This Raspberry Pecan Babka is the perfect sweet treat for springtime breakfasts, bridal showers, and holiday brunches. Use these easy-to-follow instructions to make babka from scratch using homemade brioche dough, sweet raspberry jam, and chopped pecans.
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About this recipe
Brace yourself because this Raspberry Pecan Babka recipe is next-level delicious! Imagine soft layers of buttery brioche bread braided with layers of pleasantly gooey raspberry jam and crunchy pecans. Hungry for homemade babka yet?
This homemade babka recipe is the perfect sweet bread to add to your spring breakfast and brunch spreads. You may as well make bake two loaves because this delicious raspberry babka goes quick! Better yet, make a few flavors to share with your friends and family, like s’mores, pistachio pesto, and chocolate hazelnut tahini!
What is “babka”?
Babka began appearing in Eastern European Jewish communities in the early 19th century. In short, extra challah was repurposed by weaving it together with sweet fillings. The bread is commonly made with yeast, sugar, flour, and eggs and filled with fruit jam, cinnamon, or chocolate.
Although it looks like bread, babka has a heavier cake-like density and texture. That said, a slice of babka makes a lovely breakfast with coffee or tea, as well as an indulgent dessert served warm with a scoop of ice cream.
What you need to bake babka bread
- Yeast - Active dry yeast is usually sold in individual packets and needs warm water or milk to activate it.
- Milk - Warm milk will activate the yeast and help strengthen, flavor, and moisten the dough.
- Sugar - I used granulated sugar but light brown sugar also works.
- Flour - All purpose flour will do the trick.
- Vanilla - To deepen the sweet, caramel-like flavors. For the best results, use a quality pure vanilla extract or make it yourself.
- Eggs - Eggs add density and richness. They should almost always be at room temperature before using in baked goods.
- Butter - To give the cakey bread a rich and indulgent flavor.
- Filling - The options are endless when it comes to babka fillings. This recipe features raspberry jam and pecans.
How to make babka with raspberry pecan filing
Step 1: Activate yeast. Combine the yeast, warm milk, and sugar until the yeast begins to foam.
Step 2: Whisk together. Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a standing mixer bowl. Next, add the yeast mixture and mix to combine. Add the eggs one at a time.
Step 3: Add butter. Add half of the butter to the dough and mix well. Scrape the bowl and mix in the remaining butter.
Step 4: Rise and degas. Place dough in a large, greased bowl covered with plastic wrap and let rise. When it’s done, punch down (degas) the dough with your hands. Transfer to the fridge overnight.
Step 5: Roll dough. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface into a rectangle. Spread the jam and nuts evenly over the top. Then, begin rolling the dough up into a log shape. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Step 6: Twist and braid dough. One chilled, cut the log down the middle lengthwise, exposing the filling. Fold one half over the other, keeping the sides with the filling facing upwards as you weave the pieces into a twist or braid.
Step 7: Let twist rise. Place the twist in a greased loaf pan, cover, and place in a warm area until dough slightly rises and feels puffy.
Step 8: Bake. Bake the babka in the oven until the top is golden brown. Enjoy!
How to braid and shape babka dough
Braiding babka is surprisingly simple! Use these extra tips to help you divide, roll, and twist the dough into its signature twisted shape:
- Gently roll the babka dough into a 9” x 15” rectangular shape on a lightly floured surface.
- Spread a layer of filling in the middle of the dough, leaving a 1-inch border.
- Roll the dough up lengthwise into a 15” log shape. Place it in the freezer for 10 minutes so it’s easier to cut and twist.
- Use a serrated knife to cut the log in half lengthwise, leaving the filling exposed.
- Pinch one end of the two halves together.
- Fold one half over the other 3 or 4 times to create the “braid”.
- Pinch the other end of the halves together.
- Let the braided babka rise before baking, then bake and enjoy!
Need more instructions? This video by Joshua Weissman will show you how the braiding process works.
Tips and troubleshooting
- Sticky dough - If the dough is still wet and sticking to the bowl after adding the butter, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time until it becomes a cohesive dough.
- Chilling and cutting dough - Don’t skip chilling the dough for a bit! It makes it much easier to cut and bend into shape.
- Storebought or homemade babka filing - You can always use storebought raspberry jam to fill the babka, however, making it from scratch is easier than you may think. Head over to my Raspberry French Buttercream recipe to learn how to make a homemade raspberry sauce for babka.
