This vegan babka is pure bliss in every bite! A sweet, buttery yeast bread swirled with decadent ribbons of chocolate fudge and finished with a sweet chocolate cinnamon streusel topping, it’s perfect for dessert, an indulgent breakfast, or holiday brunch.
Chocolate babka is the ultimate treat for me. On one hand, it’s a yeast bread, and boy, do I love bread! But it’s also sweet, buttery, and just a little cakey. This vegan babka reminds me of my vegan coffee cake: it’s technically a dessert, but you can totally eat it for breakfast. And like my cinnamon raisin bread, it’s got a delicious filling swirled right into the dough. That filling can be just about anything… so of course I went with chocolate.
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Have you had babka before? It’s a traditional Eastern European treat — and one of the most delicious, visually stunning dessert-breakfasts you can make.
My vegan babka takes some time. The dough needs to rise overnight, and there are a few components to make. But it’s so worth it. I’m a self-proclaimed lazy baker, but I can’t stop making batch after batch of this stuff. It’s perfect for holiday desserts, weekend brunches, or even a cozy afternoon treat with coffee.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Below you’ll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
Flour. We’re using all-purpose wheat flour, also known as white flour. I don’t recommend making any substitutions, since yeast breads can be finicky.
Sugar. We’re using organic granulated sugar, since regular sugar is often processed using animal bone char.
Salt.
Instant yeast.
Vegan butter. Look for this in the refrigerated case at your grocery store, near the regular butter.
Non-dairy milk. Pretty much any variety that you like to drink will work! Soy milk, almond milk, and oat milk are all fine. Read my guide to dairy-free milks if you’re not sure what to use.
Coconut milk. This is for the filling. Make sure you’re using full-fat coconut milk from a can. Don’t use the type sold in cartons for drinking, which is heavily watered down.
Vegan chocolate chips.
Cinnamon. Even though this is chocolate babka, I really like to add some cinnamon to the topping and filling. It takes the flavor to the next level!
Vanilla extract.
Brown sugar. Make sure this is also organic.
Cocoa powder.
How It’s Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!
Make the Dough
Combine dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a large bowl.
Combine wet ingredients. Now combine the milk and butter, and warm the mixture to 100°F to 105°F. Make sure the butter is completely melted.
Mix the dough. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, then stir it up to create a soft dough.
Knead the dough. Turn it onto a floured surface and knead it for a few minutes, until it feels smooth and elastic.
First rise. Roll your dough into a ball and stick it into an oiled bowl. Cover the bowl and place it into a warm spot for about two hours.
Chill. Once your dough has approximately doubled in size, cover the bowl with plastic and place it in the fridge to chill overnight.
Tip: Babka dough can take longer than most yeast breads to rise, due to the high fat content. So be patient! Mine takes about two hours to double in the oven on the bread proof setting, which is 95°F. It will rise a bit slower in a cooler spot.
Make the Filling and Streusel
I like to make these an hour or so before I take the dough out of the fridge, to ensure they have plenty of time to cool/chill.
Make the filling. Heat your coconut milk, sugar, and butter in a saucepan, just until the sugar and butter melt. Stir in the chocolate chips until they’re melted, then add vanilla. Let it cool until thickened. You can speed this up in the fridge, but be sure to stir every so often to ensure even thickening.
Make the streusel. First stir together flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, and cinnamon. Now add melted vegan butter and stir again, until everything is nicely combined. It will feel like a paste. Pop it in the fridge to chill.
Assemble
Warm up the dough. Take it out of the fridge and let it sit out just until it’s pliable enough to work with — 30 to 60 minutes.
Prepare. Preheat your oven to 350°F, grease two 8 x 4 inch loaf pans, and line them with parchment paper.
Roll the dough. Cut it in half, then roll one of your halves out on a floured surface. Try to get it big! 12 x 16 inches is ideal, but a bit smaller is fine if you can’t get there.
Apply the filling. Spread half of the filling over your rolled dough.
Roll it up. Start from a long side and roll it nice and tight.
Cut it. Slice the roll in half, lengthwise, so you expose lots of layers of filling.
Tip: This is where things can get messy. Don’t worry too much about it. Messy is part of babka’s charm!
Twist. Carefully twist the dough halves around each other, then gently move the twist to the pan. Try to keep the cut halves with the filling on top. You’ll need to gently compress the loaf as you load it into the pan.
Top. Your topping will feel very solid when it comes out of the fridge. Break it up with a utensil, then sprinkle the crumbs all over your dough. Press them in gently so they stick.
Repeat and rise. Repeat the assembly process using the rest of your ingredients, then let both loaves rise again. This time you just want them to get a bit puffy — 60 to 90 minutes.
Bake and cool. Bake the babka loaves until puffy, golden brown on top, and set. I like to check the temperature with an instant read thermometer — it’ll be 190°F to 195°F when they’re done. Let them cool in the pans on a cooling rack until set, then remove them from the pans and place them directly on the rack to finish.
