I have made the babka wreath from two balls of dough, which have been rolled out into two large rectangles. These are smeared with raspberry filling and rolled into two long, thick roulades. These “roulades” are twisted together, and the outer sides are scratched off with a sharp knife or with a special dough cutter. There are probably many ways to twist a babka, but this method is my favourite. When you first cut the dough after you have twisted your babka, the filling stays where it should.
Babka dough:
50 g of yeast
2 dl lukewarm milk
2 scrambled eggs
1 teaspoon fine salt
500 g wheat flour
150 g softened butter at room temperature
Raspberry Filling:
50 g almond flour
50 g unsalted soft butter
50 g Odense marzipan
50 g cane sugar
1 pasteurized egg white
100 g fresh raspberries
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
HERE’S HOW YOU DO IT
How to make the yeast dough:
- Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk. Beat in the eggs and add salt and sugar.
- Add enough of the flour (well half) that the dough can be beaten thoroughly for several minutes in a food processor (or with a wooden spoon). It is this beating in yeast dough that gives light and airy babka.
- Beat the soft butter into the dough and then knead in enough flour that the dough just leaves the sides of the bowl. Form the dough into a ball and put it in a greased bowl. Cover with cling film directly on the dough and let the dough rise until doubled in size or at least 1 hour.
- Let the risen dough roll out on a floured table, knead the dough carefully a few times and divide into two dough balls.
- These two balls of dough must be rolled out into two rectangles of approx. 40-45cm x 25 cm, on which the raspberry cream must be spread. The rectangles must then be rolled into a long “roll” and twisted around each other.
How to make the raspberry filling:
- Blend all ingredients for raspberry remonce and set aside. You can easily use a stick blender, but I used food processors because I like to make a big batch and freeze it for another time.
- Place the finished twisted Babka on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake at 180 °C (not hot air) for approx. 35-40 minutes. Keep an eye on it along the way so it doesn’t get too dark.
- The ready-baked Babka sounds hollow if you tap the bottom of it.
