Dark Chocolate Cherry Babka

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! If you are not in the United States and/or don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you are having a great week!

I am out of town right now but it doesn’t stop me from baking. I packed my rolling pin and my best baking ingredients along with my clothes (not in the same suitcase though LOL).

We are having a great week relaxing and I brought 5 books from the library with me that are all about baking. Inspiration overload! I decided to try my hand at a babka which is a bread with a filling swirled inside. It is very unique and eye catching. There’s even a whole episode of Seinfeld with it as a comedic topic.

In that episode, the characters argue over which flavor is best: chocolate or cinnamon. I think they favored cinnamon. For mine, I went with dark chocolate and dark sweet cherries. It turned out great and I got to spend quality time with my sweet girls who are turning out to be quite the bakers.

If you look closely, one of the pictures shows my eldest daughter’s hands kneading the dough. There’s a green smiley face on her hand that her sister drew for her. 🤣

Today, I am thankful for moments like this. I am thankful for my husband, my 3 children, my dad, friends and family that aren’t with me today, and my life. I miss my mom tremendously today as this is the first Thanksgiving without her. She was the best mom I could ever hope for. God sent me a wonderful mother.

What are you thankful for?

I hope this day is great for you and that you give your stretchy pants a workout with some great food!

😍 Jennifer

Ingredients:

Dough:

2 tablespoons fast rise yeast

3/4 cup warm milk (110 degrees Fahrenheit)

6 tablespoons butter at room temperature

1/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups all purpose flour, extra for dusting

Filling:

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter melted

1 large egg beaten

1/2 cup pitted and chopped dark cherries

1 cup dark chocolate morsels

Directions:

For dough:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add yeast and milk. Set aside for 5 minutes while yeast blooms.

2. Add butter, sugar, eggs, salt and vanilla and mix on low with the paddle until ingredients are incorporated.

3. Switch to a dough hook and add flour one cup at a time while mixing on low. Mix for 5-6 minutes. (Or you can knead by hand)

4. Place dough in a bowl coated in non-stick spray and cover with a towel. Let rise in a warm space for 2 hours.

5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Roll dough on a floured surface and roll approximately 12 by 24 inches in length.

For filling:

6. In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, butter, and egg. Spread mixture onto dough approximately 1/2 inch from the edges.

7. Sprinkle chocolate morsels on top.

8. Sprinkle chopped cherries on top.

9. Roll the dough longways starting from the edge. You want to have a roll that is approximately 24 inches in length when you are finished.

10. Cut dough in half so that you will have 2 12 inch rolls. You can use dental floss to keep your roll round by wrapping it around the roll and cutting through the roll.

11. Cut each roll in half longways careful not to cut all the way through the end. Leave an inch of the roll intact.

12. Twist each “leg” away from the center multiple times and tuck under at the end. Place dough into a 5 x 9 inch loaf pan sprayed with non-stock baking spray. You will do this twice because this recipe makes two loaves. If any filling falls out, you can put it on top of the loaf.

13. Bake loaves on the middle rack for 35-40 minutes or until brown and a knife inserted comes out clean. Cool.