Cinnamon Roll Babka
"Cinnamon takes a back seat to no babka" - Jerry Seinfeld.
Cinnamon sugar babka with roasted hazelnuts and thousands of swirls and layers. Buttery caramelised edges.
I want to confess something my lovelies. I have made so many babkas over the last 2 weeks that I think that my friends and neighbours either love or hate me. But the babka making stops this week because I’ve finally made the perfect cinnamon babka and I can finally put down my apron. I become very obsessive with things: I can’t rest until I perfect something and once that thing is perfected, I may never make it again. Make it make sense...
I wanted my babka recipe to address one of the most frustrating things about babka. That is, babka really is only good if eaten on the day it is baked. Like a lot of breads, it doesn’t do so well the following day. But you know me, I have that little baking trick called tangzhong, which is a simple roux that you add to bread to make it softer and keep it soft. It is what Asian bakeries use to get those super soft buns. Tangzhong will change your bread baking life and it is how I get my hot cross buns and brioche so soft. It does the same with babka. And if this is your first time baking with tangzhong this is one of the easier tangzhong doughs to start with.
Caramelised Cinnamon Butter
The other thing about babka is that it is best when there is a lot of filling and not just full of dry bread. This is achieved by rolling out the babka dough until thin and almost translucent. This little step makes each bite an absolute pleasure to eat. And truthfully this cinnamon babka is more like a Cinnamon Bun X Babka mash up so that you get that lovely buttery caramel with it.
This recipe makes 2 babkas. While you can halve it and halve 3 eggs, babka is fiddly so I always say make one to eat yourself, and make one to gift to someone. They’ll always appreciate it. Heck, they built a whole episode of Seinfeld around it!
Lorraine x
