Cheesecake Babka
To celebrate Cheesecake May, you can make a version of our world-famous Best of New York Babka at home using the below step-by-step instructions.
Ingredients
Makes 4 babkas
For the Dough
170 grams (3/4 cup) whole milk
30 grams (3T) fresh yeast
650 grams (4 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour, sifted
2 large eggs, at room temperature
110 grams (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
120 grams (8 1/2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into cubes
For the Cheesecake Filling
450g (2 cups) cream cheese, at room temperature
160g (1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons) ricotta, at room temperature
1 egg
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
Zest of 1 lemon
140g (1 cup + 2 tablespoons) powdered sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
For the Streusel
56g (4 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature, cut into cubes
60g (5 tablespoons) granulated sugar
100g (3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon) all-purpose flour
Plus one egg, beaten, for egg wash
Suggested Equipment
• one large mixing bowl, or a stand mixer
• bowl scraper, or your hands
• clean kitchen towel, or plastic wrap
• rolling pin
• piping bag
• serrated knife
• four loaf pans (9x5"), or two sheet pans
Either metal or disposable paper loaf pans will work equally well. Don't have enough loaf pans? You can bake some or all of the babkas directly on sheet pans instead.
Process
For the dough
Pour the milk into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Break up the yeast into the milk and dissolve it into the milk with a whisk or using your fingertips. Dump the flour on top of the milk, then the eggs on top of the flour, then the sugar, then the vanilla, then the salt, then half of the butter. Begin mixing at the lowest speed. After 2 minutes increase the speed to medium and continue mixing for another 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl, if necessary, so that it all mixes together. The dough should begin to come together but won’t be smooth.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the rest of the butter, cube by cube, only adding more butter once the previous cube disappears into the dough. This process should take 2 to 3 minutes. Once all of the butter is incorporated, turn off the mixer – the dough should be smooth and elastic.
Lightly flour your work surface and turn the dough out onto the floured surface. Knead the dough into a smooth ball.
Form the dough into a rectangle (measuring about 10 inches by 6 inches) and place on a tray. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 12 hours.
For the filling and streusel
For the filling: by hand or with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the cream cheese and ricotta. Add the eggs slowly, then the vanilla and zest. Combine the powdered sugar and cornstarch together first, then add to the cheese mixture until combined.
Put the filling into a piping bag fitted with a ½” tip. (Alternatively, use a plastic zip-top bag and cut a ½” hole from one corner.) Refrigerate.
For the streusel: by hand or with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar until smooth. Then, add the flour all at once and mix just until it forms small pebble-size pieces, scraping once in the middle if needed. Do not over mix. Set aside or refrigerate overnight.
SHAPING & PROOFING
- Lightly grease four 9x5" loaf pans with butter or oil, or line two sheet pans with parchment.
- Using a knife or pizza cutter, divide the dough in half lengthwise into two 4.5“-wide strips. Then divide each strip into four equal sections.
- Place the pieces in front of you with the long edges towards you. Working one rectangle at a time, lightly brush or dab the edges with water. Pipe approximately 100g into the center of the rectangle, leaving at least a 1” border on all sides.
- Roll up the long edge of the dough over the filling and overlap with the far edge by about ½” to make a filled tube. Pinch the ends closed so that the filling does not leak out.
- Cross two tubes, seam-down, to make an X. On the right side of the cross, twist the two halves one or two more times, keeping seams down. Repeat on the left side. You should have two tubes twisted together about five times, with the seams all on the bottom. Place this carefully into your prepped loaf pan. Repeat with the remaining tubes.
- Twist the babka working one pair at a time, make the iconic babka shape by crossing two pieces, cut-side up, to form an X. Starting on the right side of the intersection, twist the two pieces around each other 2-3 more times, making sure to keep the cut sides facing up the whole time. Repeat of the left side of the intersection to create a total of 5 - 7 even twists along the whole babka. Adjust the babka as needed to achieve an even thickness throughout.
- Put the babka into the mold, angling the ends downward to help prevent them from rising out of the mold during proofing. (If you're using sheet pans, arrange the babkas two per pan with at least 2" of space on all sides. Press the ends firmly onto the sheet pan to help prevent them from unraveling during proofing).
- Repeat steps 6 & 7 with the remaining 3 pairs to make 4 babkas in total
See the note below if you'd like to freeze some or all of the babkas at this stage to bake at a later time. - Proof the Babkas by covering them loosely with a kitchen towel and let rise for about 2 hours in a warm, draft-free spot.
- Preheat about thirty minutes into proofing, position a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Remember to gently brush the dough with a beaten egg before the next step.
Want to bake some or all of your babkas another day? Instead of leaving them to rise a second time, place the shaped babkas directly into the freezer either in the loaf pans or consolidated on a sheet pan. Once frozen solid, wrap them individually with plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze for up to one week.
About 5-6 hours before you're ready to bake, remove them from the freezer and remove the foil. If they were frozen in loaf pans, leave the plastic on to help wick away excess moisture as they defrost. If they were frozen on a sheet pan, remove the plastic, arrange the babkas on the sheet pan(s) with about 2" of space on all sides, then loosely cover again with the plastic.
Let them defrost in a warm area for about 2-3 hours (alternatively, defrost in the fridge overnight to bake in the morning). Once the dough has defrosted, continue with step 12 above.
BAKE IT NICE
- Crumble the streusel on top of the proofed babkas right before adding into the oven.
- Bake the babkas for 35 minutes or until golden brown.
- Cool completely before devouring (and then pat yourself on the back for your notable willpower).
STORING YOUR BABKAS
Babka will always be best the same day, but they'll hold well at room temperature up to three days after baking. Store the cooled babkas in a sealed container or wrapped in plastic.
Kept your babka past its prime? Stale babka has a decadent second life as french toast, monkey bread or bread pudding.
You can freeze your babkas for up to 30 days after they're baked. Allow them to cool completely, then wrap in both plastic wrap and aluminum foil. To defrost, take them out of the freezer and remove the foil. Let sit for about two hours at room temperature, covered in plastic wrap to help wick away excess moisture. Remove the plastic and reheat at 350F for 5 - 8 minutes before serving.
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