Blueberry Cream Cheese Babka

Have you ever seen something while mindlessly scrolling through your Pinterest feed that catches your eye? You click it to look closer and eventually follow it to a website with stunning pictures. That was me the other day when I came across this recipe for Blueberry Cream Cheese Babka.

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I have never made Babka before but I’m not intimidated by yeast goods so I figured I could tackle something like this. The last time I was at the grocery store I stocked up on yeast packets because they were really hard to find (that and bread flour, still waiting to see everyone baking bread in quarantine).

Babka is a traditional yeast bread with origins from Poland. It is a sweet bread associated with Jewish communities throughout Poland and Eastern Europe. I actually first heard of Babka while I was watching one of the gourmet holiday specials on QVC (we love QVC in my house, especially the food specials). It wasn’t until I stumbled upon The Marble Kitchen’s Blueberry Cream Cheese Babka recipe that I decided to roll some out in my own kitchen.

I am well passed the banana bread stage of this quarantine. My bananas were long used up for my Banana Nut Crunch muffins. If you haven’t reached banana bread stage feel free to check them out, you won’t be disappointed. With that being said, I also have an inordinate amount of frozen fruit since Dan’s gram is a saint and she bought him a ton for his mesh teethers. Since I had a bag of frozen blueberries on hand I knew I could pull together this blueberry babka in no time.

I have made some adjustments to the original recipe and instructions. I made an enormous mess in my kitchen preparing this babka. Overall, the dough comes together really nicely and is relatively easy to work with. There are definitely babka filling plans in my future because of the versatility of the dough (pumpkin spice, anyone?).

Ingredients

For the Dough

• 1 packet of yeast (instant rapid rise or regular, about 2 1/4 tsp)
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 cup milk (warm to about 100-110 degrees)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 10 tbsp butter (very soft and cubed)

For the Blueberry Filling

• 16oz frozen blueberries (fresh is good too, I have frozen on hand, they were fine)
• 1/2 cup sugar

For the Cream Cheese Filling

• 8oz cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sugar

Topping/Glaze (Optional)

• 1/3 cup water (boiling)
• 1/3 cup sugar

Instructions

1. Proof the yeast by heating the milk in the microwave until approximately 100-110 degrees. Dissolve 1 tsp of sugar into the milk and sprinkle the yeast on top and combine. Allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes until the yeast is foamy.
   1. I use rapid rise yeast because my regular yeast was expired (it did not foam). I know rapid rise says you don’t have to proof it but I treated it just like regular yeast for the recipe’s sake and it was just fine.
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl (flour, sugar, and salt). Add eggs and vanilla to the yeast mixture. Add the dry ingredients and beat with your mixer’s dough hook on medium until a smooth dough forms. I love my kitchenaid, it does a great job with these kind of recipes.
3. Gradually add the softened butter while mixing on medium. Beat until combined and dough comes together, scraping as necessary (the butter can get glommed on the sides). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place for 1.5 hours, or until doubled in size. *you can also allow it to rise in the fridge overnight but I prefer instant gratification
4. Line two 12inx16in (approximate) baking sheets with parchment paper and sprinkle with flour.
5. Blueberries: While the dough is rising, combine the blueberries and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Reduce until blueberries break down and create a syrupy sauce.
6. Cream Cheese: In a mixing bowl, beat softened cream cheese and sugar until combined. I use my hand mixer for this since the bowl for my big mixer is in use for the dough.
7. Simple Syrup Glaze: In a saucepan, boil water and sugar until dissolved. Allow to cool.
8. Once risen, punch down the dough and turn it out on to a lightly floured surface. The dough is super soft and super sticky so have some extra flour on hand. Split the dough and half and place each on a baking sheet. This recipe makes two loaves.
9. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a 12×16 inch rectangle, using flour as needed if sticky. Place the dough in the refrigerator for a half hour to chill (OR, if you’re impatient like me, in the freezer for about 5 minutes) **This step is critical in not making a gigantic mess, I learned from the first loaf**
10. Once chilled, spread half of your cream cheese mixture on each of the dough.
11. Using a slotted spoon, spoon half of the blueberry mixture on to each dough. **Too much juice is going to make an enormous mess see below. Use blueberry juices at your own risk**
12. As tightly as possible, roll the dough long ways. As the dough becomes warmer and stickier I pop it back in the freezer as needed so I can work with it better.
13. Once rolled, slice the dough down the middle long ways with a sharp knife and turn to expose the rolled layers on the inside. To the best of your ability, connect the ends of each cut roll and twist them over each other to form the babka’s signature twist look.
14. Lift your babka on the parchment paper and place it directly into your loaf pan. I used a standard 5×9 inch loaf pan. I only have one so I let one rise in the pan and another rise on its baking sheet. Allow the dough to rise for another hour before baking.
15. Preheat oven to 350F. Bake babka in the loaf pan for 40 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 190F (or a toothpick comes out clean).
16. Spoon the simple syrup over each babka using all of it. Allow your babka to rest on the counter for about 20 minutes before slicing (which is the hardest part!) Enjoy for breakfast or with your favorite brunch specialties!