Babka Themed Date

Babka is a marbled bread/cake that is popularly sold at bakeries. it is so popular, in fact, that they had it featured on a Seinfeld episode called "the dinner party."

I thought it would be fun to introduce my husband to the chocolate and cinnamon variations of babka before watching the Seinfeld episode.

I set the loaves out on the counter, after baking them, for him to discover.

Once he found them, I sliced each one open. We both were impressed by the marbled effect.

You'll notice that the chocolate loaf is bigger. That's because I let it rise longer.

I felt like I had died and gone to babka heaven while eating the bread. My husband really liked them too. I will definitely be making them again and I think they'd make wonderful gifts.

I also made a blackberry cream cheese version and put it in a circular baking dish. I liked the shape it baked into, but it didn't have a lot of filling, because most of it spilled out when I was trying to roll the dough.

My husband was curious how I shaped the loaves, so I showed him a quick clip from a youtube video that used the technique.

We watched the Seinfeld episode next. Here are a few video links to the part about babka - link one & link two.

I got the babka recipe online. It's actually from a bakery in Seattle. I was surprised by how easy it was to make. If you've ever made cinnamon rolls, you can easily make babka.

I've included the links to the babka video tutorials and recipes below...
Dough (makes 2 loaves) - link
Chocolate filling (for 2 loaves) - link
Streusel topping (enough for 4 loaves) - link
Cinnamon filling (for 1 loaf) - I used 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup reg sugar, 2 Tbsp cinnamon.

You can refrigerate and freeze babka too. Just thaw it out before baking.

I baked each loaf for 30 minutes at 325 degrees, then covered the loaves with foil on top and baked them at 350 degrees for an additional 20 minutes.