Chocolate and Cinnamon Babka Wreath
Forward by Angie Ma / recipe adapted by Angie Ma / photography lottie lifestyle
Babka is a sweet butter brioche-like braided bread that originates from the Jewish community in Poland and Ukraine. This version, filled with chocolate and cinnamon is perfect for the festive period - not only is it absolutely delicious but it looks beautiful too. The eggs and high butter content make the bread rich and decadent and the sugar syrup moistens and preserves the freshness.
I won’t lie, this recipe takes a bit of effort to make. You need to prep the dough the day before and it is best to use a kitchen mixer to mix in the butter. But oh...wow, it is so worth it. Best enjoyed with a cup of strong coffee with friends or with the kids who absolutely adore this too. My 3 year old tells me it is ‘superman dee-licious’.
Making buttery treats can be a challenge in Singapore as the heat and humidity melts butter quickly. So I’ve added some extra tips to make sure you are rewarded with a beautiful layered babka wreath.
Makes one super large bread wreath for 12-16 people to enjoy.
Ingredients:
4 ½ cups of all purpose flour (no need for bread four)
½ cup of caster sugar
2 teaspoons of instant active yeast (must be instant active yeast)
Grated of 1 orange and 1 lemon
3 large eggs
½ cup water
150g of chilled butter at room temp cut into cubes
For Filling:
¾ cup of unsalted butter room temperature
¾ cup of packed brown sugar
5 tsp cinnamon
4 tsp good quality dark cocoa
½ tsp salt
1 beaten egg (for egg wash)
For syrup:
⅓ cup water
⅓ cup of caster sugar
1 cinnamon stick
Method:
Add flour, sugar, instant yeast, zest into a kitchen mixer bowl and mix on low speed with a dough hook to combine.
Add 1 egg one at a time and mix on low speed. Then add water and mix. Don’t worry it will be quite dry and raggedy at this stage.
On slow speed, add salt and then a few room temperature butter cubes at a time until all the butter is incorporated. It will be a very sticky dough at this stage.
On medium speed mix for about 10 min or until dough becomes glossy and the dough pulls away from the sides into a lump.
Knead slightly on lightly floured surface and put in a well oiled bowl and cover well with cling wrap and place in the fridge overnight to let it slowly rise.
To make the cinnamon paste, mix on medium speed the butter, sugar, cinnamon, cocoa, and salt until fluffy and smooth about 5 mins. Then cover and place in the fridge overnight.
The next day, pre-cool the kitchen with air con to about 20C degrees so the butter dough doesn’t become too soft to work with.
Take out the cinnamon butter paste and bring to room temp, just enough so you can spread it. Roll the dough about into a large 35 x 55 cm rectangle on a lightly floured surface or on a silicone baking mat.
Spread the cinnamon butter paste evenly leaving a 2cm border on each side.
Roll the long side tightly into a log, working slowly and carefully. By rolling it tightly you will get more rolls and more beautiful cinnamon layers.
Brush the furthest end with a little egg wash and seal by pinching the seam along the whole way and resting the log on the seam underneath.
Put the log into the fridge for about 30 mins to help define the layers which will make it easier to cut. I only do this in Singapore because of the heat.
Bring the dough out and use a sharp knife or flat edge of a bread scraper to cut into the log longways in the middle. Leave the top 2cm uncut and slowly and carefully cut the log lengthwise all the way to the bottom so each side is even. You will end up with two thick dough strands.
Open up the layers by turning outwards, you should see some beautiful dough, dark brown cinnamon layers.
Now plait the two long sides tightly by placing one on top of the other. Seal the ends together with a bit of egg wash and pinch the two ends together. Then carefully lift onto a large baking tray with baking paper and seal the two ends with a little egg wash and pinching together. Put a well greased ramekin or bowl snuggly in the middle so when the bread rises and bakes, there will be a nice hole in the middle.
Leave loosely covered with cling film (don’t leave any parts exposed as it will dry out) and let rise in a draft free area until doubled. In Singapore this takes about 45-60 mins. In London it would take 1-2 hours. You know it’s ready when you touch it slightly and at spring back a little.
Preheat oven to 180C
Brush with egg wash and bake 25-30 in the bottom ⅓ part of the oven. This is important as the middle or top part of the oven will burn the babka.
Whilst baking, make the syrup by bringing to boil the sugar, water and cinnamon stick. Then reduce until a thin syrup on medium heat for about 5 mins.
To test if the babka is ready, stick a wooden skewer in and if it comes out clean, it is ready. If it comes out sticky, it needs more time. If the top is looking very brown, cover with a large piece of baking paper whilst the rest finishes cooking.
When it comes out of the oven, brush immediately with all the syrup. It will add a nice gloss, keep the bread moist and preserve it longer.
Enjoy warm with a strong coffee. You can also give it as a gift with pretty ribbon tied at the top. Or freeze once cooled and enjoy later by just warming in the oven at 150-160C.
Angie Ma
I am pleased to welcome Angie Ma from Once Upon A Secret Supper as a food contributor to Lottie Lifestyle. Angie is part brand strategist, part food curator of secret dining happenings and part food geek. She is the Founder and Chef of Once Upon A Secret Supper, a secret dining society in Hong Kong, Melbourne and Singapore that hosts creatively themed pop-up dinners for the foodie community. www.onceuponasecretsupper.com / @once.upon.a.secret.supper