Chocolate Hazelnut Babka
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In this episode, we are showing you how to make chocolate babka with homemade Nutella.
A babka is a sweet braided bread or cake that originated in the Jewish communities of Poland and Ukraine in the early 19th century.
Sweet and buttery, this amazing babka, also called brioche bread, is filled with a delicious and creamy homemade chocolate hazelnut spread and chocolate chunks. It’s the perfect comfort food for wintertime and quite easy to make.
We truly can’t wait for you to try this tasty chocolate babka recipe with its homemade Nutella!
Bon appétit!
Difficulty: 
Prep time: 30 mins / Cook time: 45 mins / Servings: 10 servings
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Hazelnut Praline Paste
10⅝ oz (300g) - Hazelnuts
5¼ oz (150g) - Sugar
1½ tsp (3g) - Sea salt
Hazelnut Chocolate Spread
7 oz (200g) - Hazelnut praline paste
3½ oz (100g) - Hazelnut butter
2¼ oz (65g) - Dark chocolate
¾ oz (23g) - Cocoa butter
Babka Bread
17½ oz (500g) - Flour
2 tsp (10g) - Salt
3 tsp (10g) - Dry yeast
2 oz (56g) - Sugar
2 oz (56g) - Milk
8½ oz (240g) - Butter
6 - Eggs
Babka Filling
4 oz (116g) - Dark chocolate
6 oz (170g) - Hazelnut chocolate spread
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We advise that you prepare all the above ingredients before starting.
You will typically need: a scale, measuring cups, mixing bowls.
Hazelnut Praline Paste
1 - Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
2 - Spread the hazelnuts on a baking tray lined with parchment paper (or a silicone mat) and roast them at 350°F (175°C) for about 10 minutes.
3 - Add the sugar to a saucepan (or like us a saucier pan) and gently melt the sugar until the caramel is nicely golden brown over medium-low heat.
Tip: All-Clad is the gold standard for professional quality stainless steel cookware.
4 - Once the caramel is ready, pour the caramel on a silicone mat and allow it to cool completely. Then, break the caramel with your hands in pieces and set it aside.
5 - Add the roasted hazelnuts and the caramel into a food processor or a powerful blender such as a Vitamix. Then, blend until completely smooth. It may take 4 to 6 minutes depending on how powerful your blender is.
Tip: Here, we are using the excellent Breville Sous Chef food processor (you may also use a blender). Vitamix blenders are by far the best we have ever owned: Vitamix Explorian, Vitamix Professional Series 750, and the new generation Vitamix A3500.
6 - Store your hazelnut praline paste in a food container (or a glass jar).
Hazelnut Chocolate Spread
1 - Place the chocolate and the cocoa butter into a bowl and microwave them for about 1 minute or until fully melted.
2 - In a larger bowl, combine the hazelnut butter and the hazelnut praline paste and mix with a spatula until well combined.
Tip: We store our ingredients in these mixing bowls and mini glass bowls from Duralex while cooking. We love Duralex for their quality products and low prices!
3 - Mix in the melted chocolate mixture.
4 - Store your homemade Nutella in a food container (or a glass jar) at room temperature.
Babka Bread
1 - Pour the milk into a small bowl and microwave it for about 20 seconds (or until lukewarm).
2 - Add the dry yeast to the milk, give it a quick mix using a fork and set it aside.
3 - Add the flour, sugar as well as salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk together.
4 - Then, crack the eggs in a measuring cup.
Tip: Pyrex is the gold standard of measuring cups, we love their quality and durability!
5 - Pour the milk and yeast mixture into the flour and start mixing the dough using the hook attachment of your stand mixer. Then, while slowly mixing, add the eggs one by one.
Tip: The KitchenAid Artisan Design Series and the KitchenAid Professional 600 Series are superstars among stand mixers and will look amazing in your kitchen!
6 - Once all the eggs are in the dough, knead at medium speed for about 5 minutes.
7 - After 5 minutes, gradually add the butter and knead for an additional 10 minutes. Then, place the dough in a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for 3 hours.
8 - Coat the inside of a loaf pan with butter and flour, and set aside.
Tip: Le Creuset is one of the best brands money can buy. Here, we used this fantastic ceramic loaf pan from Le Creuset and are very happy with it! For more recommended bakeware and cookware, check out our article: "The Best Non-Toxic Pots & Pans: Our Must-Have Cookware List".
Babka Filling
1 - Chop the dark chocolate into medium-sized chunks using a sharp knife.
Tip: We recommend you use a Santoku knife for this task. Sabatier knives are excellent French blades we recommend for professional and home cooks. We also love this reversible cutting board with integrated hand grips from John Boos.
Assembling The Chocolate Hazelnut Babka
1 - Dust some flour on your work surface as well as both sides of the babka dough.
2 - Place the dough on your work surface and spread out the dough in a rectangle of 22 inches (56 cm) by 14 inches (35 cm) using a rolling pin.
3 - Spread the homemade nutella on the entire surface of the babka bread using a long icing spatula and sprinkle all the chocolate chunks over it.
4 - Gently start to roll the babka. Then, cut it in half using a sharp bread knife.
5 - Braid tight the two halves together. Then, gently place the babka in the loaf pan and let it proof for 1 hour in a warm spot in your kitchen.
6 - While proofing, preheat your oven to 330°F (165°C). After 1 hour, bake the babka bread for about 45 minutes.
7 - When the babka is ready, directly remove it from the loaf pan and let it cool for about 15 minutes before cutting it.
8 - Enjoy!
Watch our video for more details!
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Disclaimer: baking/cooking times vary according to each appliance. Make sure to always control halfway through for success.
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🎬 Everything we used for this recipe:
🍶 Kitchenware: Coming soon!
🍳 Ingredients: Coming soon!
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The information provided in this recipe is not nutritional or medical advice. Please read our disclaimer.