Chocolate Babka

Today we're taking a break from all the Christmas celebrations to discuss an odd group of friends, a strange pole and a 'show about nothing.'  And by now, all you Seinfeld fans are smiling.  It's been 15 years since the TV series left the air but it's still very much around in syndication, popular culture and a little made-up holiday called Festivus.  Celebrated with a bare pole and an airing of grievances, it's a time to come together and say "I got a lot of problems with you people!"  It's all in good fun, of course, and in its 9 seasons, quite a lot of delicious food came up on the show.  So some of my blogger friends and I decided to cook the foods best associated with the Seinfeld years and give away some great holiday gifts.

The first food that came to my mind when thinking about the series was the chocolate babka.  I grew up in New York and this sweet yeast bread was one of my family's favorite treats.  In the episode that features it, they talk about how the cinnamon version of babka is considered inferior to the chocolate and that could have been taken straight from my childhood.  As an adult, I love cinnamon pastry but I remember the disappointment we'd feel if the bakery was sold out of chocolate and we had to settle for the "inferior" cinnamon.  If I had any grievance against the babkas of my childhood it would be that there was never enough crumb topping and we'd all eat that first anyway.

Brian is also a big lover of chocolate babka and we've bought our share of them in our years together.  I'm always saying I need to learn to make it myself but it took this group Festivus celebration to finally get me to do it.  It's not very complicated to make if you're comfortable working with yeast doughs but it's a giant pain without a stand mixer, which I do not have (cough, cough, hint, hint, grievance, grievance).  I struggled through but, trust me, you don't want to.  The final result, though, was amazing.  None of the store bought babkas we've eaten throughout the years can hold a candle to homemade.  And I made sure there was a whole lot of crumb topping.  Enjoy!






Ingredients
1/2 Cup milk (warmed to between 105 - 110 degrees)
2 packs (1/4 oz. each) of instant rise yeast
1/4 Cup sugar, divided
1 Whole egg and 1 egg yolk
2 Cups all purpose flour
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 Stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

Filling:
1 1/2 Cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 Cup sugar
1/4 Teaspoon cinnamon

Crumb Topping:
1/2 Cup powdered sugar
1/2 Cup all purpose flour
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Dash of salt
1 Tablespoon cream or half & half

In a small bowl, add the warm milk, yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sugar.  Let stand about 10 minutes until it's foaming.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the egg, egg yolk and remaining sugar.  Add the yeast mixture and beat until incorporated.  Beat in the butter.  Switch to the dough hook and beat in the salt and flour.  Continue kneading for about 10 minutes.

Turn the dough out on a floured surface and knead by hand for a minute until smooth.  Place the dough in a buttered bowl, cover in plastic wrap and place in a warm sot to rise for about an hour.  The dough should double in size.

In a small bowl, combine the chocolate chips, sugar and cinnamon.  Punch down the risen dough and place on a floured surface.  Roll out to approximately 16" square.  Sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough and roll up like a jelly roll.  Turn in the ends and place into a buttered and floured loaf pan.  Let stand in a warm place for an additional 20 minutes to rise.

While the dough is rising in the pan, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and make the crumb topping by combining the powdered sugar, flour, salt and melted butter in a bowl.  When the dough is ready, brush the top with the cream.  Crumble the topping in your hands and sprinkle over the cream.  Bake for approximately 50 minutes or until the edges are barely light brown.  Makes approximately 8 servings.

Check out the other Seinfeld inspired goodies from my fellow bloggers below and then head down to the bottom of the post for your chance to win a slew of great prizes.

• Susan from The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen is making Marble Rye from "The Rye"
• Kim from Cravings of a Lunatic is making Calzones from "The Calzone"
• Renee from Magnolia Days is making Eggnog Frozen Yogurt from "The Non-Fat Yogurt"
• Isabelle from Crumb is making Cherry Almond Muffin Tops from "The Muffin Tops"
• Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake is making Challah Pretzels from "The Alternate Side"
• Shanna from Pineapple and Coconut is making Lobster Scrambled Eggs with Wasabi Hollandaise and Crispy Leek and Potato Cakes from "The Hamptons"
• Kelli from Kelli's Retro Kitchen Arts is making a Big Salad from "The Big Salad"
• Kelly from Kelly Bakes is making Mulligatawny Soup from "The Soup Nazi"
• Joan from Chocolate, Chocolate and More is making Cream Puffs from "The Gymnast"
• Marnely from Cooking with Books is making Apple Pie from "The Pie"
• Diane from Created by Diane is making Black and White Cookies from "The Dinner Party"
• Anita from Hungry Couple is making Chocolate Babka from "The Dinner Party" 

  

The Festivus giveaway options include:
The Seinfeld Complete Season DVD Box Set
Two 1.5 lb. lobsters from Lobster.com (coordinated with the winner and shipped overnight)
One 10 piece Kenmore nonstick cookware set
One King Arthur Flour Baking Set
One Wilton Bake Pan Set
One OXO Salad Kit
One OXO Baking Set
One Soup Maker Cookbook
One Pie Making Cookbook Set

Giveaway is sponsored by King Arthur Flour, Lobster.com, Wilton, OXO and the collective bloggers above.  There will be one winner per prize, picked by random draw and open to U.S. addresses only.  To enter, leave a comment with your Festivus grievance and then see lots more ways to enter in the Rafflecopter widget.


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