Vegan Babka with Nougat & Hazelnuts
The pre-Christmas madness begins! On each table is a box filled with gingerbread, biscuits, and speculoos, and we already quit counting the number of cookies we've already eaten. Don't get us wrong – we love Christmas cookies! But today we show you a recipe that gives you a break from all the Christmas sweets and comes with a fluffy yeast dough and a sweet filling inside: a vegan Babka!
But what is a Babka? To put it in a nutshell, it's a yeast cake, or yeast bun, originally from Central and Eastern Europe. In Germany, we used to braid a yeast bun, especially at Easter. When preparing a babka, you don't braid but twist the dough. In this way, you create beautiful layers!
Preparing a babka without animal products is not too complicated. We simply replaced the butter and milk with a plant-based alternative. Our nougat chocolate filling is based on a vegan chocolate bar. We just added some vegan milk and hazelnuts to it. The only thing you really need is a little patience until the dough has risen. During this time, you wrap your first gifts or just enjoy the break with a hot cup of tea.
We're happy that iChoc supported us and this recipe. We're big fans of their plant-based chocolate bars and can only recommend their products to you! Their chocolates are great for baking, but also as a snack in between. iChoc uses 100% eco-friendly packaging, produces climate-neutral and obtains all raw materials from certified organic cultivation. Check more recipes on their blog, like this vegan Triple Chocolate Chip Cake.
Vegan Babka with Nougat & Hazelnuts
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp plant-based butter (for greasing the loaf pan)
- 1 tbsp flour (for greasing the loaf pan)
- 2 tbsp plant-based milk (to brush the loaf)
yeast dough
- 125 ml plant-based milk
- 35 g plant-based butter
- 250 g flour
- 20 g fresh yeast
- 30 g white sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
filling
- 160 g vegan nougat chocolate (e.g., White Nougat Crisp from iChoc)
- 50 ml plant-based milk
- 30 g plant-based butter
- 25 g chopped hazelnuts
Instructions
- Heat the plant-based milk in a small saucepan until warm. Stir in the butter and remove from heat. Allow to cool down until lukewarm.
- Put the flour in a large bowl and mix with sugar and salt.
- Add the lukewarm milk to the flour and crumble the yeast on the warm milk. Let rest for 10 minutes without kneading.
- Now knead the dough and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size for about 45 minutes.
- Prepare the filling 10 minutes before the dough is ready: Heat nougat chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water
- When the chocolate is melted, add the plant-based milk, the plant-based butter, and the chopped hazelnuts. Stir well! Allow to cool down until it thickens a bit.
- Grease a loaf pan with plant-based butter and sprinkle with some flour.
- Roll out the dough on a floured surface and spread with the filling, leaving a 1-inch border on the sides of the dough.
- Roll up the dough from the long side, seal the ends and then twist the dough in opposite directions with both hands. Don't worry if the filling runs out a bit.
- Put the dough into the loaf pan and use a sharp knife to cut in the dough so that the layers of the babka become visible.
- Let the dough rise again for 30 minutes in a warm place.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/356°F convection. Brush with plant-based milk and bake on the middle rack for 50 - 60 minutes at 180°C/356°F.
