An Easy Vegan Chocolate Babka Recipe for your sweet cravings. Super simple, Delicious & Plant-Based, made from Pantry Staples!
I know Easter is long gone, and we’re all looking at the refreshing Spring and Summer recipes ahead. But alas, Spring has been slow to arrive this year. It is currently rainy and cold outside and thus just the perfect weather for heating up the oven and get to baking!
And one leftover from Easter we always seem to have is those little chocolate eggs. Tell me, we’re not the only ones. If you too have this problem, we have a solution. Use them in this Easy Vegan Chocolate Babka!
(And even if you don’t have chocolate eggs rolling around, just use chocolate chips. No excuses not to bake this babka right now.)
What is babka
The babka has been on a rise in popularity lately and it is no wonder, as it tastes delicious and looks amazing. Its origins are humble though. Babka is a braided bread, usually with a sweet filling, that originates in the Jewish communities of Poland and Ukraine. Today is has taken over Pinterest, and also our kitchen.
Try this Easy Vegan Chocolate Babka Recipe for your next baking project, and enjoy it as a breakfast treat or with your afternoon coffee.
Hint: this recipe is perfect to use up any leftover Easter chocolate eggs or other random bits of chocolates you have in the pantry! – Just replace the dark chocolate chips with your leftover chocolate!
Vegan babka dough ingredients
For the dough you will need just a couple of basic ingredients:
- flour
- icing sugar
- dry yeast
- pinch of salt
- soy milk. Soy milk will work best in this recipe, as it has a better ratio of protein and fat than other plant-based kinds of milk. You can use sweetened or unsweetened milk, and even vanilla-flavored milk will work beautifully and add more flavor to the dough.
- vegan butter. Do use butter and not coconut fat or oil in this recipe. If you can’t find vegan butter, fully plant-based baking margarine will work just as well.
Vegan chocolate filling ingredients
To make the chocolate filling you will need:
- vegan butter. Can replace with plant-based margarine
- dark chocolate chips. If you have any random bits of chocolate or leftover easter chocolate eggs, you can use that instead!
- cacao powder
- brown sugar
- pinch of salt
- roasted hazelnuts. These will add a nutty flavor and a bit of crunch to the babka. You can totally skip this or replace it with other nuts, such as pecan nuts. Always chop your nuts.
Syrup ingredients
Making the syrup is optional, but we do recommend it, as it will add a caramelized finish to the baked babka. Trust us, it’s delicious. To make the syrup just combine sugar and water and bring it to a simmer until the sugar is melted. Then, remove from heat and set it aside until ready to use.
How to make this Vegan Chocolate Babka
It may seem like it’s a lot of work, but most of the time is just waiting around for the babka to rise, so don’t be discouraged!
Start by making the dough: just combine flour, sugar, yeast, and salt, then pour in warm milk and butter (see instructions for a more detailed process). Knead the ingredients into a smooth dough (about 10 minutes) and let it rise covered for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
To make the chocolate filling, combine butter, dark chocolate chips (or chocolate eggs), cacao powder, brown sugar, and a pinch of salt in a saucepan and slowly heat until the chocolate and butter melt, then stir to combine and let cool down to about room temperature.
Lightly grease a rectangular baking pan and top it with parchment paper. This will help remove the babka once baked.
Lightly dust your working area with flour, and transfer the dough onto it, then gently roll it out to a rectangle of about 12 x 15 inches (about 30×40 cm). Spread the dough with the chocolate filling, leaving about half an inch of dough on either side. Sprinkle with more dark chocolate chips or chopped-up chocolate eggs, and chopped roasted hazelnuts on top.
Next, roll the dough up like a swiss roll, and using a sharp knife, cut it in half length-wise so as to expose the filling. Intertwine both halves into a braid and secure the edges, then transfer the babka into the baking pan. Cover the pan and let rest another 1,5 hours, or until the babka doubles in size.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C), fan oven to 320°F (160°C), and once the babka is done rising, transfer the baking pan into the oven, and bake for about 35 minutes, or until golden-brown in color.
Once the babka is baked, remove it from the oven and immediately spread it over with the syrup. Then, let the babka rest for 20 minutes in the pan, before transferring it to a kitchen rack. Cool down completely before serving.
