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Chocolate, cinnamon and pecan babka.
Chocolate, cinnamon and pecan babka. Photograph: Issy Croker/The Guardian
Chocolate, cinnamon and pecan babka. Photograph: Issy Croker/The Guardian

Jordan Bourke’s chocolate, cinnamon and pecan babka

This dairy-free Easter recipe for babka – a Polish sweet loaf by way of New York – is a plaited affair of melting chocolate, warm spice and roasted nuts, doused in maple syrup

If Martha Stewart tells you to bake a babka, you do what you’re told. Back in 2008, during a brief spell living in New York, I went to watch her show being recorded; in between takes, she mentioned to one of her guests her love of this traditional brioche-like Polish cake. Her mother would make it each Easter, buxom with slivered almonds and dried fruit, and flavoured with orange zest and Grand Marnier.

However, it was the Jewish take on the babka Martha insisted we try, an enriched, yeasted dough, layered with oozing chocolate and nuts, then woven into a hypnotically beautiful plait.

I developed this version using coconut oil for a friend who can’t eat dairy. I use coconut palm sugar instead of dark brown sugar, simply because I prefer the flavour, and the spelt flour adds extra nuttiness. It keeps for at least 5 days in an airtight container, but there’s no chance it’ll last that long.

Chocolate, cinnamon and pecan babka

Makes 1 loaf
75ml milk (dairy, rice or almond)
2½ tsp fast-action dried yeast
310g white spelt flour, plus extra to dust
60g coconut palm sugar
¼ tsp sea salt
1 egg, beaten
80g extra virgin coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted

For the filling
170g pecans, lightly roasted
100g dark chocolate – minimum 70% cocoa solids (this is usually dairy free)
20g cocoa powder
150g coconut palm sugar
1½ tsp ground cinnamon or ½ tsp ground cardamom
A pinch of sea salt
60g extra virgin coconut oil or unsalted butter
100ml maple syrup

1 You’ll need a 21cm x 10cm loaf tin. Warm the milk in a pan until just tepid. Remove from the heat, add the yeast and set aside for 10 minutes, until frothy. Roast the pecans in the oven at 180C/350F/gas mark 4 for about 5 minutes, until just a shade darker.

2 Put the flour, sugar and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer with a dough hook. Mix in the egg, the milk and yeast mixture, and the melted coconut oil or butter until it all comes together into a ball of dough. Continue to knead for 8–10 minutes on a medium speed, until the dough is shiny, soft and smooth. Sprinkle in a little flour every now and again to help the dough lift away from the side of the bowl. Leave at room temperature for 30 minutes, then cover and refrigerate overnight. This can also be done by hand, but it will take a little longer to knead. The next day, grease and line the loaf tin.

3 To make the filling, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Remove it from the heat and stir in the cocoa powder, coconut palm sugar, cinnamon or ground cardamom, salt and coconut oil or butter until the sugar has dissolved and the oil or butter has melted into the mixture.

4 Put 50g of the pecans into a food processor and blitz to a rough powder. Add this to the chocolate mixture and leave to cool until thick. It should be spreadable and sticky, but not too loose. Roughly chop the remaining pecan nuts. Lightly dust the work surface with flour and roll the dough out into a rectangle shape, measuring roughly 36cm x 26cm. The dough will be quite firm from the fridge, but just keep working it into a rectangle shape, and don’t worry if the edges are not perfectly straight – you won’t notice once it’s assembled and baked.

5 Spread the chocolate mixture over the dough, leaving a 1cm border around the edge. Sprinkle over the remaining nuts. Roll the dough tightly, from one long side to the other, to form a thick cigar shape roughly 36cm long. With both hands, even out the dough into a smooth log.

6 With a sharp knife, cut the log in half lengthways, from top to bottom, so that you have 2 perfectly even long halves, with the layers of dough and chocolate facing up. If the dough feels too soft to handle, put it in the fridge for 15–20 minutes to firm up. If it still feels firm enough, you can begin to plait the dough. Press together the tips of the 2 lengths of dough. Now begin crossing 1 length of dough over the other, working your way down the lengths of dough, until both pieces are fully intertwined, then press the 2 pieces together at the bottom, as you did at the top. Don’t worry too much if it is a bit messy or the layers of dough begin to open out, just push them back together gently. Carefully transfer the entire plait into the loaf tin. You will need to tuck the ends of the plait underneath themselves in order for them to fit in the tin. Put the babka in a warm place and leave it to prove for 1½–2 hours, until the dough has risen and become soft. It will not double in size, but this is fine. If your kitchen is cold, you may need to put it near a radiator, as it does require a warm spot to rise properly.

7 About 30 minutes before the babka has finished proving, preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Bake the babka for about 30–35 minutes, until golden. A skewer should glide in without resistance. If it is undercooked the skewer will stick a bit in places. If it is browning too quickly, cover with foil and continue.

8 Remove from the oven and immediately pour over the maple syrup, covering the whole loaf. Leave the loaf to cool and absorb the maple syrup, then remove it from the tin and serve in thick slices.

  • Jordan Bourke is an Irish chef, food stylist and award-winning author based in London. His second book, Healthy Baking (Orion), is out now; @jordanbourke

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