This soft and fluffy chocolate tahini babka is the perfect weekend baking project. It's made with my go-to overnight brioche dough recipe and filled with the dreamiest chocolate tahini filling! The bittersweet chocolate works beautifully in this recipe paired with the sweet dough and nutty tahini! It's a bit of a process to make, but how could you say no to pillowy brioche filled with chocolate?! If you have never made babka before, don't be intimidated - I've laid out exactly how to make brioche dough and how to shape it into a beautiful babka!
Jump to:
Ingredients
- Active Dry Yeast or Instant Yeast: If using active dry yeast, combine with milk and sugar and allow to sit for 15 minutes. If using instant yeast, there is no need to let the yeast sit in the mixture.
- Milk: Warm the milk to about 110 degrees F to activate the yeast.
- Sugar: A tiny bit of sugar is added to the dough, primarily to help activate the yeast. You will also need sugar for both the filling and sugar syrup.
- Eggs: You’ll need 2 eggs at room temperature.
- All Purpose Flour: You'll need about 2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour.
- Unsalted Butter: You’ll need about 6 tablespoon of unsalted butter at room temperature, which will need to be added one piece at a time to properly incorporate into the dough. A couple tablespoons of butter will also be needed for the filling.
- Chocolate: I used bittersweet chocolate for the filling. Alternatively, you could use semi-sweet chocolate.
- Tahini: My favorite tahini brands are Krinos and Seed + Mill!
- Cocoa Powder: I recommend using either dutch process or black cocoa powder!
- Honey: You'll need just one tablespoon of honey for the sugar syrup.
- Cardamom: I also added a touch of cardamom to the sugar syrup to round out those mediterranean flavors!
FAQ
1. Using a stand mixer with the dough hook, mix the wet and dry ingredients on low-medium speed for a few minutes until it forms a ball around the hook.
2. Slowly begin incorporating the room temperature butter as it mixes on medium speed. It is very important to use room temperature butter in order for it to incorporate properly.
3. Once all of the butter is incorporated, turn the speed up to high and mix for about 10 minutes or until the dough passes the windowpane test.
The windowpane test is used to tell when the brioche has developed enough gluten. To check if the dough is ready, tear off a small piece and carefully spread it out to see if you can see the light through it without it tearing. If it tears, mix for another minute and check again.
1. First proof overnight - Make the brioche dough the night before, and allow it to proof overnight in the fridge. The next morning, shape into a babka, proof one more time in a warm environment, and bake.
2. Second proof overnight - Make the brioche dough the night before, and proof for about 1 hour in a warm environment. Shape the dough into a babka, then proof overnight in the fridge. The next morning (ideally before 9am), take the babka out to come to room temperature (about 1 hour) and bake as directed.
- Stand mixer: In order to properly knead the brioche, you need a stand mixer and a dough hook. It's possible to knead the dough by hand, but it would take a very long time and I have personally never done it.
- Kitchen scale: You'll need a kitchen scale to weigh all of your ingredients (read why below)!
Like most brioche recipes, this bread is best eaten the day it is made. I recommend storing leftover slices in the freezer.
How to shape babka
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a rectangle about 10" x 15". It doesn't need to be too exact, but it helps to keep it close to this size.
- Spread the filling evenly all over the dough, leaving a small border around the edge.
- Roll the dough up from the short side. We want as many twists and turns of filling on the inside of the babka as possible, and rolling up from the short side and ensures that it bakes up that way!
- To make it easier to cut and shape, I highly recommend placing the rolled up dough in the freezer for about 20 minutes.
- Cut the ends of the dough off - you can use your loaf pan to measure how much to cut off. Then, cut straight down the middle, leaving you with two exposed pieces. Braid the dough, placing one piece over the other, keeping the layers facing upwards.
- Transfer the babka to a loaf pan lined with parchment paper. You may need to squish it up slightly so it will fit. Don't worry if it doesn't look perfect. After it rises, all of the imperfections will be filled out.
Other brioche recipes you'll love
How to accurately measure ingredients for baking
All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed to create incredibly delicious baked goods that you can easily recreate in your own kitchen with success. The only way this is possible is to standardize the way ingredients are measured - by weight. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), I can ensure that you can make the recipe accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale.
If you would like to convert the recipe to volume measurements, this is the best conversion chart. If you chose to do this, I cannot promise a good result as I do not test my recipes with this method.
Trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!
Happy baking! x
Print📖 Recipe
Chocolate Tahini Babka
- Prep Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 1 babka 1x
- Category: babka, brioche, bread
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This soft and fluffy chocolate tahini babka is the perfect weekend baking project. It's made with my go-to overnight brioche dough recipe and filled with the dreamiest chocolate tahini filling!
Ingredients
For the brioche:
- 2 ¼ tsp active dry or instant yeast
- 115g whole milk (lukewarm)
- 20g granulated sugar
- 2 eggs (room temp)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 300g all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 85g unsalted butter (room temp)
For the chocolate tahini filling:
- 35g unsalted butter
- 80g granulated sugar
- 50g bittersweet chocolate
- 75g tahini
- 6g dutch process cocoa powder
For the sugar syrup:
- 35g granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom (optional)
- 50g water
Instructions
For the brioche:
- Heat the milk to 110 degrees F and stir in yeast and sugar. If using active dry yeast, allow to sit for 15 minutes. If using instant yeast, simply move on to the next step.
- Mix the eggs and vanilla into the milk yeast mixture.
- Combine flour and salt together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix on low-medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until it forms a ball around the hook.
- Add in one piece of butter at a time, allowing it to fully incorporate before adding the next. Once all of the butter is incorporated, turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and mix for 8-10 minutes. To check if the dough is ready, tear off a small piece and carefully spread it out to see if you can see the light through it without it tearing. If it tears, mix for another minute and check again.
- Once the dough is ready, transfer it to a lightly greased bowl, cover, and place in the fridge to proof overnight. Alternatively, you can proof the dough in a warm environment for one hour or until doubled in size, then assemble and bake the same day.
For the chocolate tahini filling:
- Just before you are ready to assemble the babka, make the filling.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low-medium heat.
- Add the sugar and stir until it begins to bubble along the sides and the sugar has dissolved.
- Remove the saucepan from heat, then stir in the chocolate until melted and fully combined.
- Lastly, stir in the tahini and cocoa powder.
- Set aside while you roll out the dough.
For assembly:
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a rectangle about 10" x 15".
- Spread the chocolate tahini filling evenly all over the dough, leaving a small border around the edge.
- Roll the dough up from the short side. To make it easier to cut and shape, place the rolled up dough in the freezer for about 20 minutes.
- Cut the ends of the dough off - you can use your loaf pan to measure how much to cut off. Then, cut straight down the middle, leaving you with two exposed pieces. Braid the dough, placing one piece over the other, keeping the layers facing upwards.
- Transfer the babka to a loaf pan lined with parchment paper. You may need to squish it up slightly so it will fit. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm environment for about one hour.
- Towards the end of the proof time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
- Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until the inside of the babka registers 190 degrees F (90 degrees C).
- While still warm, brush the sugar syrup all over the top of the babka, then allow to cool completely before cutting.
For the sugar syrup:
- Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and boil for 4-5 minutes.
- Allow to cool before brushing on the warm babka.
Notes
- The quality of ingredients greatly affects the recipe. Use high-quality flour, butter, chocolate, and tahini for best results.
- I highly recommend letting your dough rise overnight in the fridge, and freeze the rolled up dough with filling for 20 minutes before cutting. Working with cold dough makes assembly much easier!
- This babka is best eaten the day it is made, but can also be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 434
- Sugar: 23.5 g
- Sodium: 176.1 mg
- Fat: 20.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 55.5 g
- Protein: 8.7 g
- Cholesterol: 79 mg
Keywords: chocolate tahini babka, chocolate babka, brioche babka, chocolate brioche babka, chocolate brioche recipe, brioche with chocolate
Ioana says
Hi Sloane! That Babka looks fantastic. If all I have available is fresh yeast, what would be the amount that I will need to use (for 1 babka)? Also, I assume that if I’m using fresh yeast, I will need to activate it in lukewarm milk & sugar? Thanks
Sloane says
Hi Ioana! I have never baked with fresh yeast before, but from a quick google search it looks like 1/3 of a 2oz block of fresh yeast is equal to 2 1/4 tsp (or one packet) of dry yeast. I'm not sure about activating it in the milk and sugar, but I don't think it would hurt. Hope this helps and let me know how it turns out!