Dough Ingredients:
· 1/2 cup milk
· 3/4 cup sugar
· 1 package active dry yeast
· 3 cups all-purpose flour
· Pinch salt
· 8 ounces (2 sticks) cold butter, cut
into pieces
· 3 large eggs, separated
Filling Ingredients:
· 1 (12-ounce) can chocolate filling,
not frosting (see below)
Topping Ingredients:
· 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
· 4 tablespoons sugar
· 2 tablespoons cold butter
Preparation:
Scald the milk and let cool
to 110 degrees. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the sugar and the yeast. Let stand for
7 minutes until bubbly. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a food processor fitted with
the metal blade (or by hand using a pastry blender), combine flour, salt and 3
tablespoons of the sugar, pulsing to blend. Pulse in the butter as for pie
dough. Add the egg yolks and yeast mixture and pulse until a ball of dough
forms.
Place in a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate several
hours or overnight.
Grease two (8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch) loaf pans and set aside. Beat
reserved egg whites until soft peaks form. Add remaining sugar and whip until
stiff peaks form. Reserve.
Prepare the streusel topping by mixing the flour and
sugar and cutting in the butter as for pie dough. Divide dough in half
(refrigerating the half not being rolled) and, on a lightly floured surface or
parchment paper, roll each half into a 12-by-18-inch rectangle.
Spread dough
with half the chocolate filling and then half the egg whites. Fold in the sides
of dough and roll up as for a jellyroll. Place in prepared pan. Sprinkle with
half the streusel topping. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise until
above the rim of the pan.
Repeat with remaining dough.
Place rack in center of oven and heat to 350 degrees. Bake babka
for about 40 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer registers 190
degrees. Let cool in pan 5 minutes and then carefully turn out onto a rack to
cool completely.
For coffee to go with your
babka, check out our coffee gallery.
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