Cheese Babka with Crumb Topping
A heavenly cheese babka made with a soft yeast dough and oozing sweet cream cheese filling covered with a crunchy crumb topping…need I say more?!
I am not a huge cheesecake lover, but I do like pastries and baked goods that have sweet cheese fillings—like my streusel cheese Bundt cake, for example—so that’s basically what I stick with for Shavuos.
When I lived in Minneapolis, I used to hang out at a friend’s house a lot on Shabbos and Yom Tov afternoons. One Shavuos afternoon, we ended up at the home of her sister-in-law, who is a fantastic hostess. As soon as I sat down on her couch, she came in with iced coffee and this cheese babka. I politely took a piece and started eating. The combination of a soft yeast dough and sweet creamy cheese filling was one of the best I have ever tasted in my entire life! It was so good I had a second piece, something I rarely do, and then I took home a third piece for my husband!
I have been making cheese babka yearly ever since. When I first started, I thought you needed to make five pounds at once, so I dreaded the huge job. I also didn’t actually need so much cheese babka. Over the years, I figured out how to make it in smaller batches so it’s more manageable.
I make the whole thing with my hands — no need to take out the mixer. I have a great stainless steel mixing bowl set that I use when making all my baked goods that I mix by hand. I can no longer find my exact set, but this mixing bowl set is very similar.
If you are familiar with my recipes you know I rarely bake or cook with margarine or butter, but for this recipe I make an exception and it’s well worth it. It’s a small amount of margarine and it does wonders for the dough.
You will probably have leftover crumbs, which you can easily freeze and use later for something else. I actually keep a big bag of crumbs in my freezer; I feel like I am always using them for something or other.
If you want to make this pareve you can, just note that vegan cream cheese is not as soft as dairy whipped cream cheese, so you might want to whip it a bit before spreading it or be prepared to use some extra elbow grease .
This cheese babka freezes really well.
This recipe yields 1 large cheese babka (a large loaf pan) or 2 small ones (the size that’s perfect for a loaf of gefilte fish), but you can easily double it. It’s not necessary to double the crumbs, though, as one batch makes more than enough.
Love babka? Want to try it in a chocolate or cinnamon version? Try my best and easiest chocolate or cinnamon babka!
Cheese Babka with Crumb Topping
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 Tbsp dry yeast
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp melted margarine
- 1 egg
- 2 cups flour
Cheese Filling
- 1 8-oz. container whipped cream cheese
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
Crumbs
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 egg, beaten
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix yeast and water. Add sugar, margarine and egg and mix well. Add flour and knead for 2-3 minutes, until you get a smooth dough. Don’t over-knead or the dough will get tough.
- Cover dough with a towel and let rise for about 30 minutes.
- In a small bowl, combine all crumb ingredients and mix until it forms coarse crumbs; set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Divide dough into two balls (or keep as one if making one large babka — see notes) and roll out on a floured surface into a big rectangle.
- Shmear a thick layer of cream cheese on the dough. Sprinkle with white sugar and then confectioner’s sugar.
- Roll up the long way, jelly-roll style, and then fold in half and twist (see video).
- Place in a loaf or oval pan.
- Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle generously with crumbs. Repeat with remaining ball of dough, if making two.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
Notes
Recipe by Faigy Murray | https://mykitchenmystudio.com/cheese-babka-with-crumb-topping/
