Cinnamon, Cardamom, Chocolate, and Orange Babka

Welcome back, as always. Today, I am sharing my recent bake- cinnamon, cardamom, chocolate, and orange babka. It fulfills the chocolate loaf signature challenge from Series 7, Episode 3 of The Great British Bake Off. 

What is babka? The word babka technically refers to a sweet yeast cake, but in the Jewish tradition, is specifically filled and twisted into a loaf shape. It is something of an alternative form of a rugelach, and is usually filled with either a chocolate or a cinnamon filling. Mass produced chocolate babka is readily available (Trader Joe's has an awesome chocolate babka), but the addition of orange and spices gives my recipe a unique flair. The cake ends up just sweet enough, making it a perfect accompaniment to tea.

Babka looks difficult to bake, but it is not really hard... it just takes patience. Unlike most cakes, babka needs time to rise. Like most breads, it needs two rises, but as an enriched dough, the rising time takes longer than a typical loaf. Furthermore, the flaky layered design looks intricately difficult to reproduce; in reality, it is created by just a couple of twists.

Like bread, the main components of babka include flour, yeast, salt, sugar, and water. However, as an enriched dough, I also added orange juice, butter, eggs, more sugar, and spices. Like bread dough, the babka dough needed to be thoroughly kneaded before the first rise. The first rise can either occur overnight in the refrigerator or in a warm place for 2-3 hours. If taking the quicker approach, the dough is better worked if refrigerated 15-20 minutes after rising.

After the dough rises the first time, the dough is rolled out and the filling is made. The dough should be rolled out into a long, rectangular, thin sheet. I found it impossible to truly make it a rectangle, so I cut off the edges to form a rectangle. The remaining scraps and any leftover filling can be put together to make a few rugelach for personal consumption.

Once the filling is spread onto the dough, the dough is rolled up and sealed. It can then be cut into sections as long as the loaf pan you plan to bake in. Then comes the key to making the babka look beautiful (as opposed to a pan of weird-looking dough logs): cutting each log in half. The half-dough logs can then be spiraled or braided, filling side up, to create a beautiful pattern. The babka should then be placed in a loaf tin for the second rise. Then comes the baking time!

While the babka bakes, you should make a sugar syrup glaze. The glaze makes the top of the babka look shiny, gives extra flavor and crunch, and enables further garnishing (chocolate chips or chocolate shavings) to stick to the top of the babka. The glaze should be applied to the babka as soon as it comes out of the oven.

The babka turned out very well. It keeps well at room temperature, and keeps even longer in the fridge (although one should microwave refrigerated babka slices 10-15 seconds to soften them before eating). The resulting babka was beautiful and well-received at a get-together at my grandmother's house. Even my Dad- who would tell me if he thought it was the worst thing ever- told me it was very good.

Next week, I will share my recipe for the Orange French Silk Tart for Series 6, Episode 9's Chocolate Tart signature challenge. I made it for my Pi Day party, and am currently in the process of making another one to share with all of you, dear readers.

Cinnamon, Cardamom, Chocolate, and Orange Babka

Ingredients

For the orange sugar:
juice of 1 orange
zest of 4 oranges
4 C granulated sugar

For the dough:
2 1/4 C all purpose flour
2 C white bread flour
1/2 C + 1 tbsp orange sugar, divided
1 .25oz pack rapid rise yeast
1 .25oz pack fast acting yeast
zest of 1 orange
juice of 2 oranges (or 1/2 C)
3 large eggs
cold water, as needed
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cardamom, ground
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground
2/3 C unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature.

For the filling:
4 1/2 oz semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 C (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground
1/4 tsp cardamom, ground
1/2 C orange sugar
1/3 C cocoa powder

For the syrup:
1/2 C orange sugar
1/4 C water or juice of 1 orange (recommended)

Instructions

1. To make the orange sugar, combine granulated sugar, orange juice, and orange zest until well mixed. Let sit at least 1 hour before using.
2. To form the dough, first heat the orange juice until warm. Combine the juice, 1 tbsp orange sugar, yeast, and orange zest in a mixing bowl. Stir and leave 5-10 minutes, until bubbly. While mixing with a dough hook, add eggs, remaining sugar, all purpose flour, white bread flour, salt, cardamom, and cinnamon until the dough comes together to form a ball. If necessary, add cold water, one tablespoon at a time, until the ball forms. Then add in the butter in chunks until fully incorporated.
3. Knead the bread dough either by hand or by stand mixer using the bread hook until the dough springs back from touch. Lightly grease a bowl, place dough in the bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise either in the refrigerator overnight or 2-3 hours in a warm place.
4. After letting the dough rise, punch it down. Grease and line 1-2 loaf tins, depending on how tall you want your babka.
5. Make the filling by melting semisweet chocolate chips together with the butter until smooth, either in a microwave or in a double boiler. Be careful not to overcook. Then add cinnamon, cardamom, orange sugar, and cocoa powder, and mix until smooth.
6. Roll out dough to form a long rectangle, about 1/8" (2 mm) thick. If not a near-perfect rectangle, cut the edges of the dough straight. Make sure the dough is spread before you so it is longer to the sides, and thinner front to back (see photo above). Spread filling on top of the dough, leaving 1/2" (5 mm) gap at the far edge of the dough. Spread some water along the far edge of the dough, just enough to make it soft and sticky. 
7. Roll dough tightly, starting at the edge closest to you, and rolling away to the sticky edge. Once the roll is formed, press to make sure the far edge sticks to the outside of the dough roll. Cut the dough roll into sections according to the length of your loaf tins. Then, cut each section of dough roll in half lengthwise, exposing the rolls as semi-circular layers.
8. Form the babka by taking two or three dough roll halves at a time and either spiraling or braiding them, keeping the flat chocolate side up. Place resulting spirals or braids in the prepared loaf tin(s). Continue and layer the rolls until you achieve slightly less than your desired babka height. Cover loaf tins with plastic wrap or a towel and let rise in a warm place 1-2 hours, or until about 1.5X the starting size. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). 
9. Bake babka 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Meanwhile, make the syrup. In a small saucepan, mix together orange sugar and orange juice (recommended) or water. Bring to a simmer over low heat, until bubbling. Remove from heat.
10. Once the babka comes out from the oven, immediately pour or brush the syrup on top of the loaf or loaves. Garnish with chocolate shavings or chocolate chips. Allow to cool before serving.