Chocolate Cinnamon Babka

by Leah Halmagyi

Ingredients

  • 1 quantity Basic Rich Babka Dough
  • 125g unsalted butter, melted
  • 3 Tbsp cocoa powder
  • 2 Tbsp icing sugar
  • 100g dark chocolate, melted
  • 100g pecans, toasted and chopped
  • ¼ cup cinnamon sugar
  • 1 orange, chopped
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 125g caster sugar
  • 1 egg, beaten

Instructions

Preparation time: 20 minutes + rising time
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Makes: 1 loaf

1 Preheat oven to 200°C. Roll out the dough to a rectangle 35cm x 25cm. Whisk the butter, cocoa, icing sugar and chocolate to make a smooth paste, then spread on top of the dough. Scatter with pecans and cinnamon sugar, then roll up, starting at the short edge, to make a log.
2 Place into a large oiled loaf pan, cover loosely with cling film, then set aside to rise for 1 hour. Meanwhile, combine the orange, cinnamon stick and caster sugar in a small saucepan with 2 cups water and boil rapidly for 20 minutes, until thick and syrupy. Strain through a fine sieve.
3 Brush the loaf with egg, then place the loaf in the oven and mist with a little water. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180°C and bake for a further 30 minutes. Brush with the syrup immediately when removed from the oven, then cool on a wire rack.