Chocolate Babka – classic recipe

Instructions

1. Make the dough: Whisk the vanilla into the milk in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Use a fork or your fingers to lightly mix the yeast into the milk; if using active dry yeast, stir the yeast into the milk. Then, in this order, add the flour, eggs, sugar, salt, and finally the butter in small pieces. Mix on the lowest speed, stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed, and to pull the dough off the hook as it accumulates there and break it apart so it mixes evenly, until the dough is well combined, about two minutes. If the dough is very dry, add more milk one tablespoon at a time, if the dough looks wet, add more flour - one tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together. Increase the mixer speed to medium and mix until the dough is smooth and has good elasticity, 4 minutes.
2. Stretch and fold the dough: Lightly dust your work surface with flour and turn the dough out on the top; lightly dust the top of the dough and the interior of a large bowl with flour. Grab the top portion of the dough and stretch it away from you, tearing the dough. Then fold it on top of the middle of the dough. Give the dough a quarter turn and repeat the stretch, tear, and fold. Continue to do this until you can stretch a small piece of dough very thin without tearing it, about 5 minutes. Then use your hands to push and pull the dough against the work surface and in a circular motion to create a nice round of dough. Set the ball in the floured bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set it aside at room temperature for 30 minutes.
3. Chill the dough: Set the dough on a piece of plastic wrap and press it into 3 cm rectangle. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerator it for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours before proceeding the recipe.
4. Roll the chilled Babka dough: Unwrap the cold babka dough and set it on a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough into 25x60 cm rectangle with a long side facing you. Pull and shape the corners into the rectangle shape.
5. Fill and roll the dough: Spread the chocolate cream in an even layer over the dough, all the way to the edges. Then sprinkle the chocolate chips in an even layer over the chocolate cream, or across the entire surface of the dough. Working from the top edge roll the dough into a tight cylinder. As you roll it, push, and pull the cylinder a little to make it even tighter. Then, holding the cylinder at the ends, lift and stretch it slightly to make it even tighter and longer.
6. Twist the strips into a Babka: Use a bread knife to slice the cylinder in half lengthwise so you have two long pieces then set them with the chocolate layers exposed divide the pieces crosswise into 2. Fold each strip in half. Overlap once strip on top of another to make an X making sure the exposed chocolate part of the Babka faces up then twist the ends together like the threads on a screw so you have at least 2 twists on each side of the X. Place the shaped Babka in 22x12x5 cm loaf pan exposed chocolate - side up. The dough should fill the pan by 2/3 and fit the length perfectly. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and repeat with the other pieces of dough.
7. Preheat the oven to 180°C (standard baking). Place the Babkas in the oven and bake until they are dark brown and baked through, about 40 minutes; Check after 25 minutes and if they are getting too dark, tent them loosely with aluminum foil.
8. Meanwhile make the simple syrup: Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Turn off the heat and set aside the syrup to cool.
9. Brush with simple syrup: Remove the Babkas from the oven and, while they are still hot, brush the surface generously with the cold sugar syrup. The syrup makes the top of the Babkas shiny and beautiful and also locks in the moisture, so the cake doesn't dry out. You may not need to use all the syrup. Save any extra for sweetening ice coffee or tea. Use a paring knife to separate the Babkas from the pan edges and turn them out from the pan. Slice and serve warm or cool completely in the pan before unmolding and slicing.

• Servings : 10
• Ready in : 120 Minutes
• Course : Dessert and Snacks, Main courses
• Recipe Type : beef, Biscuits, Breakfast, Cakes, Pies and pastry, Dessert, recipes for spring, recipes for summer, recipes for winter
• Ingredient : Baker's yeast, Butter, Chocolate chips, Dry yest, Eggs, Flour, Milk, Sugar, Vanilla, шоколадов крем