Chocolate orange babka – Life in the South

Chocolate orange babka is such a beautiful bread recipe. It has all the flavors of winter in each bite. The chocolate walnut and orange flavors are just absolutely wonderful together if you are a citrus lover or not. I never really loved orange in sweet baked desserts or bread, but since making this winter melody, I am completely smitten!

The French make Brioche that is quite similar to the taste of the babka. The brioche is more rich and delicate, whereas the babka I find is light but has a bit more texture to it. I love the fact that this bread is still tasty even though the filling is made with less sugar and a peanut butter filling. I am sure if you serve this bread, your guests won’t even know there aren’t any sugar, butter or eggs in there.

Apart from this chocolate orange babka the brioche in itself is such an amazing bread recipe too and you have to make it the night before to ensure it has risen properly. Bread was one of the things I love the most about the French culture. Its a given to have a baguette a day, it’s like a daily ritual to buy one to have for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Being vegan has been a challenge of it’s own, because it’s a very weird concept for some of the small town folks where I am at. So I want it to be more acceptable for myself and for my dream store one day.

After five years I still don’t know all the in’s and outs of their patisserie and viennoiserie wonders and it’s a dying art so I have heard, but I certainly hope that it will be revived with the new and hip culture that are into bread creating. I have been to a croissant course and it’s a lot of work that gets devoured within seconds. I will be taking a vegan baking course pretty soon, so I can’t wait to know all the in and out’s of making all the vegan baked goodies that are quite unknown in France.

I do love this recipe and I have to make something baked every week, just because it’s an art of exploration of the cultures that I am stuck in right now. Adding on all the layers to my blog is what I want you to experience, all of the French and South African cultures intertwined together as a beautiful symphony!

Recipe

Prep Time

Cook Time

4 - 6 People

Serves 4

Intermediate

Difficulty 0

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups spelt flour
2 tsp active yeast
2/3 cup coconut sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups water

Chocolate peanut butter filling

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup almond flour
4-5 soaked medjool dates
1/4 melted vegan chocolate or 1/4 cup coconut oil
1-2 tbsp maple syrup
1 1/2 tbsp orange zest
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp salt

Glaze

1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup boiling water

Method

For the dough: Sift the flours together and then add the yeast, sugar and the salt.
You can use a machine with a dough hook or mix by hand, add the oil to the flour and then 240ml lukewarm water.
Knead by hand or with a dough hook until the dough comes together for 6-7 minutes.
Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and then shape into a round shape.
Place in an oiled bowl and let the dough rise for an hour.
Blend together all the filling ingredients until it comes together as a paste, place in the fridge if it is too runny and remove about 10 minutes or so before you have to smear the paste on to the risen babka.
Once the dough has risen and has doubled in size, remove and divide the dough into two equal parts. (This recipe makes two babka loaves)
Roll out each half into two long rectangular shapes and then smear on half and half of the paste mixture on to each rectangular, and grate on the orange zest and chopped walnuts.
Roll the rectangular up lengthwise and then slice the roll dough lengthwise with a very sharp knife, so you have two long sausages with the chocolate orange filling showing.
Braid the bread and place each braid in an oiled or pre-smeared bread tin, leave to rise for another hour until they have doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celcius and brush the tops of the bread with soy milk and bake for 30-40 minutes until brown on top.
Microwave the glaze in the microwave for a few minutes and once the bread are finished baking, brush the tops with the glaze.
Leave to cool before flipping out of the bread tins and serve with some tea, coffee and fresh butter.

Notes:

For the filling remove the dates before blending the filling ingredients.
You can make use of agave instead of maple syrup.
To make this loaf gluten-free make use of spelt flour instead of all-purpose.

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