- Checking for doneness - The best way to tell your babka is done baking is to use an instant read thermometer. When it’s done, the center should be between 185ºF and 200ºF.
More babka filling ideas
You can twist just about anything into babka dough. The choice is yours! Use any of these ideas for inspiration:
- Nuts - Swap the pecans for walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, or almonds.
- Spices and flavors - Like cinnamon, nutmeg, maple sugar, matcha powder, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Nut butter spreads - Like peanut butter, chocolate hazelnut butter, and almond butter.
- Jams, jellies, and fruit spread - Blackberry jam, orange marmalade, and strawberry jelly are all great options.
Storing and freezing freshly baked babka
To store: Babka is best enjoyed freshly baked but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.
To freeze: Wrap the cooled loaf in a layer of plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil. Keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.
More breakfast and brunch bread
- Salted Honey Hawaiian Rolls
- Banana Bread with a Crunch
- Blueberry Muffin Petit Fours
- Caramelized Banana Bread
As always, I love seeing your creations and hearing from you! If you try the recipe for this Raspberry Pecan Babka, please leave a review or share your creation with me on social media! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube and Pinterest - for more delicious recipes sent straight to your inbox, sign up for my newsletter!
Raspberry Pecan Babka
Ingredients
Dough
- ¼ cup (60 g) Whole Milk
- ½ package (3.5 g) Active Dry Yeast
- 2.5 tablespoon Granulated Sugar
- 2 cups + 2 Tbsp (285 g) All-Purpose Flour
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 Eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
- 5 tablespoon (70 g) Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- oil for greasing bowls and pans
Filling
- 1 Cup (240 g) Raspberry Jam
- ½ Cup (55 g) Roughly Chopped Pecans
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine the yeast, warm milk, and sugar together until the yeast has been activated and appears foamy (approximately 5 minutes)
- Using a kitchen aid bowl, hand whisk the flour, sugar, salt and vanilla to combine. Attach bowl to kitchen aid with the dough hook and add yeasted milk combination to combine.
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly for a total of 3 minutes. If the dough is still sticking to the side of the bowl and quite wet, you may need to add an extra tablespoon of flour.
- Once the dough is not sticking to the side of the bowl anymore, it's time to add the softened butter in two separate parts. Add the first half of your butter and mix for five minutes. Scrape down the side of the bowl, then add the last half of the butter and mix for an additional 6 minutes. As before, if the dough is still sticking to the side of the bowl is sticking, you may need to add an extra tablespoon of flour.
- Place the dough into a large clean bowl that is lightly coated in oil. Cover in plastic wrap and let is slowly rise for 1-2 hours. Then, degas the dough by lightly pressing with your hands and place in fridge overnight so that the flavor has plenty of time to develop.
- Flour your counter and roll out the dough until it is about 9" by 15" and spread your jam and sprinkle pecans evenly over the dough. Roll up the rectangle so that the rolled log is 15 inches long and place in the freezer for 10 minutes. This will help to cleanly cut through the babka and allow for easy twisting.
- Once chilled, cut log in half with a serrated knife so that you have two 15" pieces and the filling is exposed.
- Fold the two separate logs on top of each other keeping the sides up as you do so, creating a long twist of tahini and hazelnut butter filled dough!
- Place the twist in a greased loaf pan. Cover and place in a warm area for 1.5 hours until the dough has slightly rise and feels puffy.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Bake your babka for about 35-45 minutes until the top is a golden brown shade. If you happen to have a thermometer handy, check that the interior of the babka is 185-200 degrees in the thickest center part of the bread and remove from the oven.
- Transfer to a cooling rack before serving and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Sticky dough - If the dough is still wet and sticking to the bowl after adding the butter, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time until it becomes a cohesive dough.
- Chilling and cutting dough - Don’t skip chilling the dough for a bit! It makes it much easier to cut and bend into shape.
- Storebought or homemade babka filing - You can always use storebought raspberry jam to fill the babka, however, making it from scratch is easier than you may think. Head over to my Raspberry French Buttercream recipe to learn how to make a homemade raspberry sauce for babka.
- Checking for doneness - The best way to tell your babka is done baking is to use an instant read thermometer. When it’s done, the center should be between 185ºF and 200ºF.
Debra DeBartolo
Easy fast Wonderful recipe
Emily
So glad you enjoyed it!