Baby Chocolate Babkas
Chocolate and challah dough come together in sweet little packages with these muffin-size babkas. Plan to make the dough the night before to rise overnight in the refrigerator. Serve the same day or freeze.
Ingredients
Dough
- Oil or butter for coating the bowl
- 1 envelope active dry yeast, about 2¼ teaspoons
- 1 cup very warm water, 105 to 110 degrees
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 large egg yolks
- 4 ounces 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups bread flour, plus additional for rolling
Filling
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 4 ounces 1 stick unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter for muffin pans
- Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Coat a large bowl with oil or butter and set aside.
- Dissolve the yeast and warm water in a large bowl, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar, vanilla, salt, eggs, and butter. Use an electric mixer to blend in 2 cups of the flour and mix on low speed for 3 minutes until smooth and shiny. Stir in the last 1 cup of flour by hand until well incorporated. Transfer to greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
- To make the filling, melt chocolate and butter together. Stir in vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa powder. The filling will thicken some as it cools slightly.
- Brush cups of muffin tins liberally with melted butter and set aside.
- Remove dough from refrigerator and divide in half. Return half to fridge and transfer other half to a floured piece of parchment paper. Spread or roll it out to an approximate 10 x 14 rectangle. Spread half the filling over top. Beginning with one long side, roll up dough. Cut into 12 pieces and transfer each to a muffin cup. Repeat with other half of dough.
- Cover muffin pans loosely with greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place in your kitchen for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Bake 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown (check after a few minutes; if browning too quickly, reduce heat to 350 degrees). Let rest in pans about 20 minutes, then transfer to a baking rack to cool. Dust with confectioners’ sugar. Serve the same day or freeze.