Making the dough

Cup of Yum
1. Make the dough the day before.
2. Measure out all the ingredients first.
3. Add the milk, yeast and honey into the mixing bowl, and gently whisk to combine. Set aside for 10 minutes to allow the yeast to activate.
4. Add the eggs, vanilla, sugar, flour and sea salt, and mix to form a scraggly dough.
5. With the dough hook attachment, knead the dough on speed 3 for about 5 minutes. The dough should start to look smooth.
6. Roughly divide the butter into 4 portions. Add the first portion of butter, in increments, after the first 5 minutes of kneading. Each butter portion should be mixed in for at least 2 minutes at a time.
7. Repeat with the other 3 portions of butter, kneading the dough for about 2 -3 minutes after each addition. Make sure to stop the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl (and the bottom if needed) between kneading as well. You will have incorporated all the butter in about 12 - 15 minutes of kneading time.
8. Once all the butter is incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl (and bottom if needed), and knead the dough for a further 5 - 15 minutes on speed 5 or 6. If you lower the speed, this can take longer, so it’s best to knead until the dough has reached the correct consistency.
9. The dough will have been kneaded enough when it can be lifted fairly cleanly off the bottom of the bowl when picked up with the dough hook. It will be very soft and tacky to the touch, but shouldn’t stick to your fingertips. Please note that the dough will still be very soft.
10. You can also do the window pane test with the dough to check if enough gluten has developed.
11. Flour your work surface lightly, and turn the dough out onto the floured surface. Lightly flour your hands to prevent the dough from sticking to your palms.
12. Fold in the edges of the dough towards the middle, and gently press them into the dough to form a smooth ball. Flip the dough over, and then with the heel of your palms, shape the dough to form a tight ball.
13. Carefully pick up the dough ball and place it back in the mixer bowl (or another large bowl).
14. Let it rise until it has almost doubled in size, in a warm place (72°F), for about 1 hour. It can take longer if your kitchen is colder.
15. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and press down gently to deflate the dough with your hands. Fold in the edges again as before towards the middle and press them in. Carefully flip the dough over (seam side down now), and tighten the ball of dough to get a smooth taut surface. Transfer the dough into the mixer bowl again.
16. Cover and let it chill in the fridge for at least 8 hours, or up to 24 hours. The dough WILL RISE in the fridge, so make sure the bowl is large enough to contain the dough properly.
17. The following day, the dough is ready to be used. You will be using the dough while it's chilled, so do not let it come to room temperature before working with it.

The chocolate filling

1. This chocolate filling can be made the same day you make the dough, and then chilled overnight. OR it can also be made the day you assemble the babka, but make sure you give the filling enough time to cool down before rolling out the chilled dough. If you chill the filling overnight, then heat it in the microwave in small increments (10 - 30 sec intervals) until you have a thick paste that is spreadable.
2. In a saucepan, place the cream, cocoa powder, sugar and salt.
3. Heat over medium / medium high heat, while whisking. Whisk to dissolve the cocoa powder and sugar, until the cream just starts to simmer.
4. Remove from the heat, and add the butter and chocolate. Whisk very well until the butter and chocolate have dissolved.
5. Place the chocolate mixture in a shallow container and let it cool down until it’s thick and spreadable. You can also let it cool in the fridge, but check on it to make sure the chocolate has not hardened.

Assembling the chocolate babka

1. Butter and flour TWO 9 x 4 x 4 inch loaf pans. I prefer to butter and line them with parchment paper, but you can do whichever is easier for you. Set aside.
2. When the filling is at the correct consistency, remove the chilled dough from the fridge.
3. Slightly flatten the dough to remove excess air in the dough.
4. Measure the weight of the dough. Evenly divide the dough into TWO portions by weight (to make 2 loaves).
5. Return one of the portions back into the bowl, cover, and let it chill in the fridge until you’ve assembled the first portion.
6. Place the first portion of the dough on a floured, smooth surface.
7. Roll out the dough until it’s a rectangle that is about 10 x 15 inches.
8. Spread a layer of the chocolate filling (about ⅓ - ½ of the filling) over the surface of the dough. Make sure to leave a 1 inch border along one of the long edges.
9. Roll the dough along the 10 inch side, towards the 1 inch border (so that you end up with a 14+ inch long bread roll).
10. Once rolled up, pinch the end into the dough roll to create a seal (see pictures in the post).
11. At this stage, the dough can be very soft and sticky and hard to manage. So carefully place the bread roll on a parchment paper-lined baking tray and cover with plastic wrap and freeze for about 20 minutes until the dough is firm. While the dough is firming up in the freezer, you can repeat the whole process with the second dough portion.
12. When the dough is firm enough to handle again, remove it from the freezer.
13. Trim the two ends of the roll (optional), then slice the roll in half lengthwise.
14. Twist the two halves to form a twisted braid (see pictures in the post).
15. Carefully place the twisted loaf in the prepared loaf pan, making sure to tuck in the ends.
16. Cover the loaf pan with plastic wrap, and let it proof at room temperature for about 1 hour or until it’s about doubled in size. The time for proofing will depend on the ambient temperature in your kitchen. In a cooler place, it could take as long as 3 hours to proof.
17. Repeat the cutting and twisting of the babka loaf with the second portion of dough, and let it proof in the second loaf pan.
18. While the chocolate babka is proofing, preheat the oven to 325°F / 163°C (conventional oven).
19. When the babka has proofed, bake in the preheated oven for about 50 minutes. If the surface is caramelizing too fast, you can tent a foil on the surface to prevent further browning.
20. The internal temperature of the dough should reach about 190 - 200°F when it's done baking.
21. Remove the pan from the oven, and carefully use a skewer to poke several holes through the loaf from the top.
22. While hot, generously brush the babka with the sugar syrup (recipe below) to glaze the top and to allow some of the syrup to be absorbed by the babka as well (optional).
23. Let the babka cool down in the loaf pan. Once at room temperature, or only slightly warm, remove the babka loaf from the pan.
24. Slice and serve while warm or at room temperature.

Sugar syrup

1. Make the sugar syrup while proofing the loaf, or while baking the babka loaf. The syrup can be used warm or hot.
2. Add all the ingredients in a saucepan and heat over medium high heat.
3. Stir to dissolve the sugar and bring it to a boil.
4. Lower the heat to simmer the sugar syrup for about 5 minutes. Set aside until you're ready to use it.