Slice and serve. Your vegan babka is ready. Now for the really tricky part: try not to eat the whole loaf in one sitting.
Frequently Asked Questions
I don’t recommend trying. Yeast breads are tricky to begin with, and I’m not sure how this one would turn out with a gluten-free flour. If you have a sweetened vegan yeast bread recipe you like, you could try using it with the fillings and assembly method from this recipe.
Yes, with some modifications. Whisk the yeast into the liquid mixture in step 2, along with about 2 tablespoons of the sugar, which you can deduct from the dry ingredients. Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes until it gets frothy before adding it to the dry ingredients. Also be aware that your dough may take a tad longer to rise.
Probably, but it makes things trickier. I actually tried this and my loaf was underbaked. You’ll need to leave it in the oven for at least an hour, and check the internal temperature, which should be between 190°F and 195°F before removing it. Keep an eye on it and tent foil over the loaf if the topping starts to burn.
Chilling the dough enhances the flavor, and makes it firmer, so it’s easier to roll out super thin. You can attempt to roll your dough without chilling, but it may be difficult. Your babka might also not be as flavorful.
More Sweet Vegan Yeast Breads
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Vegan Chocolate Babka
This vegan babka is pure bliss in every bite! A sweet, buttery yeast bread swirled with decadent ribbons of chocolate fudge and finished with a sweet chocolate cinnamon streusel topping, it’s perfect for dessert, an indulgent breakfast, or holiday brunch.
Ingredients
For the Dough
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading½ cup organic granulated sugar1 teaspoon salt1 (¼ ounce/7 gram) packet instant yeast½ cup vegan butter1 cup unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
For the Filling
¾ cup full-fat coconut milk½ cup vegan butter⅓ cup organic granulated sugar6 ounces vegan chocolate chips (about 1 heaping cup)1 teaspoon ground cinnamon1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Streusel
½ cup all-purpose flour¼ cup organic brown sugar2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder1 teaspoon ground cinnamon¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
To Make the Dough
Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast together in a large mixing bowl.
Melt the vegan butter in a small saucepan or by briefly microwaving it in a small, microwave-safe container. Add the non-dairy milk, stir the mixture well, then warm it up to 100°F to 105°F.
Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture. Stir to create a soft dough.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until it becomes smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes.
Roll the dough into a ball and place it into a large, well-oiled mixing bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and place it into a warm location. Let the dough rise until puffy and almost doubled in size, about 2 hours.
Remove the tea towel and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in the fridge and chill the dough overnight or up to 24 hours.
To Make the Filling
Place the coconut milk, sugar, and butter into a small saucepan and set it over medium heat. Heat the mixture while stirring constantly, until the butter and sugar have melted. Remove the pot from heat, then stir in the chocolate chips until they’re fully melted, followed by the cinnamon and vanilla.
Let the mixture cool until thickened and spreadable. This will take at least 2 hours at room temperature, but can be sped up by placing the pot in the fridge or a cold water bath — just make sure to stir it occasionally to ensure even cooling.
To Make the Streusel
Stir the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Stir in the melted butter until the dry ingredients are saturated. Place the bowl into the fridge to chill.
Assemble and Bake the Babka
Remove the dough from the fridge and let it sit out until pliable enough to handle, about 30 to 60 minutes.
Grease two 8 x 4 inch loaf pans, then line the bottom and long sides of each pan with a sheet of parchment paper, leaving a bit of extra paper along the sides. You’ll use this later on to remove the babka from the pans.
Once the dough feels pliable enough to work with, cut it in half.
Lightly flour a work surface, then place one of your dough halves on it. Roll the dough into a thin, approximately 12 x 16 inch rectangle.
Spread half of the filling evenly over the dough.
Starting with one of the long sides, roll the dough into a tight snake.
Use a knife to cut the dough snake in half, cutting lengthwise to create two long halves with the filling exposed.
Gently twist the two dough halves around each other. Try to arrange them so that the inner parts with the filling exposed are on top, but don’t fuss too much.
Gently transfer your dough twist to one of the prepared loaf pans. You may need to compress it a bit.
Repeat the assembly process using the second dough half and the remaining filling.
Take the streusel out of the fridge. It will feel pretty solid at this point. Use a fork to break it up, then sprinkle the crumbs over your unbaked loaves
Cover the loaves with a damp tea towel and place them in a warm location. Let them rise until they’ve puffed up just a bit, about 90 minutes. They won’t significantly increase in size, but you should see some of the gaps in the pan filled in.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake the babka until the loaves have puffed up a bit more, any exposed crust is golden brown, and the topping has darkened, about 40 to 45 minutes. The best way to test them for doneness is with an instant read thermometer — the internal temperature should be between 190°F and 195°F.
Place the pans on a cooling rack. Let the loaves cool in the pans for about 20 minutes, until they feel set, then use the parchment paper to gently lift them out of the pans. Let them finish cooling on the racks.
Slice and serve.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice (1/24 of recipe) | Calories: 229kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Sodium: 198mg | Potassium: 57mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 360IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 2mg
