Chocolate Krantz Cake (or Chocolate Babka) from Ottolenghi's Jerusalem

This chocolate krantz/babka is absolutely gorgeous and utterly delicious. This became an instant favorite in our home.

If you're comfortable baking bread you must bake this as soon as you can! This is the best chocolate babka to ever come out of my kitchen. I'll be using the lengthwise log-cutting technique + braid a lot in my future.

This makes two loaves and you need to start the brioche dough the night before you plan to make the bread since the dough needs an overnight ferment in the refrigerator. The dough rolls out wonderfully... What a pleasure to work with.

These are also better the day after baking or at least until the loaves have had a chance to fully absorb the sugar syrup (making it a great make-ahead item for a brunch or dessert to bring to a friend's house).

The dough one the morning we baked.

Ingredient round-up.

 

Spreading the filling.

 

The key to the beautiful ribbons of chocolate is the lengthwise slicing.

 

Gorgeous striations:

 

Into the pans they go to rise for 60-90 minutes.

 

The little scraps that get trimmed off of each end sprinkled with some ground almonds and chocolate.

 

Chocolate Krantz Cakes (aka Chocolate Babka)

from Jerusalem: A Cookbook​ by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

Headnote from the authors:

Making a krantz isn’t easy or quick (see pictures on pages 283 and 286–87). You need to let the dough rise overnight and then fill and shape it, which is quite an elaborate process. But, and it is a big but, we were guaranteed by two of our recipe testers, Claudine and Alison, that it is well worth it!

Although this recipe makes two fairly large cakes, there isn’t really any risk of anything going to waste. They are just the sort of thing everyone hurls themselves at as soon as they come out of the oven. They will also keep for up to two days at room temperature, wrapped in foil, and up to a couple of weeks when frozen.

For a fabulous alternative to the chocolate filling, brush each dough half with 6 tbsp / 80 g melted unsalted butter and then sprinkle with 1⁄2 cup / 120 g light muscovado sugar, 1 1⁄2 tbsp ground cinnamon, and scant 1⁄2 cup / 50 g coarsely chopped walnuts; then roll as described in the chocolate version. 

Ingredients

For the dough

• 4 cups / 530 g all- purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1/2 cup / 100 g superfine sugar
• 2 teaspoons fast-rising active dry yeast
• grated zest of 1 small lemon
• 3 extra-large free-range eggs
• 1/2 cup / 120 ml water rounded 1/4 tsp salt
• 2/3cup / 150 g unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 3/4-inch / 2cm cubes
• sunflower oil, for greasing

For the chocolate filling

• scant 1/2 cup / 50 g confectioners’ sugar
• 1/3 cup / 30 g best-quality cocoa powder
• 4 oz / 130 g good-quality dark chocolate, melted
• 1/2 cup / 120 g unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup / 100 g pecans, coarsely chopped
• 2 tbsp superfine sugar

For the sugar syrup (enough for both cakes)

