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Dairy
Easy
4 Hours
Diets 
The Riverdale Diner on Kingsbridge Avenue was a very special place. It ticked off all the diner boxes: ridiculously long menu, late hours, tight booths. But it was different, in that it was also a mirror into the community it served. Where else could you get flapjacks, black-and-white cookies, babka, mangu, and queso frito in the same place, as part of the same meal? The Riverdale was New York at its best.
I’ve eaten a lot of babka in my day, including a couple that were maybe sitting out for a bit too long. But to me, every babka—even old babkas—is a doughy, chocolaty masterpiece. And if I were to develop my version of a Bronx babka right now? Well, I’d want to take a page out of Riverdale Diner’s book and make one that stands out by combining the unique cultures represented in my neighborhood.
What does this look like? A dulce de leche babka. I find that dulce de leche is sweeter and more balanced than cinnamon sugar, and not as heavy as chocolate.
Plus, the dough absorbs the moisture from the dulce de leche and comes out super fluffy as a result, with every flake, nook, and cranny absolutely laced with deliciousness.
Makes 1 babka
1/2 cup (120 milliliters) whole milk, warmed to 96 degrees Fahrenheit
1/4 cup (50 grams) sugar
1 (1/4-ounce/7 gram) envelope active dry yeast
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
3 and 1/2 cups (455 grams) all-purpose flour, such as Glicks, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon Glicks Ground Cinnamon
4 large eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick/115 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces and softened
vegetable oil cooking spray
1/2 cup (130 grams) toasted white chocolate chunks, plus more if needed (see note)
1/4 cup (60 milliliters) heavy cream
1/2 cup (150 grams) dulce de leche
3 tablespoons Gefen Corn Syrup
2 teaspoons Gefen Ground Cinnamon
1 and 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 cup (150 grams) sugar
1 teaspoon Gefen Ground Cinnamon
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, stir together the warm milk, sugar, and yeast on low speed.
Turn off the mixer and let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes.
Add the vanilla, then the flour, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Mix on medium-low speed until the flour is mostly incorporated, about one minute, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add the eggs and mix until the dough forms a ball, about one minute.
Add the butter in a few additions (I usually do a quarter of it at a time) and mix until incorporated, then mix until the dough is smooth and no longer clings to the sides of the bowl, and no butter is visible, about five minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm, draft-free place until the dough doubles in size, one to two hours.
Punch down the dough, then cover the bowl and refrigerate for one to two hours, until the dough is firm and cold to the touch. (This will make the dough easier to handle later so you can make perfect twists.)
Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Place the chocolate in a heatproof medium bowl. In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, dulce de leche, corn syrup, cinnamon, and salt and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the dulce de leche fully incorporates into the cream, about three minutes. Pour the warmed cream over the chocolate and stir with a spatula until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is a smooth paste that resembles a loose peanut butter. Your goal is something soft and spreadable that won’t rip the dough; if it’s too loose, add a bit more chocolate and stir to melt and combine. Let cool completely.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a one-pound loaf pan with cooking spray.
Transfer the chilled dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll it out to a 12-by-six-inch rectangle. Use an offset spatula to spread the filling over the dough in a 1/8-inch-thick layer that extends all the way to the edge. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup (100 grams) of the sugar and the cinnamon. Starting from one long side, roll up the dough into a log.
Using a serrated knife, cut the dough in half lengthwise to create two ropes. Rotate the ropes so the exposed filling faces up, then coil them together tightly without stretching the dough, keeping the filling facing up.
Place the coiled rope of dough in the prepared loaf pan and cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Let stand until doubled in size, about 20 minutes.
Bake the babka for 45 minutes to one hour, until the dough’s internal temperature reaches 185 degrees Fahrenheit.
Just before the babka finishes baking, in a small saucepan, combine the remaining 1/4 cup (50 grams) sugar and 1/4 cup (60 milliliters) water and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and cover the syrup to keep warm until the babka comes out of the oven.
Remove the babka from the oven and immediately brush it with the syrup. Let cool to room temperature before serving. Alternatively, wrap the cooled babka tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to one month.
Recipe reprinted with permission from Bodega Bakes: Recipes for Sweets and Treats Inspired by My Corner Store by Paola Velez © 2024. Published by Union Square & Co. Photographs © 2024 Lauren V. Allen.
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