Chocolate Babka
This chocolate babka is rich and decadent, loaded with a buttery chocolate filling and topped with delicious streusel. Perfect for celebrations and extra-special breakfasts! If you only know babka through Seinfeld references or have been intimidated to try making them at home, now is the perfect opportunity to church out a couple for the upcoming holiday season.
Welcome to the December Bake-Along! This month we’re going to tackle an incredibly decadent, totally-worthy-of-the-holidays, chocolate-laced sweet bread.
I first shared the original version of this recipe nearly 10 years ago (!) and have revived it, updated it, polished it up, have tons of step-by-step photos and a video to help you through this amazing recipe. In the interim, I’ve tried many other chocolate babka recipes and I’ve found that they all came up short compared to this one, so let’s dig in!
All of those years ago, I couldn’t get the chocolate babka out of my head after seeing it in my Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook countless times. I hesitated time and again, then finally tackled it and was absolutely in love! However, the recipe made three loaves and I, like so many other people, only owned two loaf pans. The logistics of making all three wasn’t easy, and I wanted to scale it down to make it a more feasible recipe for most people’s kitchens.
First Things First, What is Babka?
For years, my knowledge of babka came solely from an iconic Seinfeld episode during which Jerry and Elaine were attempting to buy a babka to bring to a dinner party. They wanted the chocolate babka, but someone else bought the last one, so they were stuck buying a cinnamon babka, a “lesser babka”, so they said. (Incidentally, I’ve made a cinnamon babka and, while different and not as rich, is certainly not lesser! And while we’re at it, I’ve also done an apricot cream cheese babka, which is fantastic.)
Babka (sometimes also called “krantz cake”) is a traditional Jewish sweet bread with fillings that can include things such as:
- Chocolate
- Cinnamon
- Nuts
- Apples
- Cream cheese
- Dried fruit
- Nutella
It is swirled and twisted, sometimes topped with sugar syrup and sometimes topped with streusel, and absolutely melts in your mouth. I omit the sugar syrup and run with the streusel instead!
Chocolate Babka Components
There is zero shortage of chocolate, eggs, butter, and sugar in this recipe. Let’s embrace the deliciousness and celebration-worthiness and enjoy it this month!
- Sweet Dough – The recipe starts with a fabulous dough that includes sugar, eggs, and butter for the ultimate in richness.
- Chocolate Filling – Finely chopped chocolate is mixed with cinnamon, sugar, and then butter is cut in to make a chocolate crumble of sorts that melts beautifully into swirls in the finished bread.
- Streusel Topping – Not every recipe I’ve tried includes this, but I find it to be a must! It’s a simple combination of powdered sugar, flour, and butter and adds a buttery crunch to the top that I adore.
Shaping the Babka
This was one of the biggest hiccups folks had with the original recipe; I’ve streamlined the instructions to help make it more clear and have included tons of photos below and a video to help you along. Once you see it done, I think you’ll have the confidence to know it’s not that hard at all. All of those twists and turns help tuck tons of chocolate into each and every bite!
Let’s take a look >>
#1: Roll the dough out into a square and top with the chocolate filling.
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#2: Roll the dough up into a log, twist it lengthwise a number of times, and sprinkle some reserved chocolate filling on top.
#3: Fold the dough in half into a horseshoe shape, then twist the right side over the left to make a figure eight, give it two good twists, and nestle it into the loaf pan.
#4: Finally, sprinkle the streusel on top and get ready to bake!
Recipe Success Tips
A run-down of all the things you need to know about ingredients, equipment, alternative mixing, storing and freezing:
- Freezing Instructions – Unbaked: The babka can be frozen in the pan for up to 1 month before baking. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and then in foil. When ready to bake, remove from freezer; let stand at room temperature for about five hours before baking as directed.
- Freezing Instructions – Baked: Once baked and completely cooled, the babka can be wrapped in plastic wrap, then foil, and placed in a zipper freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature before serving. You could also slice the loaf and freeze the slices individually.
- Milk: I use whole milk because I like the higher fat content for baking recipes, but you can get away with 2% here, as well.
- Yeast: Instant yeast is sometimes also referred to as bread machine yeast or rapid rise yeast. If you use active dry yeast, please be aware that your rise times will be longer.
