Pumpkin Spice Latte Transformed Into Babka

by Momos75 in Cooking > Bread

1183 Views, 21 Favorites, 0 Comments

Pumpkin Spice Latte Transformed Into Babka

nyitó.JPG
IMG_9604.JPG

Hello everyone,

Babka is something I bake at least once a month. The best thing about it is that it is absolutely versatile, you can not only use the classic chocolate and nuts filling, but basically anything you can think of, I also like that the dough can be prepared in the evening, then after a long rest in the fridge you can add the filling, finish the cake and bake it quickly next morning.

This version is inspired by pumpkin spice latte. The "latte" part is incorporated into the dough, I added powdered coffee for the coffee flavor. The filling is made of pumpkin puree, toasted nuts and chocolate chips all spiced up with ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Finally, there is a mascarpone and pumpkin spice syrup (recipe included) glaze on top of the cake.

It's rich, tasty, indulgent and not too difficult to make.

Supplies

IMG_9362.JPG
IMG_9374.JPG
IMG_9460.JPG
IMG_9470.JPG

Ingredients of the dough (makes 2 loaves):

  • 550 g flour
  • 14 g active-dry yeast
  • 100 g sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 120 ml lukewarm milk
  • 2 tablespoons powdered coffee
  • 130 g softened butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

+ neutral oil (like sunflower) to grease the bowl

egg wash (1 yolk and 1 tablespoon milk)

Ingredients of the pumpkin spice latte syrup:

  • 480 ml water
  • 200 g white granulated sugar
  • 100 g brown sugar
  • 120 g honey
  • 150 g pumpkin puree (or buy a pumpkin and check next step on how to make puree yourself)
  • 3 cinnamon sticks
  • 6-8 whole cloves
  • 1 star anise
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Ingredients of the filling:

  • 400 g pumpkin puree
  • 200 g cream cheese (like Philadelphia)
  • 100 g brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 200 g nuts (I used a mix of walnuts and pecans)
  • 200 g dark chocolate chips

Ingredients of the glaze:

  • 100 g mascarpone
  • 10 tablespoons pumpkin spice latte syrup

Utensils:

  • stand mixer with dough hook attachment
  • cutting board
  • knifes
  • pots
  • blender (for making pumpkin puree yourself)
  • rolling pin
  • baking tray
  • parchment papers
  • loaf molds
  • cling film
  • pan
  • brush

Pumpkin Puree

IMG_9428.JPG
IMG_9429.JPG
IMG_9431.JPG
IMG_9433.JPG
IMG_9435.JPG
IMG_9453.JPG
IMG_9456.JPG
IMG_9457.JPG
IMG_9458.JPG

This step is for those of you who are planning on making the pumpkin puree from scratch. No big deal, really.

  1. Preheat the oven to 190 °Celsius, fan.
  2. Wash the pumpkin (I used Hokkaido).
  3. Cut off stem.
  4. Cut it in half, remove seeds and the soft part around the seeds with a spoon.
  5. Lay the pumpkin halves facing down on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
  6. Bake in the preheated oven for roughly 45 minutes until it gets soft.
  7. Remove from the oven and let it cool.
  8. Scoop the flesh out then blend until smooth.

Dough - Proofing the Yeast

IMG_9364.JPG
IMG_9365.JPG
IMG_9367.JPG
IMG_9369.JPG
IMG_9372.JPG
IMG_9377.JPG

Gather all the ingredients of the dough.

We'll start off by proofing the yeast, in the mixing bowl so as to cut down the number of dirty dishes by one.

Tip the flour into the mixing bowl, make a well in the middle and pour half of the milk, add 1 teaspoon of sugar and the dry yeast. Using a spoon, cover the top of the milk with some flour.

Cover the bowl with kitchen towel and let it sit until there will be cracks on the surface visible (about 5-10 minutes).

Mixing the Dough

IMG_9383.JPG
IMG_9389.JPG
IMG_9394.JPG
IMG_9399.JPG
IMG_9404.JPG
IMG_9406.JPG
B811538B-C7CE-41BE-84B4-D3B630EA704D.JPG
IMG_9415.JPG
IMG_9419.JPG

First things first, add granulated coffee into the rest of the milk and stir until combined. (I chose granulated coffee because I did not want to decrease the quantity of the milk as I should have - to retain total fluid quantity - had I used brewed coffee).

