Chocolate braid

Votes: 2

Time: 4 hours.
Complexity: average
Quantity: 2 braided buns

A chocolate babka is a twisted yeast dough roll with a chocolate filling, typically baked for special occasions like Christmas or Easter. It's time-consuming to make, but the result is worth it, as the roll is fluffy, soft, moist, and delicious, and the twisted layers look luxurious and delicious when cut. The filling is made from melted chocolate, cream, and butter, and before baking, it's topped with chocolate chips. Drizzle the finished chocolate babka with sugar syrup and let it soak. The result will exceed your humble expectations.

The recipes use measuring containers with the following volumes:
1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.

Ingredients for the recipe:

Dough

1 packet (7 g) of active dry yeast
0.5 cup whole milk, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar + a pinch
4.5 cups premium flour + extra for work
4 large eggs
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
0.5 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
145 g unsalted butter, room temperature

Filling

0.5 cups of sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
A pinch of salt
1 tbsp. dark chocolate granules
110 g unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces
2 tsp vanilla extract

Topping

0.5 cups premium flour
3 tablespoons of sugar
1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
A pinch of salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Syrup

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
Cooking spray

Ingredient Substitution Suggestions

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Recipes with similar ingredients: yeast dough, eggs, milk, cream, syrup, chocolate chips (granules), cocoa, dark chocolate, nutmeg, lemon zest

Cooking the dish according to the recipe:

Knead the dough: Pour the milk into a liquid measuring cup and sprinkle in the yeast; add a pinch of sugar and set aside until foamy, about 7 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, remaining 1/3 cup sugar, eggs, yeast, salt, vanilla extract, nutmeg, and lemon zest. Stir with a wooden spoon and knead into a dough.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead until soft and smooth, about 5 minutes. Beat in the butter in three additions, sprinkling the dough with flour if it's too sticky. Transfer the dough to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature for about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Place the yeast dough in the refrigerator.

Punch down the dough, cover it again with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Prepare the fillingCombine sugar, heavy cream, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour into a bowl with dark chocolate chips, butter, and vanilla extract. Stir until smooth and glossy. Let cool to room temperature.

Prepare the toppingIn a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt; fold in the butter with your fingers until the mixture is crumbly and has chunks of butter. Stir in the mini chocolate chips; set the topping aside.

Form the rollsCut the dough in half. Roll each half out with a rolling pin into a 30x40 cm rectangle.

Using a spatula, spread the filling over both layers of dough right to the edges.

Roll each rectangle along the long side into a tight roll. Wrap each roll in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Unroll the rolls; cut each one in half lengthwise.

Twist the halves together several times, starting from the middle.

Spray two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans with cooking spray and line with parchment paper, then spray the parchment paper with shortening. Place a strand of dough into each pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Bake babkaPreheat oven to 175°C. Brush each roll with butter and sprinkle with topping.
Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the simple syrup.Combine sugar and water in a saucepan; cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Let cool. Remove the rolls from the oven and immediately pierce each one in several places with a wooden skewer. Evenly pour 1 1/4 cups of sugar syrup over each roll.
Let it sit for 10 minutes, then remove the babka from the pan, remove the parchment and let it cool completely on a wire rack.