Krantz Cake aka Chocolate Babka

This is a fun one! A krantz cake is also known as a chocolate babka. Thank you, wikipedia. I saw this recipe and was like this looks like a babka. Then I made it and was like this tastes like a babka. Then I googled and was like oh, it is a babka. This is fucking delicious and it is easier than it seems. Really. This is a two-dayer, so just keep that in your head. You're not making babka at 5:00pm to eat for dessert at 8:00.
I am going to immediately apologize for a few digressions here. Okay, first of all, I did this recipe for our cookbook club. Yes, I know, you wish you were as cool as me and my friends and had your own cookbook club. It's never too late, I say! Anyway, so we choose one cookbook every month, and everyone chooses a recipe (or two) to make out of it. Then we all get together and eat every magical thing. It's amazing and will make you gain at least three pounds. Totally worth it.
For January, we used the Jerusalem book by Yotam Ottolenghi. I had not heard of him before. I know. That's ridiculous. I have heard of him now, obviously. You know the Baader-Meinhoff Phenomenon where once you hear about some random thing or person, it seems like you repeatedly see or hear about that thing again? So, that's what happened with Ottolenghi. I was listening to Gastropod's episode about cookbooks like two days after we had chosen this book, and Yotam was on the show. THEN I was reading a book for my regular bookclub (I know, I lead a crazy life), and the character was cooking out of one of Ottolenghi's books! I can't make this shit up. What I'm trying to say is that this was serendipitous, and I totally feel like the universe needed me to have Krantz cake in my life. Thank you, universe, I am indebted.
One final side note- this makes TWO loaf cakes. Don't worry. You could literally eat both of them by yourself without any trouble.
Okay, so like I said, I used the cookbook. I will try to make it clear where I digress or add in my two cents as we go, since I am not providing a link. I would highly recommend this book though because all the recipes we made out of it were delicious.
For the dough:
4 1/2 c all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 c superfine sugar *I used granulated- it was fine
2 tsp fast-rising active dry yeast *one packet is 2 1/4 tsp
Grated zest of 1 lemon
3 extra-large eggs *I just used large eggs
1/2 c water
2/3 c unsalted butter, room temperature, cubed
Sunflower oil for greasing *I just used cooking spray

1. Place the flour, sugar, yeast, and lemon zest in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix on low speed for 1 minute.
2. Add the eggs and water and mix on medium speed for about 3 minutes until the dough comes together.
3. Add the salt; then start adding the butter a few cubes at time, mixing until it's incorporated into the dough. *This will seem like a lot of butter. Your mixer is gonna be greased up like a pig. **This is a weird expression, btw.

4. Continue mixing for about 10 minutes on medium speed, until the dough is completely smooth, elastic, and shiny. *Yotam says during the mixing, you may need to scrape down the sides and add a bit more flour. I didn't need to scrape down the sides, because, like I said, there was so much butter, but I did add just a small amount of flour, and this really helped things to come together better.

 

5. Once all the dough has mixed for about 10 minutes, and it's coming off the sides of the bowl cleanly, place the dough in a large bowl that's been lightly oiled. Cover with plastic wrap, and leave in the fridge for at least half a day, preferably overnight.
*The recipe doesn't say how much this dough should rise. I assumed it would rise in the fridge overnight because it has yeast in it. Mine didn't rise AT ALL. That's okay. Everything still worked out okay. Mine did rise later in the process, so if yours doesn't then, you might have problems, but at this point, it's okay. Don't panic!

For the filling:
1/2 c powdered sugar
1/3 c cocoa powder
4 1/2 oz dark chocolate, melted
1/2 c butter, melted
1 c pecans
2 tbsp granulated sugar

1. Grease two 2 1/4 lb loaf pans (9 x 4 in) (again I just used cooking spray). Line the bottom with parchment paper. *I left an overhang on the sides so I could easily lift the cakes out after they were done baking. I also sprayed on top of the parchment paper with cooking spray.
2. Melt the dark chocolate and butter. *You can just melt them together in the microwave in short increments of time (like 15 seconds). Be careful not to overheat it.
2. Make the filling by mixing together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, melted butter, and chocolate. You will get a spreadable paste. *The pecans and granulated sugar will NOT be mixed with this. **As this cools down a bit, it will be more spreadable and less pourable. If you still feel like it's too thin when you go to use it, just add a pinch more powdered sugar.
3. Divide the dough in half and keep one half covered and in the fridge while you work. *I left it covered on the counter, and this made the second loaf much easier to roll out. This dough is hella dense. Like you could take out someone if you threw it at them.

4. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle measuring 15 x 11 inches.
5. Trim the sides to make them even. Then position the longest side closest to you.
6. Use an offset spatula and spread half the chocolate mixture onto the dough, leaving 3/4 in border all around.
7. Sprinkle half the pecans on top of the chocolate. Then sprinkle over half the granulated sugar.

8. Brush a little water along the edge farthest from you. *This will help seal up the roll.
9. Using both hands, roll up the rectangle tightly, starting with the long side that is closest to you and ending with the long side that has the water on it. Press to seal the watered edge, and then with both hands, smooth out the log to make sure it's a uniform size, resting on the seam.*This is like making cinnamon rolls.

10. Trim the two edges of the log about 3/4 in on both sides with a serrated knife.
11. Cut the log in half lengthwise. You are dividing the log into two even halves. *Mine started to unravel a bit, but it's okay. You can stick it all back together when you braid.
12. With the cut sides facing up, gently press together one end of each half; then lift the right half over the left. Repeat this process, but this time, lift the left half over the right, creating a two-pronged braid. Gently squeeze together the other ends. You will be left with a twisted look, showing the chocolate innards. *Also, I'm sorry for a lack of pictures during this step. I was by myself, and my hands were very busy...  This is what it looks like before you put it in the loaf pan. Don't worry if it's not perfect.

13. Carefully lift the cake into the loaf pan. *AND REPEAT THIS PROCESS ALL OVER AGAIN WITH THE SECOND DOUGH! **I promise the second one goes much more quickly.
14. Cover the loaves with a damp tea towel and put in a warm place to rise for an hour to an hour and a half. The loaves will rise about 10 to 20 percent this time. *I turned my oven to it's lowest setting while I was working. Once it preheated, I turned the oven off. This is where I put my dough to rise. It works every time!

15. Preheat oven to 375F, making sure that the oven has completely preheated before putting your loaves in. Remove the tea towels, and bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean (or kind of clean- there is chocolate after all). *Please make sure that if you put your loaves in the oven to proof, that you take them OUT before you preheat the oven.
16. While the cakes are in the oven, make the syrup.

For the syrup:
2/3 c water
1 1/4 c superfine (granulated) sugar

1. In a small saucepan, combine the water and sugar. Bring to a boil. As soon as the sugar dissolves, remove from heat and allow to cool down.
2. As soon as the cakes are out of the oven, brush all the syrup over them. It is important to use all the syrup. *You will be thinking, my god, I can't use all the syrup. There are puddles, woman, puddles! Just keep going. It'll be alright.
3. Leave the cakes until they are just warm, and remove them from the pans to let cool completely before serving. *I think you want to take them out while they're a little warm still so that all that sugar doesn't harden and make your life impossible later.

Difficulty: 3
Amount of Time: 4
Awesomeness: 5