It’s been almost two weeks since I last posted. Lest you think I was slacking off, please be assured that I have been hard at work perfecting the babkala for you. While this mashup is not quite as well known as the cronut, it is most assuredly very delicious. I do believe that making 8 loaves of babkala in 10 days, qualifies me as something of an expert on the subject. With each attempt, I tweaked the recipe just a bit to improve it. I had many eager taste testers to help me on my journey. I do believe that my UPS delivery man has a bit of a crush on me now.
A traditional babka is made with a brioche dough, which is essentially a sweet yeast dough enriched with butter and eggs. I decided to forgo the brioche dough and just used my regular challah dough instead. I rolled out the challah dough and blanketed it with a buttery brown sugar and cinnamon spread and dotted it with raisins. The dough was rolled up, sliced and then twisted into loaves.
While some consider a cinnamon babka to be the lesser babka, I respectfully disagree. But if you must, you could fill yours with chocolate. I won’t judge. This is not really meant to be a Friday night challah. It’s more of a breakfast or brunch treat for a Saturday or Sunday morning. Or even a Tuesday afternoon. I have sampled it almost every day of the week, and trust me when I say it’s always amazing.
Lesser babka? I think not! Looks delicious mom!
Thanks Jenna. Glad you enjoyed the Seinfeld reference. I’ll bake a babkala for you next time you come to visit! xoxoxo
Hi Cindy, this looks really great – my grandmother used to make babka, either a nut version or a poppy seed version but sadly no one in our family ever asked for the recipe or tried to make this. Your video makes the recipe look absolutely doable, especially the plaiting part, so I’m definitely going to try this!
Thanks Kiki. A poppyseed version would be really yummy! The plaiting is really easy. You basically just twist it. Making bread is something I find so theraputic. I always feel so accomplished whern it’s done. I have been delving into the world of food videography and it’s a whole different learning curve from still food photography. I love to learn new skills.
Can’t beat a babka. Video is great and it looks so good. I have to take an hour spin class just burn the calories from watching.
Thanks Lewis. I’ll have to bake one for you next time we get together.