- Thermometer: If you want to use a thermometer to check the temperature of the milk or the finished bread (which is not necessary, but incredibly helpful), I swear by my Thermapen MK4 instant-read digital thermometer.
- Chocolate: I recommend using baking bars that you chop finely for this recipe, as opposed to chocolate chips, which will hold their shape and not melt down as much as chopped chocolate. I like Ghiradelli and Guittard brands. You can substitute bittersweet chocolate if you’d like, but I would not use milk chocolate, as it would be too sweet here.
- Cinnamon: It might be strange to see this much cinnamon mixed in with chocolate, but it is not pronounced and it totally elevates the flavor of the filling. I highly recommend leaving it in!
- Loaf Pans: I use Williams-Sonoma Goldtouch loaf pans (the 1-pound pans for this particular recipe).
- To Make By Hand: If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can still make babka! Mix the dough together as directed, using a wooden spoon, then knead by hand on a floured surface until the dough is smooth and slightly tackly, then proceed with the rest of the recipe.
- The Original Recipe: If you are interested in the original recipe that yielded 3 loaves, you can find those measurements here.
Watch How to Make Chocolate Babka:
Chocolate Babka
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 1 cup (240 ml) warm milk, warmed to 110°F
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
- ½ cup (99 g) granulated sugar
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- 4 cups (480 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup (151 g) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, room temperature
For the Chocolate Filling
- 24 ounces semisweet chocolate, very finely chopped
- ⅔ cup (132 g) granulated sugar
- 1½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
For the Egg Wash
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
For Streusel Topping
- 1 cup (113 g) powdered sugar
- ¾ cup (90 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
Instructions
Make the Dough
- In a 4-cup measuring cup or medium bowl, stir together the milk and yeast and let sit for 5 minutes. Then, whisk in the sugar, egg, and egg yolk.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, add the flour and salt. Mix on low speed to combine, about 1 minute. Add the yeast mixture and mix until most of the flour has been incorporated, about 1 minute.
- Add the butter a few chunks at a time and knead until the dough forms a soft, smooth dough that is just slightly sticky when squeezed together, about 5 to 10 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead just a few times until the dough is smooth, then place in a greased bowl, turning to coat the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free spot to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Make the Chocolate Filling
- In a large bowl, stir together the chopped chocolate, sugar, and cinnamon. Add the butter and, using a pastry blender or a fork, cut the butter into the mixture until completely combined.
Make the Egg Wash
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and heavy cream.
Assemble the Babka
- Grease two 9×5-inch loaf pans with butter, then line with parchment paper; set aside. Gently punch down the dough, then turn out to a clean work surface and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
- Divide the dough in half and keep the half you are not working with covered with plastic wrap.
- On a well-floured surface, roll the dough into a 16-inch square. Crumble half of the filling over the surface of the dough, reserving 2 tablespoons of the filling, and leaving a ½-inch border around the edges of the dough.
- Brush the egg wash around the border of the dough. Starting at one side, roll the dough up tightly into a log, pinching the ends together to seal. Holding one end of the dough in each hand, twist the dough lengthwise five or six times.
- Brush the top of the log with the egg wash, then carefully sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of filling over the top of the log, pressing it into the egg wash. If any falls off the sides, pick it up and press it into the top.
- Fold the dough in half into a horseshoe shape, then cross the right half over the left half. Pinch the ends together to seal and form a figure eight. Holding one end of the dough in each hand, twist the dough two more times, then nestle it into the prepared loaf pan.
- Repeat steps #9 through #12 with the second half of dough.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with rack in lower third of oven.
Make the Streusel Topping
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and flour. Using a pastry blender or fork, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with larger chunks throughout.
- Brush the top of each loaf with the egg wash and sprinkle each loaf evenly with half of the streusel topping. Cover the loaves loosely with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free spot until the dough has expanded and puffed a bit, about 30 minutes.
Bake the Babkas
- Bake the loaves, rotating halfway through, until a light golden brown, about 55 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F and continue baking until deep golden brown and a digital instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the loaves registers 190 degrees F, about 15 to 30 more minutes. Transfer the pans to wire racks to cool completely. The loaves should be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions – Unbaked: The babka can be frozen in the pan for up to 1 month before baking. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and then in foil. When ready to bake, remove from freezer; let stand at room temperature for about five hours before baking as directed.
