Melty chocolate filling swirled in sweet fluffy dough: perfect for this gloomy rainy Monday. #54: Chocolate Babka Muffins
The new year is off and running and I’m not sure I’m quite keeping up. I’ve got a list full of mostly-doable resolutions – we’ll see how they’re lookin around March. One of them is to use less disposable wrapping/containers. To replace plastic wrap, I found these awesome beeswax cloths that mold to the container they’re covering and seal with the heat from your hands. You wash them in between uses – so cool, right??
Anyway, back to swirls of chocolate, as promised. Babka is a traditionally Eastern European yeasted cake. The most common form that you see in bakeries is a twisted loaf with a sweet filling throughout. I’d like to think of it as bread, but the amount of butter and sugar involved makes that title a stretch.
I’m growing fond of making mini versions of my bakes for a few reasons:

1. They are so cute!!

2. Much easier to share (no messy cutting and napkins needed.)

3. They stay fresh a little longer. Instead of cutting into a loaf or cake and bringing the inevitable stale texture on sooner.

Continuing the red and white theme in my kitchen utensils: introducing my new ceramic mini loaf pans!

Yeast will always and forever weird me out. But I’m now able to use it without killing it! Woo! Success comes in many forms, ya’ll.

Prepping the deliciousness. Butter, milk and vanilla.

Mickey spatula making an appearance.

Each recipe describes something different as the stopping point. I usually just stop when it completely attached to the dough hook. Feel free to correct me if there’s a better indication!

Dough grows better under a cute towel, right?

While waiting for the dough to proof, there was plenty of time to prep the filling. (My inner spelling critic is cringing, but I’m almost positive that you use ‘proofing’ as opposed to ‘proving.’) The filling was so interesting – it’s actually crushed chocolate wafer cookies mixed with melting chocolate and butter. Gotta have that crunchy texture!

See what I mean? Luscious chocolate cookie spread.

This called for a loose fold instead of a tight curl. I’m assuming that it helps keep the light texture during baking!

Sliced like cinnamon rolls, snugly fit into muffin tins, and topped with a sprinkle of nutmeg crumble. Ready for the sauna!

Pair with a steaming mug of tea or coffee. Happy munching!
P.S. – thanks to Emily for the baking assist!
Recipe from: joythebaker.com/2017/12/chocolate-babka-pull-apart-muffins/