Blackberry White Chocolate Cream Cheese Babka!

A babka can be considered to be a brioche, a sweet bread. Soft and fluffy. However my previous recipes for the Babka was a dark chocolate crunch Babka. And seeing that this is the perfect season for berry picking, I had recently picked over 5 kg of blackberries! And so decided to make a blackberry babka.. but not just with berries, with white chocolate cream cheese filling! Yes, I’m always a little extra! 😉

Here’s how you make it!

INGREDIENTS

Dough/Babka Base

4 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp fine sea salt
1 cup whole milk ,warmed
1 packet dry active yeast
1 large egg plus one large egg yolk
113 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into small cubes

Filling

1 1/2 cup white chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup of cream cheese, room temp
1 cup of fresh blackberries, cut in half. (You could add an extra half cup if your like extra!)

Glaze

1 cup blackberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons golden syrup

METHOD

To make the dough – In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the sugar and salt. In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the milk with the yeast and let stand until the yeast foam starts to bubble up, roughly about 5 minutes.
Beat the egg and egg yolk a little in a small bowl and add them ontop of the yeast. Then sprinkle the dry ingredients on top. Mix at low speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the side of the bowl and mix at medium speed until all of the dry ingredients are mixed in thoroughly and the dough is smooth, about 5 minutes.
Add all of the butter at once and mix at low speed until it is thoroughly mixed in together and a sticky dough forms, about 3 minutes; scrape down the side of the bowl as needed during mixing. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a wet tea towel and let the dough stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and coat the paper generously with nonstick baking spray. Scrape the dough out onto the parchment paper and cut the dough in half. Pat each piece into a square. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Once the dough has rested overnight, take it out and let it rest till it gets to room temperature. This is VERY important, because once you start spreading the filling on, if the dough is still cold, the filling will crack and the dough will not roll up properly. While the dough rests, In a large heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the white chocolate stirring occasionally, until smooth. Let cool to room temperature, then stir in the cream cheese.
Coat two 9-by-4-inch loaf pans with nonstick baking spray and line with parchment paper, allowing 2 inches of overhang on each of the long sides.
Roll out each square of dough to a 16-inch square. Using an offset spatula, spread all the filling in an even layer over both the dough squares to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Then spread the blackberries all over the white chocolate cream cheese filling. Starting at the long edge nearest you, tightly roll up each square into a jam roll–style , so it essentially becomes a tightly rolled log.
Using a sharp knife, cut the logs in half crosswise. Set the other halves on top in the opposite direction to form a cross. Twist to form spirals and transfer to the prepared pans. Cover the loaves with a towel and let stand in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. (scroll down for images to better understand how to do this – I’ve used images from the chocolate babka, because i totally forgot to take pictures whilst doing this version! Concept is exactly the same 😉 )
Preheat the oven to 190 C°. Bake the Babka’s in the center of the oven for about 40-45 min, until puffed and well browned. Let cool slightly, then use the parchment paper to lift the babkas out of the pans and onto a rack set over a baking sheet.
To make the Glaze – set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, mix the blackberries, and sugar, stir until smooth. Stir in the syrup. Spread the glaze on top of the warm babkas and let stand until set, about 30 minutes.

ENJOY!