0 Chocolate Babka

Traditional babkas are lightly sweetened yeast cakes with a raisin filling. This is definitely not a traditional babka. No yeast, no raisins and no kneading. The cake batter is made using the creaming method and then layered with a chocolate, walnut and cinnamon filling.



Chocolate Babka
(from Sally Sampson’s "The Bake Sale Cookbook")

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chopped semisweet chocolate or chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp.
1 1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temp.
1 1/2 cups sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly butter a bundt pan.

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Combine chocolate, walnuts, ¼ cup brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside filling.

Using a stand mixer, cream butter and 1 ½ cups brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the honey, vanilla, and eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally.

Add half the flour mixture and beat well. Add half sour cream and beat well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add remaining half flour mixture and half sour cream. Mix until incorporated. Do not overmix.

Pour one-third of the batter into prepared bundt pan. Sprinkle with half the filling. Repeat and then top with remaining batter.

Bake 50 to 65 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then invert the cake, leaving it in the pan for 20 minutes. Remove the pan and cool completely.