Chocolate Babka
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This homemade babka is a showstopper—soft, sweet, and loaded with a rich chocolate filling, all wrapped up in a beautiful braided loaf. Perfect for special occasions or just because!
Babka is a braided yeast bread (or cake) that comes from Eastern Europe’s Jewish communities. Made with enriched dough like challah or brioche, it’s filled with sweet or savory fillings, rolled, twisted, and baked to perfection. The name “babka” comes from the Polish word babcia, meaning “grandmother,” since it was originally made by resourceful Jewish grandmothers using leftover challah dough.
Perhaps the most famous babka, after the one mentioned on Seinfeld, is sold at Breads Bakery in New York City. It’s outrageously good, and since it’s filled with Nutella instead of a homemade chocolate spread, it’s easy to make at home. I used their chocolate babka recipe as a starting point but swapped in my favorite brioche dough. Just a heads-up: the dough needs two rises and at least 3 hours in the fridge, so it’s best to start the process the day before.
“I prepared this recipe exactly as written and it was phenomenal…There is not a crumb to be found anywhere.”
What You’ll Need To Make Chocolate Babka
- Unsalted butter: Adds richness and flavor to the dough, keeping it soft and tender; also used to grease the pan.
- Water: Moistens the dough and helps dissolve the sugar and salt in the soaking syrup.
- Sugar: Feeds the yeast, sweetens the dough, and sweetens the syrup.
- Salt: Balances sweetness in both the dough and syrup.
- Rapid-rise/instant yeast: Leavens the dough; active dry yeast can be substituted, but the dough will take longer to rise.
- Eggs and egg yolk: Provide structure, moisture, and richness to the dough.
- All-purpose flour: Forms the base of the dough.
- Nutella (or other chocolate hazelnut spread): The base of the filling, adding creaminess and chocolate flavor.
- Bittersweet chocolate: Adds deep chocolate flavor to the filling; do not use chocolate chips as they don’t melt as well.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, warm water, sugar, salt, and yeast. Whisk to combine, then add the eggs and egg yolk and mix until smooth. Add the flour all at once and stir with a wooden spoon until everything is evenly mixed and the flour is absorbed. The dough will be wet, lumpy, and a bit elastic, but it will firm up in the fridge and smooth out when you knead it later.
Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 2 hours, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to three days.
On the day of baking, grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with butter. Remove the dough from the fridge, transfer it to a lightly floured surface, and knead for about 30 seconds. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a 14-inch square, about ⅛ inch thick.
Using an offset spatula, spread the Nutella over the dough, leaving a ½-inch border. Sprinkle the chocolate over the Nutella.
Starting with the side closest to you, roll the dough into a log.
Using a sharp knife, cut the log in half lengthwise. With the cut sides up, twist the strands together. Transfer the twisted dough to the prepared loaf pan. It’s a messy process, but don’t worry—it will still look great! Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let the babka rise at room temperature for about 90 minutes. It will puff up just a bit.
Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the babka is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer reads 190°F to 200°F in the center. While it’s baking, make the syrup by bringing water, sugar, and salt to a boil in a small saucepan. Once the babka is done, brush the sugar syrup over the top to give it a beautiful sheen and keep it moist.
Let cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes, then turn out and cool completely before slicing. Babka is best enjoyed within a few days. You can also freeze it for up to 1 month. Before serving, thaw at room temperature and reheat.
Want to experiment with different babka fillings? You can use cinnamon and sugar (plus nuts and raisins, if you like) for a warm, spiced twist, or even a fruit jam like raspberry or apricot for a sweet and tangy option.
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Chocolate Babka
Indulge in the ultimate homemade babka—flaky, buttery dough swirled with rich chocolate and baked until golden.
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled, plus more for greasing the pans
- ½ cup warm water
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1⅛ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon rapid-rise/instant yeast
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled off, plus more for kneading and rolling
For the Chocolate Filling
- ½ cup Nutella or other chocolate hazelnut spread, at room temperature
- 3 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (⅔ cup), best quality
For the Syrup
- ¼ cup water
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- Generous pinch salt
Instructions
- Make the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, warm water, sugar, salt, and yeast. Add the eggs and egg yolk and whisk until evenly combined. Add the flour all at once, and stir with a wooden spoon until uniform and all of the flour is absorbed. The dough will be wet, lumpy and somewhat elastic (it will firm up in the fridge and smooth out when you knead it later). Cover loosely with plastic wrap (be sure the bowl is completely covered but don't make it airtight) and let sit at room temperature for 2 hours, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to three days.
- On the day of baking, grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan generously with butter.
- Dust a clean work surface with flour. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, transfer it to the work surface, and dust it lightly with flour. Knead with your hands, sprinkling more flour as necessary so the dough doesn't stick, for 30 seconds. Roll out the dough into a 14-inch square, dusting more flour underneath and over the dough as necessary; it should be about ⅛ inch thick.
