What to cook for Easter instead of kulich: a recipe for a sweet Easter babka
An original version of a treat that will be appreciated by both children and adults.
When stored properly (in the refrigerator in film), Easter babka remains soft and tender for up to 3 days.
The treat is covered with icing like Easter cake, but this is not necessary, since the dish is already very tasty, the chefs emphasize.
The list of products consists of:
- wheat flour – 0.6 kg;
- dry yeast – 11 g;
- sugar – 175 g;
- vanilla extract – 2.5 teaspoons;
- milk – 125 ml;
- butter – 370 g;
- chicken eggs – 2 pcs.;
- powdered sugar – 0.2 kg;
- dark chocolate (70%) – 160 g;
- cocoa – 80 g.
How to prepare
1. Pour 125 ml of water at room temperature into a bowl, add yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Leave the mixture for 5-10 minutes.
2. In a mixer with a hook attachment, mix flour and 70 g of sugar.
3. Add 2 teaspoons of vanilla essence to warm milk.
4. At low speed, add the yeast mixture, milk and 170 g of melted butter to the mixer.
5. Add eggs one by one. Mix, then after 2-3 minutes scrape the sides of the dough and continue kneading the dough at high speed for 5-10 minutes. Glossy, elastic, soft – the perfect dough for Easter babka.
6. Place the finished dough in a bowl greased with vegetable oil. Cover the dough with a wet towel. Let the dough sit for about 1-2 hours.
7. While the dough is resting, prepare the filling. Melt 200 g of butter with powdered sugar and chocolate in a saucepan. Keep the products on low heat, stirring until the mixture becomes homogeneous. Then remove the preparation from the stove and stir in the cocoa powder. Pour the mixture into a bowl.
8. Next, prepare the sugar syrup: mix 75 ml of water, 100 g of sugar and ½ tsp of vanilla essence. Boil the ingredients until the sugar dissolves, then cool.
9. Then return to the dough, which is cut into 2 equal parts. Each of them is rolled into a rectangle. Half of the filling is distributed over the dough.
10. Then the dough is rolled into a roll along the short part. The same is done with the second part of the dough.
11. Each babka is cut in half lengthwise into 2 parts. In addition, 1 cm is cut off from each end.
12. Then both babkas are braided. The baking pan is greased with vegetable oil, and then parchment is placed.
13. Cover the babki with a damp towel and let it sit for half an hour.
14. Preheat the oven to 180 °C and bake the Easter treat for 20 minutes.
15. After 20 minutes, take the babka out of the oven, grease it with sugar syrup and put it back for another 15 minutes.
16. At the end, when the dish is baked, you need to very quickly grease each babka with 3 layers of sugar syrup.
