Full of chocolate, nuts and tangy orange, this nusszopf is a fun take on the classic German Nusszopf. It is a yeasted, twisted, and filled sweet bread that traditionally has nuts such as almonds and hazelnuts, as well as marzipan, and is coated in a thin lemon glaze.
While it is similar to a babka, this recipe is not baked in a loaf tin and only takes a couple of hours (including rising time).
For my take on it, I decided to fill it with my two favorite flavor combos: chocolate + orange, and chocolate + nuts. When you put the two together, you get a delicious filling of almond butter, chocolate, chopped pecans, and candied orange peel. This recipe makes enough for one long zopf (braided loaf) or two medium sized ones!
Tips for making this Nusszopf
- Whenever you are making a yeasted dough make sure to knead it for a while, the bread should become one clean ball with relatively smooth sides. Keep kneading for a couple minutes after it comes together. This will take about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Don’t be shy with the filling! Spread the mixture almost all the way to the edges, leaving a half inch border. Because the mixture is pretty thick, it won’t all squeeze out when you are rolling it.
- When spreading the filling, make sure the chocolate and almond butter are warm enough that they can be easily spread without tearing the dough. I recommend using an offset spatula or a rubber spatula to gently spread the filling.
- Feel free to make any swaps you want! Any nut butter will work as well as any crushed nuts! If you don’t like candied orange peel, replace it with any other dried fruit, or leave it out all together (but it definitely adds another layer of flavor to this delicious bread!!!
Ingredients for the Chocolate Nusszopf
- All Purpose Flour: Any all purpose flour will work for these! I have not yet tried any other flours with this recipe.
- Sugar: This recipe uses granulated sugar in the dough and filling as well as powdered sugar in the glaze.
- Milk: The chocolate nusszopf use milk as the liquid in the dough; however, it will also work with non-dairy milks such as almond or light coconut milk.
- Butter: The butter adds moisture to the dough. It should be melted when added to the dough ingredients but not hot.
- Yeast: In this recipe, instant yeast is used. However, if you are using active dry, simply bloom the yeast in the milk alone first and then proceed with the recipe.
- Salt: Salt balances out the sweetness and adds flavor to the dough.
- Almond Butter: When buying almond butter, carefully read the ingredients to make sure that almonds are the only ingredient.
- Semisweet chocolate: Dark chocolate or bittersweet chocolate will also work.
- Candied Orange Peel: This can be in large strips or already chopped. If you purchase it in large strips, just chop it into 1/4″ chunks.
- Pecans: I love to use pecans in this recipe but you can also use almonds, hazelnuts, or walnuts.
- Orange Juice: Any orange juice will work for this – it is the liquid in the glaze and gives the zopf extra orange flavor.
Filling Substitutions
- I like to use dark chocolate because the rest of the Nusszopf is so sweet but if you want you can definitely use milk chocolate.
- This recipe calls for almond butter – but, any other nut butter can be subbed in its place.
- Chopped, toasted pecans add a delicious texture to this sweet loaf
How to make the Chocolate Orange Sweet Bread
Make the Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, and yeast. Whisk to combine. Then add in the lukewarm milk, melted butter, and salt. Knead with the dough hook attachment on low for 10-15 minutes until a smooth ball is formed.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic and place somewhere warm for 1 hr.
Make the Filling
- Toast the pecans in a pan over medium heat. Set aside.
- Break the chocolate into large chunks and put it in a food processor or blender. Process it until you are left with smaller chunks like the size of gravel. Then add the toasted pecans and process again until everything is the size of grains of rice.
- Dump the contents into a microwave safe bowl and add the almond butter. Heat the bowl briefly – stirring frequently – just until the chocolate begins to melt and the mixture becomes a spreadable consistency.
- In a separate bowl stir together the cinnamon and sugar.
Assemble the Nusszopf
- After the hour has passed, the dough should have doubled in size. Roll it out to a rectangle that measures 15″ x 20″. Spread the chocolate nut mixture over the dough, leaving a 1/2″ border on all the edges. Then sprinkle with the chopped candied orange peel, followed by the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Roll up from one long side to the other, then cut the roll in half lengthwise. *If you are making two, cut the roll in half crosswise first then continue to cut each half in half lengthwise.
- After it has been cut, twist the two halves with the filling facing up and tuck in the ends.
Baking the braid
- Place the loaf on a greased or lined baking sheet and bake for 25 -30 min until golden brown.
- While the loaf is baking, mix orange juice and powdered sugar to make a glaze.
- Once the loaf is done baking, while it is still hot, brush on the glaze. Then let it fully cool before cutting into it.
Chocolate Nusszopf
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
Ingredients
Dough
- 500 grams ap flour
- 50 grams granulated sugar
- 15 grams instant yeast
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 80 grams butter melted
- 250 ml milk lukewarm
Filling
- 4 oz dark or semisweet chocolate
- 200 grams pecans toasted
- 4 oz almond butter
- 100 grams candied orange peel finely chopped
- 70 grams granulated sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Glaze
- 250 grams powdered sugar
- 5 tbsp orange juice
Instructions
Make the Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer add in the flour, sugar, and yeast. Whisk to combine.
- Then add in the lukewarm milk, melted butter, and salt.
- Using the dough hook attachment, start kneading the mixture. Knead for a while on a low speed; the dough should come together into a smoothish ball. Once that has happened continue kneading for a few more minutes. It should take 10 to 15 minutes in total.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and gently shape it into a ball. Grease the mixing bowl and place the ball of dough back in.
- Cover the bowl with plastic and place somewhere warm for 1 hour to rise.
Make the Filling
- Toast the pecans in a pan over medium heat until they become slightly fragrant and toasted.
- Break up the chocolate and add it to the food processor. Blend until the size of coffee beans. Then add in the toasted pecans and blend again until everything is about the size of rice.
- Dump the pecans and chocolate into a microwave safe bowl. Add in the almond butter and stir. Microwave the bowl in short bursts to melt the chocolate and almond butter to make the mixture spreadable.
- In a separate bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon and stir together.
Assemble and Bake the Nusszopf
- Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle that is 15" x 20".
- Spread the chocolate nut filling over the dough leaving at least a 1/2" border around all the edges.
- Distribute the the candied orange peel over the chocolate. Then sprinkle over with the cinnamon sugar.
- Starting at one long edge, roll the dough up tight. Then pinch the seam shut. *If you want to split it into two braids, cut the long roll in half so that each one is now 10" long.
- Then cut the roll in half lengthwise. If you are making two, then cut each half in half lengthwise.
- After it has been cut, twist the two halves with the filling facing up and tuck in the ends.
- Place the braid on a greased or lined baking sheet and bake for 25 -30 min until golden brown.
- While the loaf is baking, mix orange juice and powdered sugar to make a glaze.
- Once the loaf is done baking, while it is still hot, brush on the glaze. Then let it fully cool before cutting into it.