This is such a delicious bread! From the moistness of the dough to the rich chocolate filling.
I first saw pictures of this babka bread months ago when going through Pinterest. Can you believe that I had never actually heard of it before? I must have been living under a rock. All these years, I’ve been missing out on this amazing chocolate swirled bread! How could this be???
When I first saw it, I immediately knew that I would have to try this. It looked so pretty. The way the filling swirled through the bread. I’d never seen anything like it before.
After looking at many recipes, I decided to give it a go. I’m so glad I did. Since then, I’ve made many variations of the design, but this one it still my favorite…
Chocolate Babka Scented with Lemon Zest
Ingredients
- 1 package yeast
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 cups flour
- 6 tbsp softened butter
- zest of 1 lemon
Filling
- 2 ounces dark chocolate
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
Instructions
- Warm buttermilk in the microwave until slightly warm but not hot. Pour in a Kitchen aide bowl. Sprinkle yeast on top. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Add sugar, salt, vanilla, egg and zest. Attach dough hook and turn on the machine. Add the flour a cup at a time. After the flour is in, add the softened butter a tbsp at a time. Let the dough kneed for a few minutes. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight.
Filling
- lace dark chocolate in a microwave safe bowl with the butter. Microwave until melted. Add cocoa powder and powdered sugar and mix.
Assembly
- Take out dough from the refrigerator. Cut it in half on a cutting board. Save the over half. Roll out dough into a rectangle. Spread 1/2 of the chocolate mixture over the dough. Roll dough up lengthwise. Cut down the middle so that you have 2 halves. Twist each half together, and place in a bread pan. Let rise for an hour. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until browned. Cool on wire rack.