- Freezing Instructions – Baked: Once baked and completely cooled, the babka can be wrapped in plastic wrap, then foil, and placed in a zipper freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature before serving. You could also slice the loaf and freeze the slices individually.
- Milk: I use whole milk because I like the higher fat content for baking recipes, but you can get away with 2% here, as well.
- Yeast: Instant yeast is sometimes also referred to as bread machine yeast or rapid rise yeast. If you use active dry yeast, please be aware that your rise times will be longer.
- Thermometer: If you want to use a thermometer to check the temperature of the milk or the finished bread (which is not necessary, but incredibly helpful), I swear by my Thermapen MK4 instant-read digital thermometer.
- Chocolate: I recommend using baking bars that you chop finely for this recipe, as opposed to chocolate chips, which will hold their shape and not melt down as much as chopped chocolate. I like Ghiradelli and Guittard brands. You can substitute bittersweet chocolate if you’d like, but I would not use milk chocolate, as it would be too sweet here.
- Cinnamon: It might be strange to see this much cinnamon mixed in with chocolate, but it is not pronounced and it totally elevates the flavor of the filling. I highly recommend leaving it in!
- Loaf Pans: I use Williams-Sonoma Goldtouch loaf pans (the 1-pound pans for this particular recipe).
- To Make By Hand: If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can still make babka! Mix the dough together as directed, using a wooden spoon, then knead by hand on a floured surface until the dough is smooth and slightly tackly, then proceed with the rest of the recipe.
- The Original Recipe: If you are interested in the original recipe that yielded 3 loaves, you can find those measurements here.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Recipe slightly adapted from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook.
Update Notes: This recipe was originally published in January 2010. It was updated in December 2019 with a recipe formulated for two loaves instead of three, new photos, a recipe video, and extra success tips.
[photos by Ari of Well Seasoned]
Olá Sou do Brasil, estou adorando suas receitas. Muito Obrigada.
i always eye babkas but feel they are not fresh so when I saw this recipe I thought to try it. It is hands down wonderful. A lot of work but worth it.
I have never hated baking anything quite as much as this. (Apple Strudle was worse.) I’ve had my eye in this for years. OMG. This was soo time consuming, and if you hadn’t posted pictures of the actual process, I would have thrown this against the wall. This bread/cake is exhausting. It makes 2 huge loaves. My kids LOVE it and I gave one to my neighbor. It’s yummy, but the effort is real.
Made several loaves of this chocolate babka as Christmas gifts, then tried another variation with a two-part filling. Made jam with black currants and blueberries – just berries and sugar cooked down to jam consistency – and spread that on rolled out dough. Made a white chocolate ganache, with some added butter and cinnamon, and spread that over the jam (12 oz white choc, 1/2 cup butter, 1 Tbsp cinnamon, 2/3 cup heavy cream heated and poured over, stirred smooth). This flavor combo came out very nicely, and it gets better after a couple of days; the flavors meld together and permeate the bread. Yum!
Hi! This may indeed be above my skill level! I have a mixer but it doesn’t have the
Hello darling Michelle!
I have made babka following your recipe half of dozen of times but when I wanted to make it again today (12/9/2020) I noticed that it is not the same recipe nor the outcome, shape, nothing. What happened to your initial chocolate babka wreath recipe? Do you know that the picture on the Pinterest shows the previous picture (a wreath) but link leads here to this loaf babka. I beg you to return the recipe of wreath babka, or add it in your index, please! I love so many of your recipes but this, it is out of this world delicious!
I’m in the same boat! I have used her babka wreath recipe for years and now I’m going to have to franken recipe it from other sources. Hopefully she will return the recipe to the line up!
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/chocolate-babka-wreath-recipe
I’ve made this once before and LOVED it. I’m a chocoholic but plan on using a little less next time. I would like to make the dough the day before then bake it the next morning so it’s warm for breakfast. Any times for overnight proofing? At what point should I stick it in the fridge overnight?
