorgeous spiral design. This is a golden spiral-shaped double chocolate babka in a particularly impressive appearance that makes everyone say WOW. It is rich, tasty, fragrant and just perfect for the weekend.
Spiral-Shaped Double Chocolate Babka
For the dough:
- 500 grams (3 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 10 grams (2 tsp.) active dry yeast
- 100 grams (1/2 cup) soft butter
- 100 grams (1/2 cup) sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 180 ml. (2/3 cup) milk
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
For the chocolate filling:
- 200 grams dark chocolate
- 100 grams (1/2 cup) butter
- 200 grams (1 cup) chocolate chips
For brushing:
- 1 beaten egg
For decoration:
- Chocolate sprinkles
Make the dough:
- In a mixer bowl with a kneading attachment, put flour, yeast, butter, sugar, eggs, milk, salt and vanilla and knead in low-medium speed for 10-12 minutes until uniform dough is obtained.
- Cover the bowl and allow rising for 1-2 hours until the dough almost doubles its volume.
Chocolate filling:
- In a bowl place chocolate and butter. Dissolve in the microwave or over double-boiler until everything is melted and the mixture is uniform.
- Cool the filling for 2-3 hours at room temperature until it reaches a spreadable consistency.
- On a floured work surface roll the dough into a very thin rectangle about 2-3 mm thick. (if making 2 smaller cakes – divide the dough into 2 pieces and roll each separately).
- Spread the chocolate filling in a smooth, thin layer. Sprinkle generously with chocolate chips.
- Roll into a long and tight tube shape.
- Curl the roll around itself to form a spiral shape.
- Place the cake in a lightly greased baking pan.
- Cover the cake and allow rising for about an hour or until the almost doubled in volume.
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.
- Gently brush the cake with beaten egg and decorate with chocolate sprinkles.
- Bake the cake for 35-45 minutes or until golden, swollen and set to the touch.
- Cool slightly at room temperature and serve.
- The cake is at its best when it’s warm and on the day of preparation.
- You can freeze the cake (well-wrapped) for up to two weeks. It is recommended to defrost for several hours at room temperature and warm in the oven before serving.
- If desired, add chopped nuts or to the filling.
- Instead of making the chocolate filling you can use store-bought chocolate spread like Nutella.