Cardamom Babka

5 from 11 votes

Fluffy cardamom and orange brioche, filled with orange butter and cardamom sugar, baked until golden brown, this Cardamom Babka is like a Swedish Cardamom bun in the form of a babka loaf.

Prep Time1

Cook Time45

proofing2 30

Total Time4 15

Course: Afternoon Kaffee, Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: German, Swedish

Keyword: Babka, blood orange, cardamom

Servings:

Calories: 441kcal

Equipment

Stand Mixer
9" x 5" metal loaf pan

Ingredients

Orange Cardamom Brioche

50 grams granulated sugar
1/2 orange, zested
350 grams all purpose flour
10 grams ground cardamom preferably the seeds freshly ground, pre ground cardamom if needed
10 grams instant yeast
1 egg large, room temperature
8 grams fine sea salt
180 grams milk luke warm
40 grams unsalted butter softened

Cardamom Sugar

50 grams granulated sugar
15 grams ground cardamom preferably the seeds freshly ground, pre ground cardamom if needed

Orange Sugar Butter

100 grams granulated sugar
1/2 orange zestsed
4 grams fine sea salt
125 grams unsalted butter soft

Orange syrup

50 grams orange juice
50 grams granulated sugar

Egg Wash

1 egg standard large
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon water

Instructions

Orange Cardamom Brioche

Use a spice grinder or mortar and pestle to grind the cardamom seeds if needed.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add in the sugar and half of the orange zest. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingers until combined and fragrant.
Add in the flour, ground cardamom, and yeast, and whisk to combine.
Sprinkle in the salt. Then add in the egg and warm milk.
Use a dough hook to knead everything together on medium low speed for 15 minutes until the dough has smooth edges and the bowl is clean.
Add half of the butter in and knead again until incorporated (about 5 minutes). Add in the second half of the butter and knead once more until smooth. The dough should pass the window pane test *see notes section for more info.
Line a quarter sized baking sheet with a sheet of plastic wrap. Shape the dough into a rough rectangle that is about an inch thick. Top the dough with another sheet of plastic wrap.
Place the dough on the sheet pan into the fridge for at least an hour or up to overnight. I usually keep it in there for about 2 hours but make it work in your schedule!

Fillings

In one small bowl stir together the sugar and ground cardamom to make the cardamom sugar.
In a medium bowl, add in the sugar and the other half of the orange zest. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingers until combined and fragrant.
Stir in the salt and then add in the soft butter.
Stir together with a fork or spoon until combined.
Set aside until ready to assemble.

Assemble

Preheat the oven to 375 F and place a rack in the center of the oven. Or just below if the heat comes from the top of the oven.
If not using this USA loaf pan, line your loaf pan with parchment paper.
Once the dough has chilled (it won't grow much but should be a little puffy), unwrap it and tip it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll it out to a 10" x 18" rectangle. Try to keep the dough as right angled as possible while rolling it out and use flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking.
Spread the orange butter over the entire surface of the dough.
Sprinkle the buttered surface with all but 2 tablespoons of the cardamom sugar.
Roll the dough up, starting with one short side. Roll it up tightly but make sure not to squeeze out the filling.
Once fully rolled, seal the edge of the dough to the roll by pinching the dough to the roll. Give the roll a few squeezes while also ever so slightly stretching it out.
Use a long sharp knife to cut the roll in half lengthwise. Open the two halves so that the cut sides are face up. Cross the two halves over one another creating an X.
Then, twist the two halves together keeping the cut sides face up. Pinch the ends of each half together to keep it from untwisting. Then twist the other half together and repeat pinching the ends.
Tuck the ends under the twist and lower it into the pan, you will have to scrunch the twist together a little to make it fit which will make the twist fatter. Gently press the twist down so that it reaches the sides of the pan.
Cover the pan with plastic and set aside for at 30-45 minutes to proof until puffy.

Bake

Make an egg wash by whisking an egg, a 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a tablespoon of water together. Brush the top of the twist with the egg wash.
Place the loaf pan on a quarter or half sized baking sheet into the preheated oven, close the door and turn the temp down to 350 F and bake for 25 minutes. Then rotate the pan 180 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes.
Make the orange simple syrup while the babka bakes. Combine orange juice and sugar in a microwave safe bowl or glass. Heat in 15-30 second intervals, carefully stirring in between until all of the sugar has dissolved.
The twist should be a deep golden brown once done baking. Take the pan out of the oven and spoon the simple syrup over the top.
Sprinkle the top with the remaining cardamom sugar.
Let the twist cool for ten minutes and then carefully loosen the twist from the sides of the pan with a wooden or rubber spatula.
Carefully tip the twist out, and place it upright on a sheet of parchment.
Allow the babka to cool fully before cutting into it (if you can).

Notes

Tips for making a Cardamom Babka

Make sure the egg and butter are both at room temperature and make sure the salt doesn't directly touch the yeast.
To cut down on time in the morning, I recommend making the dough the night before. Once the dough is fully kneaded and wrapped up on the quarter sized baking sheet, it can be kept in the fridge for anywhere from 1 hour to overnight. In the morning take the dough out of the fridge and continue with assembling!
This dough takes a while to knead and it is quite soft. Don't be scared to turn up the speed a little once it has come together but know that it will take a bit and it's ok if it's still a bit sticky once done kneading.
When making yeasted dough, ensure that you allow your mixer to fully knead the dough, until it forms a smooth ball and the sides of the bowl are cleaned. This will happen twice while kneading the dough, once before the butter is added and once after.
When rolling out the dough, try to make it as rectangular as possible. This will help when it comes shaping and cutting the twist. I use a bench scraper to keep reshaping into a rectangle as I roll it because it can be tricky to reshape at the end.
Depending on where the heat in your oven comes from, make sure to bake the babka in the middle. If you have heat coming from the top and bottom make sure to place it just below the center rack.
If you aren't using this USA loaf pan, I recommend lining the loaf pan with parchment paper to prevent it from sticking.

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