Thanks
Saw choc babka online years ago, but never had the time/umph to make it. Finally got over that hump. After researching MANY recipes/methods, I settled on this one…although I have to confess to tweaking it here and there, just because I always do. And complicated my life by trying both the chocolate AND cream cheese versions – yes, first time experiment. Not an apricot lover, so I used blueberries – I thought! Turned out they were black currants; that’s a very strong, tart taste; found the blueberries and toned the currants down! My only tweak to the dough was using an extra egg; it came together beautifully in the stand mixer, just requires patience to wait till it’s cohesive and not sticking to the bowl. After that things went west a bit and I had to refrigerate the dough (after the first rise) for well over 48 hours, and it was in and out once during that time. Looked it up online and decided it was okay to go ahead anyway…wondering if I was wasting my good fillings! Really wanted mega swirls in my loaves, so I rolled my dough very thin (about 24 x 14 per loaf) and the chilled dough definitely made that easier. Had to let it rest partway through rolling so it wouldn’t keep retracting (covered with barely damp paper towel to prevent it drying out). I did tweak the chocolate filling because I wanted a paste to spread out, and I wanted the filling to stay pliable in the baked loaf. Had to use 8 oz semi-sweet choc , 4 oz milk choc chips (what I had), added 2-3 Tbsp cocoa to punch up the choc flavor, reduced the sugar because I don’t like things too sweet. Melted the butter, poured it over the chocolate/sugar/cocoa/cinnamon. Was very stiff when cooled, so I decided on a modified ganache; reheated it gently over hot water, then heated 3/4 cup heavy cream and stirred that in…yum! Also added a cup of finely chopped toasted hazelnuts. Cooled it to spreading consistency; worked very well. Saved some to spread on top of the twisted loaf. My loaves took over 90 minutes to rise in the pan; baked at 350F around 75 minutes (and they rise very nicely in the oven). I overbaked the cream cheese loaf because I was waiting for the crust to get firm like a regular loaf; internal temp 200F when I took it out. Took the chocolate one out at 190F, which was perfect. The overbake didn’t really hurt the cream cheese loaf, only the heels got a bit hard. Both are nice, but I really like the chocolate babka best – it’s chocolate, right!? After all the hiccups I was very happy with my first try results – oodles of lovely swirls, and the streusel topping prevented the chocolate on top of the loaf from drying out. The BEST thing is that this babka is NOT too sweet! Just right. You can taste the flavors and not feel like you’ve had a huge sugar fix; perfect for dipping in a mug of hot creamy coffee. 😋 My conclusion? Next time will be a lot quicker! I think this is a hard recipe to ruin if you follow the instructions and use your thermometer to check doneness.
Great recipe! Baking it for the second time and I am very pleased with the results. Even though I used the fast rise yeast, still needed to raise an extra hour. I will be freezing one of the two loaves currently in the oven.
I want to save half the dough for another time. How well does the dough freeze/thaw on its own without assembling the babka and then freezing?
Hi Jen, I haven’t saved the dough, just frozen the baked loaf, but I’ve frozen other dough similar and it’s been fine! Wrap well in plastic wrap, but in a ziploc freezer bag, then thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
well, my first loaf of honey wheat bread was lovely going into the oven, put it in the oven cooked until 190F brought it out left it alone to cool, cut into it 2 hrs later. It was gummy, heavy and looked like a hockey puck. 2nd loaf I did it all by hand followed your instruction exactly, it didn’t even rise. I will wait till it is warmer in my kitchen. Unless you have a recipe for oatmeal bread with no whole wheat flour. I could possibly make that work. I should warn you all of my whole wheat breads that I have made through the years could be hockey pucks, I would have to trim them of course.
Stuck at home social distancing and I can’t run out for hamburger rolls so I’m considering converting this dough to make buns with…
Mine is in the oven!! Can’t wait to try it.
My home smells amazing! I just made a batch and waiting while it cools. Was the streusel topping supposed to have 3/4 cups of flour? I found I had so much left over.
Hi Linda, Yes that’s correct!
Is 1 packet of yeast 1 Tablespoon? My local stores are sold out of everything but the little packets. I’m wondering how many of these little packets I need to make this recipe 3 times.
I’ve never had babka of any kind. I’ll have to try it.
