Mini Chocolate Almond Babka

This Mini Chocolate Almond Babka is made with an enriched brioche dough and is filled with swirls of chocolate and almonds. 

This little babka is made with just one cup of flour and baked in a mini loaf pan. I love it because enriched doughs, especially ones with butter, tend to not last as long as leaner doughs (ones with just flour, water, salt, and yeast). There are just two of us, and only so much room in our freezer. Making a mini version of a babka is great solution. 

The filling for this bread includes lots of melted chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla, and a scattering of sliced almonds. You can vary the filling too. You could use peanut butter, a blueberry sauce, an apple and pecan mixture, or chocolate and walnuts. Just scale the filling for a smaller loaf. 

Brioche is enriched with milk, butter, eggs, and a sweetener such as sugar or honey. The key is to add the butter last, after the dough has a chance to rest and fully develop the gluten. If you add the butter too early, it will coat the flour and prevent gluten development. I have several brioche recipes, my current favorite being a pull-apart brioche.  P.S. I also have a recipe for an olive oil brioche that is wonderful too. 

Can you believe there is only one cup of flour in this bread? The hardest part for me was trying to use my stand mixer for kneading it because there isn't quite enough dough for the dough hook to gain traction. While I haven't tried it, I might give the food processor a try next time. 

The original instructions for this bread are to hand knead the dough but I couldn't resist breaking out my mixer, especially for incorporating the butter. I ended up using a combination of hand kneading and using the mixer and the dough came together pretty quickly with just a few extra teaspoons of milk before adding the butter. 

Ingredients for this Babka:

For the Dough:

Flour - I used bread flour but unbleached all purpose flour will work too. 

Egg - Room temperature.

Whole Milk - Slightly warmed.

Honey - You could also use sugar. 

Salt - I used Diamond Crystal Kosher salt. If you use table salt, use half the amount by volume. Even better, weigh the salt. 

Instant Yeast - If you have SAF Gold, it's perfect for enriched doughs. Standard instant yeast is just fine too. 

Butter - Unsalted, at room temperature. 

For the Filling and Finishing: 

Chocolate Chips - Either semi-sweet or bittersweet. 

Butter - Unsalted.

Almonds - I used blanched sliced almonds. Slivered almonds or even almond flour would work too. 

From the Pantry - Salt, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. 

Syrup for Glazing - granulated sugar, water, and vanilla. 

To Make This Mini Loaf:

Make the Dough - Whisk the dry ingredients together and then add the milk, honey, and egg and mix everything together with a dough whisk, and then your hand. Then, knead the dough on the counter for about three minutes. The dough will be pretty dry at first. I did add a few extra drops of milk. Just don't add too much. 

Next, let the dough rest for about 10 minutes, covered. 

After that, flatten the dough and dot with about half of the butter. Fold the dough over the butter and knead by hand. Repeat with the second half of the butter and continue to knead. The process will be a bit messy. Keep kneading until you have a smooth dough. Note: I did use my stand mixer to finish the butter addition process. I used the paddle attachment and added the dough in pieces into the bowl and mixed briefly with the paddle and then switched to the dough hook. 

Let the dough rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. While the dough is rising, make the filling. Melt the butter and then stir in the chocolate, cinnamon, and vanilla until the chocolate has melted. 

Next, roll the dough out into a ten inch square and spread the dough with the filling mixture and sprinkle with the almonds. Roll it up into a log and then refrigerate the log for about 10 minutes to make it easier to work with. Spray your pan with spray oil. 

Cut the log in half lengthwise and, keeping the cut sides facing up, shape the two halves into a twist (or two-strand braid) and then roll it into a coil. Place it into the pan. Cover it and let it rise until doubled, about two hours. 

When the dough is ready, bake the bread in a 350 degree F oven for about 30 minutes. Immediately brush the hot loaf with the sugar syrup while it's still in the pan.

Finally, after 10 minutes, remove the loaf from the pan and let it continue to cool. 

Storing and Serving:

This bread is delicious fresh the day that it's made. If you start in the morning, the bread will be ready for tea time. For breakfast, make the bread the afternoon before. 

Keep this bread in a plastic bag for about three days. To freshen it up, you can microwave slices for 10 to 15 seconds to slightly warm and soften them. 

You can also lightly toast slices and spread them with a little butter or cherry jam. 