How to serve
We recommend serving the babka sliced, as is. It goes wonderfully with a cup of coffee or milk and is perfect for breakfast or as an afternoon dessert.
Storage
Store the babka on the counter in an air-tight container for up to 5 days. You can also freeze it and keep it frozen for up to 3 months! I would recommend slicing it into portions, then wrap air-tight before freezing.
Easy Vegan Chocolate Babka
An Easy Vegan Chocolate Babka Recipe for your sweet cravings. Super simple, Delicious & Plant-Based, made from Pantry Staples!
Ingredients
Dough;
- 300 grams flour
- 35 grams icing sugar
- 6 grams dry yeast
- pinch of salt
- 180 milliliters soy milk
- 80 grams vegan butter
Chocolate filling:
- 60 grams vegan butter
- 60 grams dark chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 tbsp cacao powder
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate eggs
- 1/4 cup roasted hazelnuts, chopped
Syrup:
- 30 grams sugar
- 30 milliliters water
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: To a bowl, add 300 grams flour, 35 grams icing sugar, 6 grams dry yeast, and a pinch of salt. Whisk to combine and make a well in the center of the flour.
- Lightly warm up 180 milliliters of soy milk to luke-warm and then add in 80 grams of diced vegan butter. Let sit for a minute, so the butter starts to melt, then pour everything into the well in the flour. Stir to combine and then proceed to knead the dough by hand (or with a mixer) for about 10 minutes, until the dough turns smooth and elastic. It will be slightly wet and sticky at the beginning of the kneading, but it will eventually turn into a soft and shiny smooth dough, that will not stick to the hands or to the bowl.
- Lightly grease the bowl with a neutral oil, like canola or sunflower seed oil, and then transfer the dough into the greased bowl. Tightly wrap the bowl with cling foil (a towel will let the dough dry out too much), and let rise in a warm place for 2 hours, until the dough has doubled in size.
- While the dough is rising, prepare your chocolate filling: to a skillet or pan, add 60 grams vegan butter, 60 grams dark chocolate chips, 1 1/2 tbsp cacao powder, 2 tbsp brown sugar, and a pinch of salt. Slowly heat on low until the chocolate and butter melt, then stir to combine and let cool down to about room temperature. If you filling hardens too much once cooled, just gently heat it up again.
- Lightly grease a rectangular baking pan, about 5x11 inches (about 13x28 cm), then, top with parchment paper (this will help remove the babka once baked).
- Remove the cling foil from the bowl and punch the dough down, then top it over to your working area, which you have lightly dusted with flour. Roll the dough out to a rectangle of about 12 x 15 inches (about 30x40 cm).
- Spread the dough with the chocolate filling, leaving about half an inch of dough on either side. Sprinkle with about 1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips on top (or you can also use chopped-up chocolate eggs) and 1/4 cup chopped roasted hazelnuts.
- Shape the babka: Roll the dough on the long side up like a swill roll. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough in half length-wise so as to expose the filling. Now intertwine both halves into a braid and secure the edges. Carefully but decidedly transfer the babka into the baking pan. If necessary squeeze the edges so they fit the pan. Cover the pan with a cloth or cling foil and let rest another 1,5 hours, or until the babka doubles in size.
- After the babka has been rising for about an hour, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C), fan oven to 320°F (160°C), so the oven is ready to go once the babka is done rising.
- Once the babka has doubled in size, remove the cloth or cling foil and transfer the baking pan into the oven. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until golden-brown in color.
- While the babka is baking, prepare your syrup: in a saucepan or a small pot heat up 30 grams sugar and 30 milliliters of water until the sugar melts. Once the syrup starts simmering cook another minute or two and then remove from the heat and set aside.
- Once the babka is baked, remove it from the oven and immediately spread it over with the syrup.
- Let rest for 20 minutes in the baking pan, then transfer the babka to a kitchen rack and let cool down completely before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 296Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 115mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 2gSugar: 13gProtein: 5g
Nutrition data is automatically calculated using Nutritionix and may not be accurate.
This recipe is brought to you by Hofer Slovenija.
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