The babka is a traditional Eastern European sweet, usually prepared at Easter with a soft, buttery dough. The dough is braided with a rich and succulent filling — in this case, made with dark chocolate and sour cherries in syrup. It features a crunchy crust and a soft, indulgent center. If you wish, you can top your babka with a delicious glaze. To prepare it you’ll need about 3/4 cup (100 g) confectioners’ sugar and 1-2 tablespoons of water or lemon juice. Mix the confectioners’ sugar with the water or lemon juice until smooth and brush it over the cake’s surface. Below, let’s see together how to make our Babka with chocolate and sour cherries:
Other recipes with sour cherries:
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 8
- Cooking methods: Oven
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour (about 500 g)
- 1 1/8 cups milk (about 270 ml / 9 fl oz)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar (about 50 g)
- 1 1/4 tsp salt (about 7 g)
- 10 g fresh yeast (or about 1 tsp active dry yeast)
- 2 eggs
- 6 tbsp butter (soft) — about 6 tbsp (≈80 g / 2.8 oz, ~3/4 stick)
- 5.3 oz dark chocolate chips (or chopped dark chocolate (about 150 g / ~3/4 cup))
- 1 cup sour cherries in syrup (drained) — about 150 g (≈5.3 oz)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar (for the filling) — about 50 g
- 1/2 cup butter (for the filling) — about 120 g (≈4.2 oz)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Steps
In a large bowl, mix the flour with the yeast dissolved in the milk and the sugar. Add the eggs and begin to knead.
Add the softened butter little by little and, finally, the salt, continuing to work the dough until you obtain a smooth, elastic dough ball.
Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place for about 1 hour. Then transfer the container with the dough to the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 hours.
Once the dough has risen, roll it out on a floured surface into a rectangle about 1/5 inch thick (about 0.5 cm).
Spread the melted butter evenly over the sheet, sprinkle the sugar mixed with ground cinnamon, and distribute the chocolate chips and chopped, drained sour cherries over the surface.
Roll the dough up from the long side, forming a cylinder. Cut it lengthwise down the middle to expose the filling, then braid the two halves to form a loaf.
Place the braid into a buttered loaf pan about 12 to 12 5/8 inches long (30–32 cm). Let the babka rise for a couple of hours at room temperature.
Transfer to a preheated oven and bake at 356°F for about 35–40 minutes, until golden. If the surface browns too quickly, cover with aluminum foil for the last 10 minutes of baking.
Remove from the oven and let cool completely. The babka with sour cherries and chocolate is ready to be enjoyed!
Bon appétit and… see you next recipe!
If you try this recipe, make sure to tag #ipasticcinidinina on Instagram so I can see it and share it with the community.
