Vegan Chocolate Orange Babka

Sweet and Fluffy Brioche Flavored w/ Orange Zest and Vanilla Bean Braided with a Chocolate Orange Filling

Ingredients

Filling

¼ Cup Sugar

3 oz Unsweetened Soy Milk

⅛ Tsp Salt

3 oz Vegan Orange Chocolate ( I used 1 Theo Orange Chocolate Bar)

4 Tbsp Vegan Unsalted Butter (Miyoko’s)

1 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Dough

4 Cups AP Flour

¾ Cup Sugar

¼ Cup Unsalted Vegan Butter (Miyoko’s Unsalted Butter)

4 Tbsp Aquafaba (liquid from a low-sodium or salt free can of garbanzo bean)

1 Cups of Unsweetened Soy Milk

1 Tablespoon Active Dry Yeast

½ Vanilla Bean or 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

Orange Zest

½ Tsp Salt

Procedures

Filling

Start first by making the filling. Roughly chop the chocolate bar into almond sized pieces. Place the chopped chocolate into a medium heat safe bowl and set it to the side.

In a small saucepan, add 4 tablespoon of vegan butter, 3 ounces of soy milk, ½ teaspoon of vanilla, ¼ cup of sugar, and ⅛ teaspoon of salt. Bring the saucepan to medium low heat until the sugar completely dissolves and the butter is fully melted. Just before the liquid comes to a simmer, turn off the heat and remove the saucepan from the heat. Pour the mixture over the chopped chocolate and mix continuously until the chocolate is fully melted and incorporated into the liquid.

Once the chocolate is fully melted and incorporated, place the mixture into the freezer. Every ten minutes, remove the bowl from the freezer and mix the chocolate. This will help evenly cool the chocolate. Once the chocolate thickens into a thick paste, you can stop mixing the chocolate and leave it in the fridge to chill.

Dough

In a heat proof bowl, heat the soymilk until warm to the touch (I microwaved the soymilk for 45 seconds). Add about a tablespoon of the ¾ cup sugar into the soy milk and mix until dissolved. Add the tablespoon of yeast to the soymilk and the vanilla bean or extract and stir to combine. Set the bowl aside and let the yeast bloom for about 5 minutes to make sure the yeast is well and alive.

Into a large bowl or a stand mixer, combine the flour, salt, orange zest, and sugar. Mix until everything is well incorporated. Add the aquafaba and the yeast and soy milk mixture. Set the stand mixer to medium low speed for about 2 minutes or knead the dough by hand for 5 minutes.

Once a dough is formed, add the butter one tablespoon at a time to the bowl or the stand mixer. Make sure each tablespoon is fully incorporated into the dough before adding the next tablespoon of butter. Continue kneading the dough either with the dough hook on the stand mixer for around 15 to 20 minutes or by hand for 20 to 25 minutes. The dough should be smooth, slightly tacky and elastic.

Grease a clean bowl with more butter or neutral vegetable oil. Form the dough into a ball and place into the oil greased bowl and cover the ball of dough completely with oil to prevent it from drying out. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean and damp dish towel and let proof for at least one hour and up to two hours. The dough should double in size.

Assembling

Once the dough has doubled in size, punch the air out of the dough and scoop out onto a clean and lightly oil surface. Cut the dough into two even pieces and form them into balls. Place one of the dough balls back to the bowl and cover with the damp towel and set aside. Oil a rolling pin lightly with oil and roll the dough out to rectangle about ½ inch thickness.

Using an offset spatula, spread half of the chocolate filling in an even coat, but leave about a ½ inch border from the edge of the dough. Starting to roll the dough from the opposite side than the side that has the border.

Place the rolled dough into the freezer for about 10 minutes. This will help firm up the dough and the chocolate filling to make it easier to work with. Repeat the same steps with the other dough ball.

After the 10 minutes has elapsed, remove one of rolled doughs from the freezer. Cut the dough down the center long ways to create two long pieces with the chocolate filling exposed. Braid the two pieces of dough over each other to create one braided piece. Place the dough into a greased loaf pan. Cover the loaf pan with a damp rag or plastic wrap and let proof for 30 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size. Repeat this with the other rolled dough that was left in the freezer and place it into another greased loaf pan.

Once the two doughs have proofed, preheat the oven to 375. Place the two loaf pans in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. While the loaves are in the oven, make the simple syrup by combining ⅓ cup sugar and ⅓ cup water into a small pot. Heat on medium and whisk until the sugar is fully dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside until the loaves are finished baking.

As soon as the babkas are fully baked and golden brown, remove them from the oven and brush them with the simple syrup. Let the babkas cool for about 30 minutes before removing them from the pans to cool on a cooling rack.

Let the babka loaves cool completely on the cooling rack before slicing and serving. Keep the babkas in an airtight container to preserve. Babka are best enjoyed within the next couple days.