- Using an offset spatula, spread the Nutella over the dough, leaving a ½-inch border. Sprinkle the chocolate over the Nutella. Starting with the side closest to you, roll the dough tightly into a log; turn it vertically, so one end of the log is facing you, and place seam side down. Using a sharp serrated bread knife, cut the log in half lengthwise. Turn the cut sides up and twist the strands together, keeping the cut sides facing up. Transfer the twisted dough to the prepared loaf pan, tucking the ends under if necessary. (This is a messy process; just do your best – it will look pretty no matter how messy it is).
- Cover the babka loosely with plastic wrap (not airtight) and let sit at room temperature for 90 minutes. It will rise just a bit.
- Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position.
- Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the babka is a rich golden brown color. A toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the loaf should come out without any wet dough sticking to it (melted chocolate is okay). If you have an instant-read thermometer, it should read between 190°F to 200°F in the center of the loaf.
- Meanwhile, make the syrup: In a small saucepan, combine the water, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Place the pan with the baked babka on a rack. Immediately brush or drizzle the syrup over top. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out and cool completely before slicing.
- Babka is best enjoyed fresh on the day of baking, but it will keep wrapped in plastic wrap or in an airtight container for a few days.
- Freezing Instructions: Once the babka is completely cooled, wrap it in a few layers of plastic wrap, then in foil. Store it in the freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw the wrapped babka at room temperature. Before serving, warm the babka in a 325°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until warmed through.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (12 servings)
- Serving size: 1 slice
- Calories: 273
- Fat: 13 g
- Saturated fat: 9 g
- Carbohydrates: 34 g
- Sugar: 11 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Sodium: 162 mg
- Cholesterol: 67 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I made a loaf of this a few days ago and shocked even myself. It was so easy to do following Jen’s foolproof instructions. I thought I would never be a bread baker, but this recipe has me ready to venture out and try other types of yeast loaves!
You were right, no mixer required. Delicious. This one belongs in your cookbook. Thank you Jenn!!
Jenn! I have wanted to make a babka for a long time but was scared to try it since we live at 6700 elevation in CO. Had tried a number of your recipes in the past, all with great results, so figured I would give this one a go. It was a great success!! The only change I made was to use 3 whole eggs rather than 2 and 1 yolk as written to adjust for high altitude. Received rave reviews! Thanks for another stellar recipe!!
So delicious, and so easy, just time consuming. Thanks Jenn for always breaking it down in easy to follow steps!
If I wanted to make two, should I make each separately or is it okay to mix a doubled portion of the dough? Thanks.
Hi Stella, It’s perfectly fine to make a double portion of dough; instead of two egg yolks, you can just 1 whole egg. Hope you enjoy!
Looks great! Any chance I can use bread flour for the recipe? I have a lot of it…
Hi Sara, It should work. Please LMK how it turns out. 🙂
What an amazing recipe! The bread flour worked fine. I did add a little bit more water to make sure the dough was “wet” as you described it. It turned out fabulous! Thank you for the recipe!
Will Active Dry yeast do? Or should I go buy Instant/rapid rise.
Hi Lisa, Yes active dry yeast will work. I would just add it the warm water first and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes, or until foamy.
Can you use cinnamon sugar to make a cinnamon Babka with the same recipe? And what would you do
Hi Angela, I would use the cinnamon filling in this recipe. Hope that helps, and please LMK how it turns out if you try it.
I baked it today with the cinnamon filling that you suggested. The cake was wonderful. I would not use that cinnamon filling again a lot of it seeped out and it didn’t have enough cinnamon for me. I’m definitely going to try it with Nutella I’m sure I’ll like it better although it really was good…. So much better than anything I have reached recently found in the stores. it’s a great recipe I’ll definitely make it again
Just made a couple loaves of this today. Thanks for the great recipe! So easy to do (just time consuming waiting on dough to rise). It looks so fancy and I feel like a pro!
Yum, this looks amazing. Can’t wait to make it.
Jen, is there any way I can mix up the dough in my Kitchenaid using the dough hook? I don’t want to ruin the dough but am all about making life easier too.
Hi Ashley, You could use your mixer but I would use the paddle attachment; it’s a very wet dough. That said, the mixer really isn’t necessary – this dough is super easy to mix by hand. 🙂
Because of nut allergies, I was wondering what I could substitute for the Nutella?
Hi Amy, You could use a nut-free chocolate spread (unfortunately, I don’t know of a good one to recommend) or you could make your own chocolate filling in place of the Nutella and chopped chocolate, like the chocolate paste in this recipe (keep in mind you’d need less, as the linked recipe makes 2 loaves).
My son is allergic to peanuts and most tree nuts except for almonds. Trader Joe’s has a nice almond-based Nutella-like spread, and I’ve seen similar with sunflower seeds at Berkeley Bowl (similar to Whole Foods).