Shared by Margaret Boyle
Mexican Chocolate Babka
Yield: 1 round 10" babkaTime: 3 hours (including rising time)
Mexican Chocolate Babka
Yield: 1 round 10" babkaTime: 3 hours (including rising time)Family Journey
Suchowola, PolandVeracruz, MexicoMexico City
Los AngelesMexico CityLos Angeles
Brunswick, Maine
Born in Poland, Margaret E. Boyle’s great-grandmother Malka came to Mexico in the 1920s when she was 22. During her life, she documented the recipes of her journey in a notebook, which other family members contributed to as well. Among them is one for her signature babka laced with Mexican chocolate.
When Malka traveled to Los Angeles to visit Margaret and her family, she would pack loaves of babka into her suitcase. “At least one babka for each member of the family, and they would in turn fill her empty suitcase with assorted oddities that she loved from the United States: Solo poppy seed cake filling, L’Oreal hair dye, a modest dress from Robinsons-May department store,” Margaret explains in “Sabor Judío: The Jewish Mexican Cookbook.”
Malka passed away when Margaret was in high school and other family members took over the responsibility of baking babka. Everyone was “trying to get it right, because so many of us wanted to keep her alive,” Margaret explains.
About 15 years later, as her family celebrated her wedding, Margaret’s parents took out a babka that had been tucked deep in the freezer. “It was really meaningful to feel like she was there for that moment,” Margaret explains.
Reprinted with permission from “Sabor Judío: The Jewish Mexican Cookbook.” Find more recipes from Mexican-Jewish families here.
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 packet (2¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon plus ⅓ cup granulated sugar, divided
- ½ cup warm water
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling and shaping
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, cubed and softened, plus more for the pan
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
For the filling:
- 1 cup raisins (golden or dark)
- ¾ cup walnuts
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 4 ounces Mexican chocolate, roughly chopped
For the topping:
- 1½ tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 large egg
Preparation
Step 1
Make the dough: In a large bowl, stir together the yeast, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and the warm water. Let sit until foaming, about 5 minutes.
Step 2
Meanwhile, whisk together 2 ½ cups of the flour, the remaining ⅓ cup of sugar, and the salt in a medium-size bowl.
Step 3
Stir the egg into the yeast mixture. Add the flour mixture and gently stir until the dough begins to come together. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead well, adding the softened butter pieces a few at a time, and adding up to ¼ cup more flour as needed, until you have a supple, slightly tacky dough, about 10 minutes. You might not need all of the flour. (The kneading can also be done in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, 5–7 minutes.)
Step 4
Grease a large bowl with the oil, add the dough, and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and let it sit in a warm place until nearly doubled in size, about 2 hours.
Step 5
Meanwhile, make the filling: In a food processor, combine the raisins, walnuts, sugar, butter, and Mexican chocolate and pulse until smooth.
Step 6
Generously grease a round, 10” Bundt pan with butter and set aside. Gently punch down the dough, turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and roll into a large, ¼-inch-thick rectangle.
Step 7
Spread the filling onto the dough, leaving a ¼-inch border around the edges. Starting at one of the long sides of the rectangles, roll up the dough tightly like a jelly roll, around 16-17” long. Using a sharp knife, trim the ends off each roll and discard. Halve the roll lengthwise. You should now have 2 long strands of dough, with the layers of filling exposed.
Step 8
Twist the strands together and pinch at the top and bottom to seal. Lay the twist into the Bundt pan, cover with a clean tea towel, and let rise until puffed, 1 hour.
Step 9
Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350°F. To make the topping, stir together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, and beat the egg with a splash of water in another small bowl. Brush a layer of the egg wash over the top of the babka (you will not use all of it), then sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Step 10
Bake until golden brown and cooked through, 30–35 minutes.
