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 The name “babka” comes from the Polish word babcia, meaning “grandmother,” since it was originally made by resourceful Jewish grandmothers using leftover challah dough.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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Made this dairy free: I replaced the butter with Miyoko’s Oat Milk Butter, replaced Nutella with Dark Choc Zero (a vegan chocolate-hazelnut spread), and used a bittersweet chocolate that had no milk products in it. Outstanding result! Texture and taste were excellent.
Hi Jen!
We have a family tradition of making babka in December. Can I triple the recipe as we have three families coming to do this together?
Thanks!
Hi Elaine, I think you could get away with tripling it but wouldn’t do more than that. If you multiply a recipe too many times, somehow things can get lost in translation. Hope everyone enjoys!
Hi Jenn
I love your recipes. Each one I try works out really well even when I do substitutions for my dietary needs. For this recipe can I use bought challah bread dough from the freezer section and follow the recipe? do I still use the 2nd rising or do I skip that part. Yeast and I do not get along! It knows I’m allergic to it and just won’t work. It worked once to make my first bread attempt. Since then nothing. A total no go. So I have to cheat and buy bread dough if I want bread or buns or anything with yeast.
cheers
Donna
Donna, so glad you like the recipes! The answers to your questions are yes and yes. 😊 Please LMK how it turns out!
I made this today using the cinnamon filling recipe from King Arthur baking that you suggested Jenn. It was delicious. Other than making crumpets, I have not done any yeast cooking and am surprised how easy this recipe is. Has given me confidence to do more.
I set my oven to 180 degrees, fan forced and after 30 mins it was looking a bit crusty so I tested it with a food thermometer and it was about 210 degrees. I removed it from the oven. The ends are a bit dryish but centre is moist. The babkha stuck a bit to a metal pan although I had greased it well so next time might line with baking paper. Overall, I am very happy with the results.
Is there a substitute for Nutella? I have a family member with a tree nut allergy?
Lois
Hi Lois, 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).
I had never heard of a babka before this. I figured if it’s Jenn’s recipe, it’s gotta be good. I was right. 🙂 This is wonderful! Thanks, Jenn, for yet another add to my repertoire!
Looking forward to making your recipe, but I have a few questions. One, can I prepare the Babka with the filling and placing it in the loaf pan the night before and then the next day Take it out of the refrigerator, leave it on the counter for a while and then bake it?
Secondly, instead of making a chocolate babka, can I change the filling to cinnamon raisin?
Hi Mary, the answer to your first question is yes. Regarding changing the filling to cinnamon raisin, You can still use the babka dough from this but find a recipe for the filling. I believe King Arthur flour may have one.
I really enjoy your recipes! am looking forward to making this. What do you suggest I use if I just want to have a chocolate filling with no Nutella?
So glad you like the recipes! If you don’t want to use Nuetlla, you can make your own chocolate filling in place of it and chopped chocolate, like the chocolate paste in this recipe> Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
I prepared this recipe exactly as written and it was phenomenal. Very easy to follow and execute. I prepared the dough yesterday, put it in the refrigerator, and made the loaf this morning. There is not a crumb to be found anywhere. It disappeared before my eyes and I have requests for more. Thank you for these amazing recipes you share with us. Love your cookbook too. It is a must have in my kitchen.
Hi Jenn! I LOVE this babka!! Question for you… I’m making the cinnamon swirl bread from your first book this weekend. Can I refrigerate that dough overnight after the first rise like I do for the babka?
Thank you!!
Hi Kate, So glad you like the babka! I’m obviously weighing in too late to help, but it would’ve been fine to refrigerate the dough overnight after the first rise. Hope it came out well. 😊
Thanks, Jenn! The cinnamon swirl bread turned out fantastic! Your recipes have made me somewhat obsessed with trying yeast breads! Never thought that was something I could do! Appreciate all your details and guidance!