Chocolate Almond Babka

Long time no chat! After isolating and getting tested, my boyfriend and I went to my parents house in Montana for two weeks to celebrate Thanksgiving. It was a nice relaxing trip, and now I’m back!

During the two weeks we were in Montana, we watched a LOT of Great British Bake Off. Which inspired a lot of baking. One of the “Technical Challenges” on the show was a chocolate babka, and it looked so good that we knew we had to try it.

I found the recipe they used on the show, but since the show is British all the measurements were by weight (in grams). Since we didn’t have a scale, I had to do the most math I’ve done in a long time. But don’t fear! I will handle the conversions for you so you can try this with a bit less stress.

We couldn’t find hazelnuts, which the OG recipe used, so we used almonds instead and it was delicious. This babka is definitely a decent bit of work and hands-on time, but it was a super fun way to spend a few hours, and turned out delicious! Definitely recommend trying this decadent chocolate babka with all your downtime at home! Makes a great breakfast or dessert with some coffee 🙂

Chocolate Almond Babka

Ingredients

• 65 g (about 2.5 oz) blanched almonds
• 100 g (about 7 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 150 g (about 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) granulated sugar
• 80 g (about 3 oz) 70% dark chocolate
• 40 g (about 3 tablespoons) cocoa powder

• 275 g (about 1 1/4 cups) flour
• 5 g (about 1 tsp) fast-action dried yeast
• 25 g (about 1 3/4 tbs) granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 50 ml (about 1/4 cup) whole milk
• 80 g (about 1/3 cup) butter, cubed and softened

• 100 g (about 7 tbs) granulated sugar
• Water

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 400°F
2. Make the filling: tip the almonds onto a baking sheet and roast in the bottom of the oven about 4-5 minutes, tossing occasionally until golden. Let cool, then roughly chop half the nuts, and finely chop the other half. Set aside.
3. Place the butter, sugar, and chocolate in a pan and melt slowly over low heat, stirring until smooth and combined. Remove from the heat and stir in the cocoa powder. Pour into a bowl and leave to cool and thicken slightly.
4. Meanwhile, make the dough. Tip the flour into a bowl. Add the yeast to one side, and the sugar and salt on the other.
5. Make a well in the center and pour in the eggs and milk. Mix by hand (or in a stand mixer with dough hook on low) for 2-3 minutes until firm.
6. Increase the speed to medium and add in the butter a little at a time. Mix well between each addition, allowing the butter to incorporate completely before adding more.
7. Once all the butter is added, continue kneading until the dough is smooth, sticky, and shiny.
8. Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the door to a 40 x 30 cm rectangle with a long edge toward you.
9. Spread the cooled chocolate mixture over the dough, leaving a 1 cm border around the edge. Sprinkle the almonds on top.
10. Starting from the edge closest to you, roll the dough into a tight spiral with the seam underneath.
11. Trim about 2 cm off each end to neaten, and turn the roll 90° so that a short end is closest to you. Using a large sharp knife or a pizza cutter, slice down the middle of the roll lengthwise, cutting into 2 long pieces.
12. Turn each piece so the cut sides are facing upwards. Gently press the top of each piece together to seal, then lift the right half over the left half, followed by the left half over the right half. Repeat, twisting the dough to make a two-stranded loaf, then press the bottom edges together.
13. Lift the loaf into a lined or sprayed loaf pan, cover with a clean tea towel, and let rise for 2 hours or until doubled in size.
14. Heat the oven to 375°. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350° and bake for 25-30 minutes longer, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
15. While the babka is baking, make the syrup. Add the 100 g of sugar to 100 ml (about 1/2 cup) of water in a small pan, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat and let simmer without stirring for about 5 minutes until syrupy. Let cool.
16. When the babka is ready, brush the cooled syrup over the hot babka. Leave in the pan until cool enough to handle, then remove from the an and let cool completely.