The first time I posted a photo of this chocolate babka on Instagram, I honestly didn’t think anyone would notice it. The picture was taken late at night with terrible lighting, and to make matters worse, it showed the babka before it was baked. But somehow, everyone fell in love with it.
The messages, comments, and recipe requests poured in, so I decided to recreate it properly with one of my favorite baking friends, Inbal Lavi from The Cookie Fairy blog, and finally photograph it the way it deserved.
This cake was actually born a few weeks earlier while I was baking rugelach with a friend. We rolled out the dough with a layer of chocolate and brown sugar inside, creating beautiful thin chocolate layers throughout the dough (the folding technique is inspired by Uri Scheft’s Breaking Bread). We were about to cut it into triangles and roll classic rugelach when I stopped and thought… the dough looked way too beautiful to cut up. Why not spread it with Nutella, roll it into one giant swirl, and turn it into the most indulgent chocolate babka imaginable?
A few days later, back home, I tested the idea. It worked. Actually, it worked better than I could have hoped. Everyone who tasted it asked for the recipe, so here it is.
I’ve done my best to explain every step as clearly as possible. Once you understand the folding technique, it’s much easier than it looks. And if anything isn’t clear, you know where to find me.
Now it’s your turn—roll up your sleeves, make some dough, and don’t forget to tell me how it turns out.
