Vanilla-Cinnamon Babka Made with Challah Dough

You already have the dough. Just make the filling and this babka is ready to go.

We can pull the meat out of the freezer (there’s still lots there). But if there’s one thing that’s going to be fresh tomorrow, it’s the challah. And if you want to add one more special (and chametzdike) thing to your Shabbos, you can easily make this babka.

I know that most babka aficionados make specific doughs for babka. Like the one in this recipe for babka buns. Or in this dairy cheesy version. But we’re not going there yet.

No way. Maybe the very ambitious might bake tomorrow. I think that, for the rest of us, making challah is plenty. Plenty.

This filling is sweet enough that it can easily turn challah dough into a very amazing babka. And, you probably already have that vanilla sugar left over in your Pesach pantry.

Disclaimer: My babkas do not come out this pretty and perfect. Leah was actually home when we were shooting this one, and we called her over to roll the babka for the photos.

First, let’s make the filling. 1 cup brown sugar + 1/2 cup vanilla sugar + 1 tablespoon cinnamon + 1 stick melted marg.

Roll out a piece of dough that’s about the size of one of your challahs into a rectangle that’s about the size of a baking sheet.

Spread the filling over the dough and roll it up as tightly as you can. There are lots of ways you can roll up your babka (see 8 Ways to Roll Your Babka), but this method is foolproof.

Just fold your roll in half and twist it up.

Those slits are what is going to give it that babka look.

Finally, I top it with the streusel crumbs from our Rosh Hashanah challah featured in this post.

Another disclaimer: The challah shown here is Renee’s and it’s braided using the four strand method featured in this post (a must read!).

Prefer chocolate babka? Make a big batch of Esti’s dry chocolate babka mix over here.

You might also want to make use of this hack for keeping your counters clean while rolling babka here!

Vanilla Cinnamon Babka Made with Challah Dough

Just mix a four-ingredient filling and you're most of the way there.

Ingredients

1 part challah dough (equivalent to about 1 challah)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vanilla sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 stick margarine, melted
Some streusel crumbs featured in this post: https://betweencarpools.com/baking-your-rosh-hashanah-challah-these-are-the-best-crumbs-for-your-challah-more-you-need-to-know/

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F.
Roll out your piece of challah dough to about the size of a baking sheet.
In a bowl, combine brown sugar, vanilla sugar, cinnamon, and melted margarine.
Spread filling evenly over dough and roll up as tightly as possible. Twist dough as shown above. Place into a parchment-lined loaf pan and cut slits in each bump of the babka.
Sprinkle with streusel crumbs.
Bake until golden, about 25-30 minutes (this baking time may differ greatly, depending on your oven, size of babka, type of pan, and many factors).

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