Chocolate Yeast Cake
Babka is a sweet bread cake that originated in Eastern Europe. Unlike most cakes, as the name would have it, this cake is made with yeast dough, often braided with sweet fillings such as chocolate, cinnamon, cheese and even fruit, and sometimes baked with a crumble topping. There are a few variants of this dessert, including a Kokosh cake, and the Hot Cross Babka which is served in some cafes in London around Easter.

Getty Images / Moment / Claudia Totir
If you want to have a crack at making a Babka, we’ve got a great recipe that’ll produce delicious results that you can show off to your friends and family. For the ingredients, you’ll need 3.5 cups of flour, 1 heaped tablespoon of dry yeast, ⅓ of a cup of vegetable oil, 2.25 cups of white sugar, 2 eggs, 1 pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and an egg for brushing.
Using a mixer with a dough hook, combine the flour, yeast, oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt. Let the machine mix the ingredients, and then knead the dough for around 10 minutes, until a slightly sticky dough forms, almost into a ball around the hook. With lightly floured hands, transfer the dough to a lightly floured bowl, cover and leave the dough to rise. After around one hour, check that the dough has doubled in size.