Chocolate Coconut Babka
I found a babka recipe in one of my cookbooks a few months ago and my life has never been the same. I’d never eaten one. Hell, I’d barely even heard of babka.
Babka: a sweet, braided bread originating from Jewish communities in Poland, Russia, and Ukraine.
We don’t have a large Jewish population in my portion of the Midwest so I didn’t grow up eating their delicacies, but for the last year or so I've been enjoying learning about the Jewish faith and diet, particularly.
And yes, this braided baby is a bit of a labor of love, but when it comes out of the oven – I feel like a true champion, every time. It’s beautiful. It smells beautiful. Tastes amazing! I know you’ll love making babka as much as I do, and I don’t even save it for a special occasion. Just follow the directions below (see photos, too!) and you should have no issues.
This version takes Jake Cohen’s babka dough and gets the chocolate coconut treatment like all things good and holy should.
This babka dough makes two loaves so I’ve had a lot of fun getting creative and coming up with different combinations. Sweet or savory, I haven’t had a bad one yet.
My suggestions for other fillings are: Nutella, chocolate & peanut butter, pesto, cream cheese & chive, and cookie butter & chocolate.
Feel free to half the filling recipe (not the dough recipe!) and do something different with the second loaf!
Chocolate Coconut Babka
Chocolate Coconut Babka
Ingredients
- 1 C. whole milk, warmed to 115 degrees
- 1/3 C. sugar
- 1 packet active dry yeast
- 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
- 4 eggs
- 5 C. flour + more for dusting surface
- grapeseed oil
- 1 block cream cheese, softened
- ½ C. powdered sugar
- ½ C. sweetened coconut, toasted
- ¼ C. mini chocolate chips
- ½ C. semisweet chocolate chips
- ½ T. coconut oil
Instructions
- To make the babka dough, add the warm milk and sugar to a stand mixer. Sprinkle the dry yeast on top and let stand for 10 minutes until it begins to foam.
- Turn the mixer to low, add melted butter and 3 eggs.
- Turn the mixer off and switch to the dough hook. Turn the mixer back on to the lowest speed and add the flour and salt.
- Knead until a smooth, elastic dough forms and all the dough has pulled away from the bowl, about 10 minutes. You don’t need to scrape down the bowl, it will pull all the dough away eventually.
- Grease a large bowl with the grapeseed oil, using your hands to coat the bowl well. Place the dough in the bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour. You can refrigerate the dough overnight as well.
- After the dough has rested, divide the dough into two halves. Leave one ball in the bowl, covered, while you work.
- Lightly flour your surface and rolling pin, roll out the dough into a rectangle about 12x14 inches.
- Mix the softened cream cheese and the powdered sugar. Gently spread onto the dough, leaving a one inch border. Sprinkle with the chocolate chips and half of the coconut.
- Tightly roll the dough into a tube starting with the piece closest to you. You can brush it with a little water if the dough is falling apart.
- Using a serrated knife, cut the tube of dough in half, lengthwise. Twist the top end together and tuck it under, then carefully take turns overlapping the two halves. Twist the bottom ends together and tuck them under, and place the babka in the prepared loaf pan and cover with a towel for the second rise. Let rise for an hour, or until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 350. Whisk an egg in a bowl and brush the loaf generously with the egg wash.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, and then let cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing and placing on a cooling rack.
