This delicious sweet braided bread blueberry cream cheese babka recipe makes the perfect breakfast or treat for any time of the year. The buttery brioche dough swirled with blueberry cream cheese we’ve chosen for this article is one of the most popular versions of the traditional Jewish desserts for Babka.
While there are plenty of different fillings such as Nutella, chocolate, raisins, apples, cinnamon sugar, etc., people seem to love the combination of cream cheese and blueberries.
Even though the artistically twisted bread looks like you need to be a professional baker to make it, anyone can make it with a bit of patience and a lot of love. If you start preparing the dough in the evening, you can enjoy this edible piece of art in the morning.
This blueberry cream cheese babka recipe makes two loaves for the entire family. Or you can enjoy one of them and store the other one in the freezer for up to two months after wrapping it in plastic wrap and a layer of foil so that you can enjoy a homemade sweet loaf whenever you want but don’t have time to prepare it.
How to Make Blueberry Cream Cheese Babka
If you’ve never baked with yeast before this recipe, this is the time to try it since babka is a yeast bread. Don’t let this discourage you from making one of the tastiest loaves you can ever try. In fact, using yeast is simple and we’re going to tell you how to use it properly for this recipe.
The first step is to make sure the yeast is alive before adding it to the other ingredients. This is called “proofing.” It requires warming the milk, pouring it to the bowl of a stand mixer together with the sugar, and adding the yeast. Once you stir the yeast into the milk, allow it to stay until foamy at the top, or about five minutes.
Noticing the foam is a sign that your yeast is ready. If it doesn’t foam, it could be because you’ve used too old yeast or too hot milk. In that case, you should repeat the process using a new yeast.
This is probably the most challenging part in the entire recipe. From there, it’s quite simple. You add the other ingredients to the yeast mixture, and let the mixer do the job. You add the butter and mix a bit more. Then, you let the sticky, wet dough rise.
The next step is to shape your babka and bake. The final step is to brush the sugar syrup over both loaves.
Blueberry Cream Cheese Babka
Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Medium4
servings50
minutes40
minutes348
kcal7
hours20
minutesThis dish is beautifully crafted and takes some culinary skill to master on your first attempt. Don’t let that prevent you making this blueberry cream cheese babka recipe.
Ingredients
- Ingredients for the Dough
1/3 cup 1/3 sugar and 1 teaspoon sugar divided
4 cups 4 all-purpose flour
1 packet 1 of active dry yeast, or 2 1/4 teaspoons
1 teaspoon 1 kosher salt
2 eggs
1 cup 1 warm milk (at about 100 degrees)
10 tablespoons 10 soft, unsalted butter, cubed
1 teaspoon 1 vanilla
- Ingredients for Blueberry Preserves
3/4 cup 3/4 sugar
3 cups 3 blueberries
1 tablespoon 1 lemon juice
- Ingredients for Cream Cheese Filling
Half a cup sugar
8 oz 8 cream cheese, softened
- Ingredients for Sugar Syrup
1/3 cup 1/3 water
1/3 cup 1/3 sugar
- Optional
Crushed Nuts
Directions
- In a bowl, mix flour, salt, and sugar using a whisk. Warm the milk until it reads about 100 degrees, pour it into the bowl of a stand mixer together with a teaspoon of sugar, and add the dry yeast. Stir with a dough hook and let it rest for five minutes until you notice a foam is forming on the top.
- Add vanilla, eggs, salt, sugar, and flour to the yeast mixture and mix. After making sure the ingredients are well combined, you switch from low speed to medium speed and continue mixing for five more minutes to get a smooth dough.
- Gradually add the softened butter and mix on medium speed until it’s well blended, which should take about four minutes. In the end, you should get a sticky dough.
- Use plastic wrap to cover the dough and put it somewhere warm so that it can rise until doubled in size. This usually takes 60 to 90 minutes. Another option is to let it stay overnight.
- In the meantime, make the blueberry preserves. Mix all ingredients, bring to a boil, and simmer for 15 minutes on medium heat. Stir until you get a thick mixture, and use the back of the spoon to crush some blueberries. Store it in the fridge while the dough rises.
- You can also make the cream cheese filling and the sugar syrup while waiting for the dough to rise. To make the filling, mix the sugar and cream cheese and beat with an electric mixer until well combined.
- To make the sugar syrup, pour the water into a small saucepan and add the sugar while constantly stirring. Cook on medium until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let it cool.
- Once your dough becomes double in size, punch it down and put it onto a floured surface. Cut the dough into two halves.
- Roll one half of the dough into 12×16 inch rectangle. Take half of the sweetened cream cheese and spread it onto the dough rectangle making sure you leave a small border on a long edge.
- Spread half of the blueberry preserves in the same manner.
- Roll up the dough into a long log starting with the long side without a border. Then, slice half lengthwise making sure the layers are exposed.
- Finally, twist the two halves around each other to form a braided loaf so that the end of one of the halves is pressed over the top of the other.
- Do the same thing with the other half of the dough.
- You need 9×5 loaf pan and parchment paper so you can line it while leaving an overhang on the long sides. Place the braided loaf into the pan. You can squeeze the ends slightly if needed.
- Use plastic wrap to cover it and put it somewhere warm for an hour so that the dough can rise.
- Bake at 350°F until golden brown or for about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush the two loaves with the sugar syrup.
- Let your babka cool in the loaf pan for a few minutes before transferring it to a wire rack using the parchment paper.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Wrap the remainder of the babka in tinfoil and it will remain fresh for another 3 days if left out or 5 in total if it’s refrigerator.
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Conclusion
Blueberry cream cheese babka may take you hours to make it, but in the end, it’s definitely worth it. You can enjoy it as a warm breakfast or a sweet treat during the day. Parts of this recipe are tricky and don’t be disgruntled if doesn’t work out perfectly the first time. Practice makes perfect and once you get this right you’ll be extremely happy.
Liked and shared. Thank you for this awesome recipe.
wow, looks awesome, love blueberry!!!