Chocolate, Pistachio and Hazelnut Babka Buns
Babka is a sweet braided bread which originated in Poland and Ukraine. The Babka filling is usually made of either chocolate or cinnamon and goes very well with tea or coffee. We decided to make our Babka Buns with a special chocolate, pistachio and hazelnut filling using Alprose Dark Chocolate with hole hazelnuts and already peeled pistachios (don’t worry if they’re a bit salty - it’s going to make the Babka Buns even tastier).
The biggest trick when making these buns is getting the dough to the right consistency and working it well enough in order to soften it. Also please be mindful of the resting times as the dough needs some time to rise.
Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cooking Time: 20 Minutes + Rest
Ingredients for 8/10 Babka Buns
Alprose Chocolate Dark 74% Whole Hazelnuts - 75 g
Butter - 150 g
Eggs - 2
Cane Sugar - 30 g
Dried Yeast - 6 g
All-Purpose Flour - 500 g
Salt - 1 Tbs
Oat Milk - 230 g
Cocoa Powder 4 Tbs
Pistachio Flakes
Preparation:
We start our Babka Buns by preparing the dough. Put the flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a bowl and mix together with your hands. Then add 75g of melted butter and one egg, keep mixing and slowly pour in the milk - keep mixing well with your hands.
Now transfer your dough to a clean working surface and keep kneading for around 10 minutes - the dough should be smooth and elastic.
Place your dough in an oiled or buttered bowl and cover with a moist kitchen towel and let rest for 1 hour.
We now start working on the filling. In a saucepan melt the chocolate and the other 75g of butter using the bain marie method. Once the chocolate and butter are melted remove them from the heat and add the cocoa powder and whisk together. Set aside.
Once the hour has passed take your dough and start rolling it out into a rectangle (40cm x 60cm). Once you have your rectangular shape take your chocolate filling and spread it across half of your dough. At this point you can also add more hazelnuts or add pistachios flakes, sea salt or other nuts.
Fold the empty part of the dough over the filled dough and press together. Take a pizza cutter or a sharp knife and cut strips of 2-2.5 cm lengthwise.
Take each strip and twist it around itself a couple of times and around your finger making a bun. Here you can use your creativity, there is no wrong way to do it.
Put the buns on a baking sheet with parchment paper and cover them again with the moist kitchen towel and let them rest for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Once the 30 minutes rest time is over, take your second egg, beat it and brush it over the Babka Buns.
Once all your Babka Buns are covered with egg wash, place them in the oven and bake them for 20 minutes.
When the 20 minutes are done remove them from the oven sprinkle with pistachio flakes and let them cool before serving.