First recipe of 2025 and first new recipe since November 2023 is here! Say hello to this blood orange chocolate babka 🙂
I’m going to be honest, life has been throwing me lots of curveballs and there may not be many (or any) more new recipes coming this year. Turns out chronic pain has very much got the better of me over the last few months and I just can’t test recipes like I used to, so when I do bake, it’s recipes I already know and love.
You all deserve this blood orange babka though! I’ve been teasing this recipe on my instagram for the last few years and it’s finally time to stop gatekeeping and share. This is maybe the best babka I’ve ever made but that might just be because I love the chocolate orange combination.
I’m using blood oranges because they are frankly the prettiest of all oranges. We’ve got the zest in the dough and the juice gets turned into a blood orange simple syrup that we brush on top while the babka is still warm. It’s the perfect chocolate orange combination! If you don’t believe me, ask me taste testers – they all went back for more! You’ll have extra simple syrup – save it for use in cocktails or other recipes.
Grab yourself some blood oranges before they leave for the season and make this blood orange chocolate babka. You’ll get two loaves, one for now and one for later!
Blood Orange Chocolate Babka
Ingredients
- Dough:
- 1 to 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
- 2 large eggs
- 6 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup nonfat dry milk
- 2 tbsp. instant yeast
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp. salt
- 10 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
- Zest of 2 blood oranges
- Filling:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup dark cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp. espresso powder
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- Blood Orange Simple Syrup
- Juice of 2 blood oranges + enough water for 1 cup
- 1 cup sugar
Directions
- Step 1 Dough:
- Step 2 Combine all of the dough ingredients (starting with the lesser amount of water), mixing until everything is moistened. Add additional water if necessary to enable the dough to come together. Cover the bowl, and let the dough rest for 20 minutes. Then mix/knead it until it’s soft and smooth.
- Step 3 Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, and cover the bowl. The dough is going to rise for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until it’s quite puffy.
- Step 4 Gently deflate the dough, and divide it in half. Set the pieces aside, covered, while you make the filling.
- Step 5 Filling/Assembly:
- Step 6 Combine the sugar, cocoa, and espresso. Stir in the melted butter. The mixture will look grainy and slick, that’s OK.
- Step 7 Shape each half of the dough into a 9″ x 18″, 1/4″-thick rectangle. If the dough “fights back,” let it rest for 10 minutes to relax the gluten, then stretch it some more. Don’t be fussy about this, 19″ or 20″ is as good as 18″.
- Step 8 Smear each piece of the dough with half the filling, coming to within an inch of the edges.
- Step 9 Starting with a short end, roll each piece gently into a log, sealing the seam and ends. Working with one log at a time, use a pair of scissors or a sharp knife to cut the log in half lengthwise (not crosswise) to make two pieces of dough about 10″ long each. Cut carefully, to prevent too much filling from spilling out. With the exposed filling side up, twist the two pieces into a braid, tucking the ends underneath. Repeat with the other log. Place each log into a lightly greased 9″ x 5″ loaf pan.
- Step 10 Tent each pan with plastic wrap, and let the loaves rise until they’re very puffy and have crowned a good inch over the rim of the pan, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat your oven to 300°F.
- Step 11 Bake the bread for 35 minutes. Tent lightly with foil, and bake for an additional 15 to 25 minutes (for a total of 50 to 60 minutes) – the loaves should be a deep-golden brown.
- Step 12 To ensure the loaves are baked through, insert a digital thermometer into the center of one loaf. It should register at least 190°F.
- Step 13 While the bread is baking, make the blood orange simple syrup. Place the blood orange juice + water with the sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Turn off the heat and set aside to cool.
- Step 14 Remove the loaves from the oven, and immediately loosen the edges with a heatproof spatula or table knife. Let the loaves cool for 10 minutes and brush with the simple syrup, then turn them out of the pans onto a rack to cool completely.
- Step 15 Slice the babka and serve it at room temperature or rewarm individual slices briefly in a toaster, if desired. Store any leftovers, well wrapped, at room temperature for several days. Freeze for longer storage.
