Note that Cinnamon Babka is suitable for kids 2 plus, because of a possible egg white intolerance.
Total Time: 1 hour + 2 hour chill of The Dough
Shopping List
20g of fresh yeast
1 teaspoon of caster superfine sugar
250ml of lukewarm milk
2 packages of vanilla sugar
A pinch of sea salt
450g of flour (I used mix of plain, universal and whole-wheat flour), sifted
½ teaspoon of gingerbread spice
1 whole egg
60g of butter, melted
The Cinnamon Filling:
60g of butter, soft
60g of cane sugar
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
My Blueberry Sauce:
200g of fresh or frozen blueberries
40g of caster superfine sugar
A splash of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of vanilla pudding mix
Icing sugar for dusting
Instructions
The Dough
First, activate the yeast. Sprinkle it into a lukewarm milk in a coffee mug. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar and mix. Let it rise in a warm place for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl place the sugar, salt, flour, gingerbread spice and stir.
Next, add the egg and butter.
Stir in the yeast with a bit of milk, few at a time. Start kneading a dough. Accordingly to the texture, continue pouring more milk.
In the finale, the dough should have elastic and non sticking texture.
Sprinkle with some flour and cover with a clean cloth. Let it rise in a warm place for at least 1.5 hour until it doubles its size.
Blueberry Sauce
Meanwhile the dough is rising, prepare the sauce as per in my Blueberry Sauce Recipe.
Throw fresh or frozen blueberries into a medium deep pot and sprinkle them with sugar. Heat up the pot on medium heat and let the blueberries dissolve for a couple of minutes. Flavour up with lemon juice and taste.
Next, stir in the vanilla pudding mix and wait for about 1-2 minutes until it thickens. Take off the heat and mold into a clean glass jar. Close tightly and store in a dark cold place.
After the dough is risen enough, preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
The Cinnamon Filling
In a small mixing bowl whisk soft butter with sugar and cinnamon. Continue until you get a beautiful shiny texture. Set aside.
Presentation
Sieve your working space and knead The Dough with hands for a bit.
Next, roll it out into a rectangular shape with a roller.
Brush on top with The Filling and roll it all the way up.
Then, make a cut in the middle, leaving approximately few 2 centimeters at the end. Braid Babka all the way down, preferably with the cuts up.
If you have some of The Filling left, brush it all over the top, together with a bit of milk.
Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes until nicely golden and baked through.
Let it cool down entirely. Dust with some icing sugar and serve with My Blueberry Sauce.
Makes 1 large babka.