Chocolate Orange Babka

This is a new recipe for a babka – it is very moist and tastes delicious.

I serve it just dusted with icing sugar but you could add a thin chocolate glaze.

Ingredients

• 225g Butter or Block Margarine
• 225g Caster Sugar
• Finely grated zest and the juice of 1 orange
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
• 2 tablespoons of apricot jam
• 4 eggs
• 175g self raising flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 50g of cocoa

Method

Pre-heat the oven to GM3 – 160°C

Grease & flour well a large babka tin, tapping away any excess.

• Beat well together the butter and sugar till pale and fluffy.
• Beat the eggs well and gradually add them, beating the mixture after each addition.
• Mix  in the vanilla essence, apricot jam, orange zest and juice.
• In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder and cocoa together.
• Fold the flour mixture into the beaten mixture.
• Spoon the cake mixture into the babka tin and level the top.
• Bake for 50 – 55 minutes until the babka has risen and a cake tester comes out clean.
• Cool for at least 5 minutes in the tin, then turn this out onto a wire cake rack to cool.
• Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Served on Crown – fine bone china – England (no pattern name given).