Ok we have officially entered the Ber months! It’s no secret that these are my favorite months of the year, so let me just say that the recipes for the next four months are some of my favorites. This month is all about early fall, with apples, spices, coffee, and a little bit of pumpkin. The weather recently has still felt like summer, but I think this week it’s supposed to start cooling down. Plus, I’ve started seeing a little color on the trees.
This weekend was supposed to be super productive since it’s three days, but there have been some setbacks. First of all, I have a cold and yesterday I was basically bed ridden. I’m feeling a lot better today though so hopefully I can get some more things done. Second, my power went out after a big storm on Friday so I couldn’t get anything done then. Also, there’s a slight issue with my car so I haven’t been able to do any of my errands in town. There have been several other complications in addition that I won’t bore you with, but basically this weekend has been taking every chance it can to limit my productivity. But I will not surrender because there is work to be done!
Anyway, lets talk about this bread. I have always sort of had a hatred for date caramel. I always see influencers online say it “tastes just like regular caramel!” but that is 100% a lie. It tastes like dates. Because that’s what it is, dates and water. But when you use it in a recipe like this one, where you want it to taste like dates, then I have no problems. So does it taste like caramel? No. Does it taste like yummy dates and coffee? Yes!
Describe this Bread to Me
Taste: The dough itself sets a nice base flavor that’s buttery and slightly sweet. The date caramel is sweet, but the slight bitterness from the coffee helps to offset it. The cinnamon butter adds a little spice to it that adds some warmth to the flavor palette and compliments the brown butter espresso glaze.
Texture: This bread is extremely fluffy and moist, while the date filling is gooey and soft, and the cinnamon butter prevents the bread from getting too dry. The glaze on top sets pretty quickly but still melts in your mouth.
Ease: This is a relatively simple bread to throw together but is maybe a little trickier than a simple cinnamon swirl bread. The dough is very standard and quick, and the shaping really isn’t as complicated as it may look. The date filling comes together in a food processor, but it can take some patience to get the texture right. After baking, the icing comes together quickly starting by browning the butter.
The Dough
This dough is a pretty straightforward and standard formula. Warm milk activates the yeast, which is then mixed with a little sugar, butter, eggs, and flour. Once it rises it becomes super fluffy and easy to work with. However, in order to get the ratios right, this dough makes two loaves. But all that means is you get double the amount of bread without having to do any real extra work.
The Fillings
This bread has two fillings, the first being a simple salted cinnamon butter. This keeps it from getting too dry and helps to tie all the flavors together. The date caramel is the main filling however, and comes together in a food processor. We simply pulse together the dates, some water, espresso powder, vanilla, and salt. This can take some patience to get the dates fully broken up, but eventually comes together as a smooth and spreadable date caramel.
The Glaze
This is one of my favorite glazes and I’ve used it on my apple fritters and black sesame sweet rolls. It starts by browning some butter on the stove before mixing in a little maple syrup, espresso powder, confectioners sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. The glaze adds the perfect amount of espresso flavor to even out with the date caramel.
Coffee Date Caramel Babka
Ingredients
Method
- Pour 1 cup of the milk into a small, microwave safe bowl. Microwave until it reaches 95℉. Pour the warm milk into a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the yeast and 2 teaspoons of the sugar. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let it rest for 5 minutes, after which it should be foamy. Add the remaining granulated sugar and butter and, using a hand or stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, beat until the butter is broken up. It won't really mix in yet. Add in one whole egg and one egg yolk (reserving the egg white for later), and the salt. Mix on low speed until the egg is incorporated. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly stream in the flour. Once all the flour has been added, mix on medium low speed for 1 minute or until a shaggy dough forms.
- Dump your dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using floured hands, knead for 6-8 minutes or until when poked, the dough bounces back. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a large greased bowl, turning the dough around to get coated in the grease on all sides. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and place in a warm and humid environment ( I usually put mine outside in the warmer months) and let it rise for 90 minutes, or until doubled in size.
- 30 minutes before your dough is done rising, make the fillings. For the date caramel, add your dates to a food processor and pulse until mostly broken down. It doesn't need to be smooth. Add the water, one tablespoon at a time, until the caramel is a thick and mostly smooth, spreadable paste. Add the espresso powder, vanilla, and salt and mix until combined. Set aside.
- For the cinnamon butter, mix together the butter and cinnamon in a small bowl using a rubber spatula until smooth and evenly combined. Set aside.
- Grease the bottom and sides of two 9 inch loaf pans with butter. Set aside.
- Remove the cling wrap on top of the dough, and punch it down to release some of the air. Divide the dough in half and place one half on a lightly floured work surface (keep the second half in the bowl and cover lightly with a towel to keep it from drying out). Using a floured rolling pin, roll the first half out into a 9×13 inch rectangle. Using a spatula, spread half of the cinnamon butter in an even layer on top (it will be a thin layer), then spread half of the date caramel on top of that. Roll the dough tightly into a 13 inch log. Using a serrated knife, slice the log in half lengthwise, leaving about an inch at the top still connected. Twist/braid the two halves together by twisting one half on top and then twisting the other on top of that one. Place the shaped bread in one of the previously prepared baking pans. Repeat with the second half of the dough, using up the fillings.
- Cover both shaped loaves with cling wrap and place in a warm and humid place to rise for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg whites and milk. Using a pastry brush, brush the top of each loaf with this egg/milk mixture. Bake the loaves for 45-50 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped.
- Let the bread cool in the pan set on a wire cooling rack for 30 minutes before icing and serving.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted, keep cooking until the butter begins to sizzle and foam, and eventually brown. Once browned, remove from the heat and let cool for one minute before stirring in the maple syrup and espresso powder. Stir in the confectioners sugar using a whisk. It might not combine completely yet, that's ok! Finally, whisk in the vanilla extract and salt. The glaze will be thick, but still pourable.
- Drizzle a little bit of glaze on top of the bread, but not too much to avoid being overly sweet. Slice and serve while the bread is still warm. Leftover bread lasts up to four days sealed at room temperature.