• 2/3 cup / 160 ml water
• 1 1/4 cups / 260 g superfine sugar

​

Directions

1. For the dough, place the flour, sugar, yeast, and lemon zest in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook and mix on low speed for 1 minute. Add the eggs and water and mix on low speed for a few seconds, then increase the speed to medium and mix for 3 minutes, until the dough comes together. Add the salt and then start adding the butter, a few cubes at a time, mixing until it is incorporated into the dough. Continue mixing for about 10 minutes on medium speed, until the dough is completely smooth, elastic, and shiny. During the mixing, you will need to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times and throw a small amount of flour onto the sides so that all of the dough leaves them.
2. Place the dough in a large bowl brushed with sunflower oil, cover with plastic wrap, and leave in the fridge for at least half a day, preferably overnight.
3. Grease two 21⁄4-lb / 1kg loaf pans (9 by 4 inches / 23 by 10 cm) with some sunflower oil and line the bottom of each pan with a piece of waxed paper. Divide the dough in half and keep one-half covered in the fridge.
4. Make the filling by mixing together the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, chocolate, and butter. You will get a spreadable paste. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle measuring 15 by 11 inches (38 by 28 cm). Trim the sides to make them even, then position the dough so that a long side is closest to you. Use an offset spatula to spread half the chocolate mixture over the rectangle, leaving a 3⁄4-inch / 2cm border all around. Sprinkle half the pecans on top of the chocolate, then sprinkle over half the superfine sugar.
5. Brush a little bit of water along the long end farthest away from you. Use both hands to roll up the rectangle like a roulade, starting from the long side that is closest to you and ending at the other long end. Press to seal the dampened end onto the roulade and then use both hands to even out the roll into a perfect thick cigar. Rest the cigar on its seam.
6. Trim about 3⁄4 inch / 2 cm off both ends of the roulade with a serrated knife. Now use the knife to gently cut the roll into half lengthwise, starting at the top and finishing at the seam. You are essentially dividing the log into two long even halves, with the layers of dough and filling visible along the length of both halves. With the cut sides facing up, gently press together one end of each half, and then lift the right half over the left half. Repeat this process, but this time lift the left half over the right, to create a simple, two-pronged plait. Gently squeeze together the other ends so that you are left with the two halves, intertwined, showing the filling on top. Carefully lift the cake into a loaf pan. Cover the pan with a wet tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 to 11⁄2 hours. The cake will rise by 10 to 20 percent. Repeat the whole process to make the second cake.
7. Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C, making sure you allow plenty of time for it to heat fully before the cakes have finished rising. Remove the tea towels, place the cakes on the middle rack of the oven, and bake for about 30 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. While the cakes are in the oven, make the syrup. Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan, place over medium heat, and bring to a boil. As soon as the sugar dissolves, remove from the heat and leave to cool down. As soon as the cakes come out of the oven, brush all of the syrup over them. It is important to use up all the syrup. Leave the cakes until they are just warm, then remove them from the pans and let cool completely before serving.  

 

Comments

[ilva]

I love this post and the cake, I come back time and time again just to look at this recipe and today, when I had decided to make it, I realize I should have made the dough yesterday! I'm so disappointed! well, it will be next Sunday's project. If I remember to make the dough on Saturday that is...

[Lisa Cohen]

Hi Ilva,

Thank you for your kind words on this post. Its definitely worth making a note to yourself and leaving it where you can see it so you remember to mix up the dough. Its a beautiful, beautiful bread (and sinfully delicious too)! Im interested to hear how it goes for you next week. :D

Lisa

[Adam]

When you took it out of the fridge the morning of, did you let it rest before you cut it and made the loaves?

[Lisa Cohen]

Hi Adam! No, I divided it straight out of the fridge with no rest. Let me know if you have any other questions.

:D

[Ruth Urrego]

Lisa, thank you for this great recipe, i have, in this moment,the bread baked for my family and look amazing and smell delicious!!! Its a hit!

[Lisa Cohen]

Hi Ruth, 

Im so glad that you and your family enjoyed this! Its definitely a favorite around here that we havent had in far too long! 

Take care and keep on baking!

:D
Lisa

[Celeste]

I cannot thank you enough for posting this incredible recipe for such a fabulous-tasting, spectacular-looking, absolutely irresistible Chocolate Krantz/Babka! I made it in the spring for Easter brunch and I've never seen people so gob-smacked by a brunch pastry before. It is impossible to stop eating until too late, and so I've put off making it again until now when we have company coming to visit. And as I was looking at the recipe, I realized that even though I've never bothered to do this with any other recipe I've ever come across, this time I really needed to let you know how very much I have appreciated your sharing this recipe. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[Regina]

Hi! Please advise. I am planning on bringing this to a brunch on Saturday so I will start preparing the dough tonight. But I will only be able to bake it till tomorrow afternoon. Is it okay to keep the dough all that time in the fridge or should I prepare the dough super esarly tomorrow instead?

thanks!

[Lisa Cohen]

Hi Regina,

It will be fine to leave it in the refrigerator overnight and bake it in the afternoon. You may need to bake it longer since it will be cold rather than room temperature.

Lisa