Vegan chocolate hazelnut babka with streusel topping

You know how things are around here. We like our sugary breakfasts. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day (or so they say)—and as such it’s important to get in something delicious by at least 10 am.

The solution? Chocolate hazelnut babka! The combination of carby goodness and trendy peanut butter-esque spread most commonly known as a vessel for chocolate in a relatively “wholesome”-looking form is, as one might expect, pretty much breakfast bliss. After seeing a similar iteration on Girl Versus Dough, I knew I had to veganize it.

Yes I did.

Easy stuff, since I’ve already got a fabulous dough base from Smitten Kitchen with the classic chocolate babka. Just sub out the chocolate and add vegan nutella. The recipe over at Oh She Glows ain’t hard. It’s a matter of roasting some nuts and peeling some nuts and grinding some nuts and yeah okay there are some steps involved but trust me when I say that every one of them is worth your time.

Wait. I keep saying that these recipes are “worth your time”. Forget about the time, goddamit—they’re worth your stomach space! Worth shoving down your cakehole with reckless abandon and two middle fingers pointed squarely at the gods of healthy eating!

*heavy breathing*

I’m sorry. I just finished re-reading Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins and I am feeling a bit rebellious now.

But don’t you worry. A bit of chocolate hazelnut babka will sooth your jimmies. And mine too. It’s everything you could want in a loaf—chocolaty and nutty filling, crunchy streusel, browned crust and soft dough in the middle...pure heaven.

Why not give it a try?

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Vegan chocolate hazelnut babka with streusel topping

Inspired by Girl Versus Dough and adapted from this recipe

Ingredients

Dough

265 grams • all-purpose flour • 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons

50 grams • granulated sugar • ¼ cup

4 gram • active dry yeast • 1 teaspoon

Zest of half a lemon

10 grams • ground flaxseed • 1 ½ tablespoons

90 grams • water • ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons

3 grams • salt • ½ teaspoon

75 grams • coconut oil, softened • 1/3 cup

Filling

120 grams • vegan Nutella (I made this recipe without espresso powder) • ½ cup

Streusel

35 grams • all-purpose flour • ¼ cup

56 grams • light brown sugar • ¼ cup

40 grams • chopped hazelnuts (or other nut—I ran out of hazelnuts and used cashews) • ¼ cup

28 grams • coconut oil, softened • ¼ cup

Instructions

To make the dough, start by combining flour, sugar, yeast, and lemon zest in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Add flaxseed and water and mix with dough hook until it comes together; this may take a couple minutes. With mixer on low, add salt and coconut oil, a tablespoon at a time, and mix until fully incorporated.

Knead dough on medium speed for 10 minutes or until dough is completely smooth; be sure to scrape down the bowl a few times. If the dough is not pulling away from the sides of the mixer after this time, add a spoonful of extra flour and mix a bit more.

Turn dough out into a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight—it should at least increase in size by half, if not double.

Grease one 9 x 4 inch loaf pan and line the bottom with a rectangle of parchment paper. Remove the dough from fridge and roll out on a well-floured surface to a rectangle about 10 x 12 inches. Spread the Nutella in an even layer over the dough, leaving a ½-inch border on all sides. Brush the end farthest away from you (the slightly longer one) with water. Roll dough up carefully and tightly; seal the dampened end. Place on a baking tray and stick it in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove dough from freezer. Trim the last ½ inch off each end of the log. Carefully cut the dough in half lengthwise (exposing the layers) and place on the counter. Pinch each end together gently. Lift one side over the next, making a nice sort of twist, and seal together the other ends. Transfer dough to the loaf pan and nestle the ½-inch ends on the edges.

Cover dough with a damp tea towel and let rise for another 1 to 1 ½ hours in a warm place.

In the meantime, make streusel. Whisk together all-purpose flour and brown sugar in a small bowl. Mix in nuts with your fingers, then coconut oil.

Once the babka has risen, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Sprinkle streusel evenly over the top of the loaf. Bake the loaf for 30 minutes. It should be golden brown and a skewer inserted into the center should go through cleanly with little resistance. Let cool for about half an hour in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely I mean yes you can eat it warm. Go right ahead.

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Just look at that little loaf! Look at it!

After discovering the wonder that is homemade vegan nutella, I’m afraid I’m chomping at the bit to make more desserts with the concoction. Alas, there are not so many awaiting you as of yet. Until then, some more chocolaty breakfasts.

Peppermint mocha pancakes. Still haven’t gotten over how awesome those are.

Ginger pear pancakes with chocolate syrup. Not that you can’t put chocolate syrup on regular pancakes, of course.

Double chocolate zucchini bread. Look at that gorgeousness. So deep and rich.