Chocolate Babka

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 15 g fresh yeast (1/3 cube)
• 290 g flour
• 40 g sugar
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 60 ml milk, lukewarm
• 70 g butter
• 70 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa content)
• 50 g butter
• 25 g powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 50 g hazelnuts, blanched and coarsely chopped
• 1 tbsp brown sugar

Instructions

Working time approx. 35 minutes; Rest time approx. 2 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 35 minutes; Total time approx. 3 hours 10 minutes

Yeast plait with chocolate filling

For the dough, crumble the yeast into a cup and dissolve it with 1 tablespoon of sugar, stirring occasionally. Mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Whisk the eggs, add the milk and yeast, and knead. Add softened butter and knead everything for about 10 minutes until you have a supple, smooth dough. Cover the bowl and let the yeast dough rise for about 1 hour until doubled in size. For the filling, chop the chocolate into small pieces and melt it with the butter over a bain-marie. Let it cool slightly, then stir in the powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Dry-roast the hazelnuts in a pan. Add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and let it caramelize slightly. Grease the loaf pan with softened butter. Roll out the yeast dough on a floured surface into a rectangle approximately 25 x 35 cm. Spread the chocolate filling evenly over the dough, leaving a 1.5 cm border free. Sprinkle the caramelized nuts on top. Roll the rectangle tightly and evenly, starting from the narrow side. Cut the partial roll in half lengthwise with a sharp knife. Gather the dough ends and carefully twirl the two strands together, with the cut sides facing up. Place the twisted dough roll in the loaf pan, cover, and let rise for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 175°C (top and bottom heat). Bake the chocolate babka for approximately 30-35 minutes. If the yeast plait becomes too brown during baking, cover the surface with aluminum foil halfway through baking. Let the babka cool completely.