About the Pan:

I couldn't resist this little square mini Pullman pan and actually bought it to make this bread. This was after I bought the book, Small Batch Breads! I couldn't help myself. 

If you don't have the pan, you can still make the bread. Just shape it as instructed but don't make the final coil and then place the folded over strands (see the third photo, bottom left, in the collage above) in an 8 inch by 4 inch loaf pan. The bake time might be a little shorter. 

Another option is to fully shape it into a coil and then place it on a parchment lined sheet pan and bake it as is. 

Bread Bakers:

This month, the #BreadBakers theme is bread with nuts. Our host is Kelly of Passion Kneaded. Be sure to check out everyone's nutty breads!

• Classic Alabama Pecan Bread from Food Lust People Love
• Coconut Flour Banana Nut Bread from Passion Kneaded 
• Cranberry Pecan Boule from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Easy Cinnamon Nut Loaf from A Messy Kitchen
• Maple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls from Magical Ingredients
• Mini Chocolate Almond Babka from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Nutty Miso Banana Bread from Sneha's Recipe 

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Mini Chocolate Almond Babka

Yield: 6 slices

Author: Karen Kerr

Prep time: 45 MinCook time: 30 MinInactive time: 3 HourTotal time: 4 H & 15 M

Mini Chocolate Almond Babka made with an enriched brioche dough and filled with chocolate and almonds. 

Ingredients

For the Dough

• 1 cup (120 grams) bread flour or all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon plus heaping 1/4 teaspoon (4 grams) Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon (15 grams) whole milk, warmed to 90 degrees F
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (10 grams) honey
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
• Non-stick spray

For the Filling

• 2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup (65 grams) semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon (3 grams) ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• Pinch of salt
• 2 to 3 tablespoons sliced almonds

For the Syrup

• 3 tablespoon (36 grams) granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (35 grams) water
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Instructions

To Make the Dough

1. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the milk, honey, and egg and mix everything together with a dough whisk or large spoon. Finish mixing with your hand.
2. Knead the dough on the counter for about three minutes. If needed, add a drop or two of extra milk. Knead until the dough is smooth.
3. Flatten the dough out on the counter and dot with about half of the butter. Fold the dough over the butter and knead by hand. It may be messy. Flatten the dough again and repeat with the second half of the butter and continue to knead. Keep kneading until you have a smooth dough.
4. Form the dough into a ball and place it in a dough rising bucket or bowl that has been sprayed with spray oil. Cover with plastic wrap.
5. Let the dough rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Spray a 4 inch square Pullman-style loaf pan with non-stick spray.
6. Next, roll the dough out into a ten inch square and spread the dough with the filling mixture (see below for instructions on how to make the filling). Sprinkle with the almonds. Roll the dough up into a log and then refrigerate the log for about 10 minutes to make it easier to work with. Spray your pan with spray oil.
7. Cut the log in half lengthwise and, keeping the cut sides facing up, shape the two halves into a twist and then roll it into a coil. Place the shaped loaf into the pan. Cover it with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 to two hours. It should reach about 1 1/2 inches below the top of the pan. Heat your oven to 350 degrees F. While the dough is rising, prepare the syrup (instructions below).
8. When the dough is ready, remove the plastic wrap and bake the loaf for about 25 to 30 minutes. The interior should be between 195 to 205 degrees F. Immediately brush the hot loaf with the sugar syrup while it's still in the pan. Pour the remaining syrup down the sides of the loaf.
9. Let the dough cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around the sides of the loaf and then remove the loaf from the pan and let it continue to cool completely on a wire rack.

To Make the Filling

1. During the first rise, make the filling. Melt the butter for about 20 to 30 seconds in the microwave and then stir in the chocolate, cinnamon, and vanilla until the chocolate has melted. If the chocolate does not fully melt, microwave for another 10 to 20 seconds.

For the Syrup Glaze

1. During the second rise, stir together the sugar, water, and vanilla and microwave in 20 second bursts until the sugar has dissolved. Set the bowl aside until you are ready to use.

Notes

Note: I did use my stand mixer to finish the butter addition process. I used the paddle attachment and added the dough in pieces to the bowl and mixed briefly with the paddle and then switched to the dough hook. 

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2026/10/mini-chocolate-almond-babka.html

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Recipe adapted from Small Batch Breads: 50 Recipes for Loaves, Buns, and Flatbread.