Have you ever used a food processor to chop up the chocolate, or do you always do it by hand?
I did use my food processor to blend the sugar and chocolate. Just pulsed very carefully and it worked like a charm!
Thanks!
I chop by hand, but I have used my food processor to break up chocolate chips!
I made this and used Nutella for the inside instead of chocolate. After I baked it and tasted it I thought that chopped pecans would taste amazing with it too! This bread is on the dryer side though.
Made this yesterday for the first time ever and it was a success and so delicious!!! I generally fall short on baking anything with yeast and was very impressed. Your photos were helpful and the step by step process was very clear as well. I will definitely be adding this to my annual Christmas goodies list. Thank you so much!
This is my first time on your web site. I plan on enjoying your recipes as of today.
Hi do you get Great British Bake off on tv over there. They do something similar a few seasons ago.
If you’ve never watched it give it a go.
Any chance it would be possible to make this egg free by using an egg replacer (such as Bob’s Red Mill brand, if anyone has experience?). I LOVE chocolate babka and I’ve been looking for a special Christmas morning treat for my family, but my son has an egg allergy. Hopefully he’ll grow out of it someday but until then do you think an egg sub would work?
P.S. It’s my first time commenting but definitely not my first time here- you make some amazing things! Thanks so much for your beautiful and helpful site!
Hi Abby, Since we aren’t using many eggs here, I think an egg substitute would work fine. There is a post on King Arthur Flour about combining flax seed and water (https://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2015/07/12/make-homemade-egg-replacer), and I’ve never tried a commercial egg replacer, but I think it might work. Keep us posted on what you use and how it turns out!
I was on Michelle’s browneyedbaker.com for some years. I have not received this email for some days – not knowing what was happening. I re-signed on this site which said to get back to my email to see it was done and I should sign it and send it back. Nothing at all to my email from my re selling up. Why have I not gotten an email saying I was signed up???
dberde@hotmail.com
Hi Deedie, I just checked and you are confirmed on the email list. Have you ever checked to make sure the email hasn’t been sent to spam for some reason? I would add “michelle@browneyedbaker.com” to your contacts to be sure you receive them. I’m sorry for the inconvenience!
This is awesome! It totally reminds me of Seinfeld!
I am SOOOOO excited about this recipe. We always pick up a loaf of chocolate babka when we see it at Enrico Biscotti in the strip and have been wanting to try my hand at making it. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Yesssss can’t wait for you to make it!
This looks so yummy! I have the worst luck with yeast so I’m always a little afraid to try recipes that call for it. Do you recommend a certain type of yeast? Or thermometer to make sure it’s the right temperature?
Hi Jana, You can do it! :) I use either Fleishmann’s or Red Star and like both, just be sure to get the instant. As for a thermometer, I swear by my Thermapen for everything! >> Thermapen MK4
hi Michelle,
I’m a huge fan of your site… huge!
I have a question about the Babkas… ive been baking them for a while now, and i keep having the same issue and hopefully you can help. A lot of them end up “caving” in when they cool off… and when i cut them open to investigate, there are huge air pockets / holes in the center. So it never looks right.
Any tips on what i might be doing wrong?
thank you!
deb :)
Hi Deb, I’ve had that happen occasionally when making filled breads; I think it has to do with how the filling adheres to the bread sometimes.
Oftentimes air pockets are due to not kneading sufficiently, try setting a timer to ensure you do it for enough time.
I made this the other day for Easter and it’s fantastic! I’ve never made bread before (or done much baking from scratch) but it wasn’t that difficult. I chose not to do the streusel topping since I don’t think it really needs it.
Do you prefer your chocolate or cinnamon babka?
Hi Sara, I love both! Chocolate babka definitely feels more like dessert, while the cinnamon I’ll eat for breakfast or a snack (or dessert, too!).
Just finished letting this cool..its delish! I made your cinnamon babka last weekend for my husband to bring to work. It was gone within 15 minutes and after unrelenting requests for more all week I decided to tackle this version… I must say I like this one more! I halved the recipe and made one giant loaf.. that should last 30 minutes (hopefully!). I love your site, thank you for all the wonderful recipes!! Cant wait to try the apricot cream cheese babka next. Cheers!!!