Directions: |
Directions:MAKE DOUGH:
Stir together warm milk and two teaspoons sugar in bowl of mixer. Sprinkle yeast over mixture and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If yeast does not foam, discard and start over with a new yeast).
Add 1/2 cup flour to yeast mixture and beat at medium speed until combined. Add whole eggs, yolk, vanilla, lemon extract, salt and remaining 1/2 cup sugar and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low, then mix in remaining 2 3/4 cups flour, about 1/2 cup at a time. Increase speed to medium, then beat in butter, a few pieces at a time, and continue to beat until dough is shiny and forms strands from paddle to bowl, about 4 minutes. (Dough will be very soft and sticky).
Scrape dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
PREPARE CHOCOLATE FILLING "THE SMEAR"
Combine ingredients (cocoa, sugar and milk) in a saucepan. Heat slowly and stir until ingredients yield a semi sweet chocolate sauce/syrup.
PREPARE STREUSEL TOPPING
In a small bowl, mix flour, sugar and cinnamon. Add cold butter and using fingers, mix together until crumbly., Set aside.
ASSEMBLE BABKAS:
Line each loaf pan with a piece of parchment paper, lengthwise. You can use brown paper cut from a shopping bag in lieu of parchment paper.
Punch down the dough with a lightly oiled rubber spatula; then halve the dough. Roll out one piece of dough on a well floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into an 18 by 10 inch rectangle and arrange with a long side nearest to you.
Spread one half of the chocolate filling, "smear", over the dough to within an inch of each side. Apply egg wash to the edges not covered by the chocolate filling. Sprinkle on top of the filling: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, 1/2 cup raisins, 1 brownie crumbled and two tablespoons cinnamon sugar. Starting with the long side farthest from you, roll the dough into a snug log, pinching firmly along the egg-washed seam to seal. Bring the ends of the log together to form a ring, pinching tp seal. Twist the entire ring twice to form a double figure eight and fit into a lined loaf pan.
Make another babka from the remaining dough, egg wash and filling and fit into the second loaf pan. Chill remaining egg wash, covered, to use later. Loosely cover pans with buttered plastic wrap, buttered side down on babka. Let Babkas rise in a draft free place at warm room temperature until the dough reaches top of pans, 1 to 2 hours.( Alternately, let dough rise in pans in refrigerator 8 to 12 hours, bring to room temperature 3 to 4 hours before baking.)
Put oven rack in the middle position and preheat to 350 degrees.
Beat remaining egg wash and spread on top of each loaf. Spread 1/2 of crumbled streusel topping on each loaf. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.
Bake loaves for 30 minutes, rotate and bake another 25 minutes until golden; lower heat to 325 degrees and bake another 15-20 minutes or until deep golden. Cool in pans on wire rack about 40 minutes; remove from pans and serve. Baked loafs may be frozen up to one month; if frozen unbaked, let stand at room temperature 5 hour and then bake. |
This recipe for New York Chocolate Babka is from