How to Make a Delicious Orange-Glazed, Chocolate Babka
 
 
A rich, decadent brioche bread/cake with a delicious chocolate filling that is infused with an orange simple syrup!
Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast/Brunch
Cuisine: Jewish & Eastern European
Serves: 2 loaves
Ingredients
  • For the Dough
  • 4¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 tsp. instant (or rapid rise) yeast
  • --- --- grated zest of an orange
  • 3 lrg. eggs
  • ½ cup water, lukewarm (and up to 1-2 TBSP. extra, if needed)
  • ¾ tsp. fine sea salt
  • ⅔ cup unsalted butter (5.3 oz.), room temperature
  • --- --- neutral oil, for greasing the pan

  • For the Filling
  • 4½ oz. dark chocolate, chopped
  • ½ cup unsalted butter
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • ⅓ cup cocoa powder
  • ¼ tsp espresso powder (optional)

  • For the Syrup
  • ⅓ cup water
  • 6 TBSP. sugar
  • 1 TBSP. orange zest
  • 1 TBSP. orange juice
Instructions
  1. Make the dough: Combine the flour, sugar, yeast and zest in the bottom of the bowl of a stand mixer. Add eggs and ½ cup water, mixing with the dough hook until it comes together (this may take a couple minutes). If it doesn’t come together, add a little extra water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough forms a mass. With the mixer on low, add the salt, then the butter, a spoonful at a time, mixing until it’s incorporated into the dough. Then, mix on medium speed for about 10 minutes until dough is completely smooth and it pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, add 1 tablespoon extra flour to help this along.
  2. First dough rest: Coat a large bowl with oil and place dough inside, cover with plastic and refrigerate. Leave in fridge for 2-3 hours, preferably overnight. The longer the dough rests, the easier it is to roll it out. The dough will not fully double, so don’t worry if it doesn’t look like it grew by more than half.
  3. Make the filling: Melt butter and chocolate together until smooth. Stir in powdered sugar and cocoa; the mixture should form a spreadable paste. Add cinnamon or espresso powder, if desired.
  4. Assemble loaves: Coat two 9” by 4” loaf pans with oil or butter, and line the bottom of each with a rectangle of parchment paper. Take half of dough from fridge (leave the other half chilled).
  5. Roll out on a well-floured counter to about a 10-inch width (the side closest to you) and as long in length (away from you) as you can when rolling it thin, about 12 inches.
  6. Form a roll: Spread half of chocolate mixture evenly over the dough, leaving a ½-inch border all around. Brush the end farthest away from you with water. Roll the dough up with the filling into a long, tight cigar. Seal the dampened end onto the log. Transfer the log to a lightly floured baking tray and put it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. This will make it much easier to cut cleanly in half. Repeat with second dough.
  7. Shape the dough: Gently cut the log in half, length wise, with a sharp knife and lay them next to each other on the counter, cut sides up. Lift one side over the next, forming a twist and trying to keep the cut sides facing out (because they’re pretty). Don’t worry if this step makes a mess, just transfer the twist as best as you can into the prepared loaf pan and nestle the trimmed ends of the log in the openings.
  8. Second dough rest: Cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise another 1 to 1½ hours at room temperature. Repeat process with second loaf.
  9. Bake: Preheat oven to 375°F. Place each loaf on the middle rack of your oven. Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the thickest part will feel almost no resistance. If you babka needs more time, cover it with foil and put it back in the oven for 5 more minutes, then re-test.
  10. Make the syrup: While cakes are baking, bring sugar and water to a simmer until sugar dissolves and thickens slightly. Remove from heat, add the orange zest and juice, and set aside to cool for a couple of minutes. As soon as the cakes are out of the oven, brush the orange syrup all over them. The syrup acts as a preservative and will make the cakes glossy and moist. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. With a serrated knife, cut it into slices and enjoy!
Notes
Babkas keep for a few days at room temperature. If you need to store them for longer, you can freeze them. They freeze and defrost really well.

The recipe makes two loaves. It is very easy to make only half the recipe in order to make only one loaf!
Recipe by Marilena's Kitchen at https://marilenaskitchen.com/how-to-make-a-delicious-orange-glazed-chocolate-babka/