Set the butter and salt aside for the moment and add all other ingredients of the dough into the mixing bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix at low speed for about 2 minutes then switch to medium and mix until all the ingredients get combined. It does not look like in the beginning that this will ever happen, but eventually will.

At this point, add salt and start adding the butter cube by cube while mixing constantly at low - medium speed until all butter is fully incorporated and the dough is shiny. 

Rest the Dough

IMG_9423.JPG
IMG_9425.JPG
IMG_9426.JPG
IMG_9427 (1).JPG

Dump the dough onto the countertop and form it into a ball.

Put the dough back into the lightly oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate overnight.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup

IMG_9460.JPG
IMG_9462.JPG
IMG_9469.JPG
IMG_9529.JPG
IMG_9531.JPG
IMG_9532.JPG

Please note that the amount given here is a lot more than will actually be used for the cake. (Roughly 150 ml will be needed as opposed to the 600 ml syrup you'll end up with. You can either cut down the quantities proportionally or store the remaining PSL syrup in the fridge to spice up your morning coffee.)

Dump all ingredients into a small pot, bring it to boil and gently simmer for 10 minutes. Set it aside and let it stand for 30 minutes for the spices to infuse. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bottle.


Prepping to Make the Log

IMG_9472.JPG
IMG_9473.JPG
IMG_9474.JPG
IMG_9476.JPG
IMG_9497.JPG
IMG_9482.JPG

Next morning gather the ingredients of the filling.

Thoroughly mix the pumpkin puree with the cream cheese.

In a dry non-stick pan toast the nuts until fragrant over medium heat. Chop roughly.

Line the molds with parchment paper. Clips may be used to help the paper stay in place, but remember to remove them before baking. Do not cut the overhanging part of the parchment as it can be used as handles when lifting the baked babka out of the mold.

Rolling

IMG_9475.JPG
IMG_9477.JPG
IMG_9479.JPG
IMG_9480.JPG
IMG_9481.JPG
IMG_9483.JPG
IMG_9484.JPG
IMG_9485.JPG

By morning, the dough will have considerably risen in the fridge.

Dump the dough onto the lightly floured countertop, cut it in half (with the quantities given, you'll get two 550 g pieces), and place one half of the dough back into the bowl and into the fridge.

Roll out the dough into a roughly 30 x 40 cm rectangle. If it is not rectangle-y enough, trim the edges with a knife or pizza cutter.

(The closer you get to a rectangle the easier it is to work with.

Don't forget to lift the dough occasionally to make sure that it does not stick to the surface and dust underneath with flour whenever necessary.)


Filling and Rolling Into a Log

IMG_9487.JPG
IMG_9488.JPG
IMG_9496.JPG
IMG_9500.JPG
IMG_9502.JPG
IMG_9504.JPG
IMG_9508.JPG

Remember that we are making two babkas, so you're gonna have to halve everything that goes inside the first one.

Spread the cream cheese and pumpkin mixture, then sprinkle the sugar, spices, chocolate chips and toasted nuts on top as evenly as you can leaving 1.5 cm empty round the edge.

Starting from the long side closest to you, tightly roll up the dough using both hands. Place seam side down.

Forming Babka

IMG_9510.JPG
IMG_9514.JPG
IMG_9516.JPG
IMG_9518.JPG

Cut the log lengthwise with a sharp knife starting at about 2-3 cms from the top. Twist the two strands around each other (repeat twisting until you get to the end) and place it into the mold. Let it rest and rise, covered with a kitchen towel for about 40 minutes when it will be ready to go into the oven.

Repeat the whole process with the second half of the dough.

Baking

IMG_9523.JPG
IMG_9525.JPG
IMG_9533.JPG

Preheat the oven in due time (depending on how fast your oven reaches working temperature) to 170 °Celsius, fan.

Brush the top of the loaf with egg wash and bake it in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Glaze

IMG_9541.JPG
IMG_9542.JPG
IMG_9622.JPG

Combine mascarpone and PSL syrup. Since I had no clue how much syrup I'll need, first I added 3 tablespoons of it and kept on adding the syrup until I reached the desired taste and consistency. Finally I added 10 tablespoons altogether, but feel free to adjust it to your taste.

Finishing Touches

IMG_9535.JPG
IMG_9604.JPG
nyitó2.JPG

Wait until the babka cools to room temperature then drizzle as much glaze over the top as you wish. Enjoy the soft dough with coffee taste and the chocolatey spicy pumpkin filling with the toasted nuts.