Dulce de Leche Babka
A soft, intensely flavoured brioche-like babka with swirls of gooey dulce de leche flowing through it.
Dulce de leche, literally "milk jam," is omnipresent in every Latin American household. Growing up, I used to sneak into the kitchen to steal a teaspoon of the sweet confection out of my mother's sight — one of my favourite pastimes, and, if you knew her temperament, probably better described as an extreme sport. Some cravings taste better when there is adrenaline involved.
The bronze sauce is thick, sweet, and rich. It is often drizzled over toast, sandwiched between buttery alfajores, or eaten straight from the jar. Dulce de leche makes the perfect babka filling. This recipe uses store-bought for practicality — it saves nerves and time. Because the filling is so sweet, the dough uses less sugar than most classic babka recipes. The result is everything it should be.
- 180 mlwhole milk
- 7 gdry yeastor 15 g fresh yeast
- 315 gall-purpose floursifted
- 315 gpastry floursifted
- 2large eggs
- 65 ggranulated sugar
- ¼ tspkosher salt
- ½ tspvanilla extract
- 35 gunsalted butterat room temperature
- 360 gdulce de lechecanned or jarred
- 150 ggranulated sugarfor the syrup
- 120 mlcold waterfor the syrup
As featured on
The Nosher ↗In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the milk using a whisk or your fingertips. Add the vanilla and stir. Add the flours, eggs, sugar, and salt, then 4 teaspoons of the butter a few pieces at a time.
Using a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix on low for 3–4 minutes. Increase to medium, add the rest of the butter, and mix for 4 more minutes. Scrape down the sides. The dough will be slightly sticky.
Dust your work surface lightly with flour and knead the dough for at least 3 minutes — stretch away from you and fold back to the centre. Repeat until you have a tacky, smooth ball.
Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 1½ hours, or overnight.
Grease two 20 × 11 cm (8 × 4½ in) loaf tins, or line with baking paper.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a large rectangle about 75 × 25 cm (30 × 10 in) and ½ cm (¼ in) thick. Spread the dulce de leche evenly with a spatula, leaving a ½ cm border around the edges.
Starting from one of the short sides, roll the dough tightly into a log. Using a sharp knife, cut the roll in half lengthwise exposing the layers. Twist the two halves around each other into a braid, keeping the cut sides facing up. Repeat with the remaining two pieces.
Transfer to the prepared tins. Set aside in a warm place for 1½ hours until doubled in size.
Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and bake for 25–30 minutes until deep brown and cooked through.
Meanwhile, make the syrup: bring the water and sugar to a boil, stir for 2–3 minutes until slightly thickened. As soon as the babkas come out, brush generously with two coats of syrup. Cool in the tins before turning out.
The dough benefits from a long cold rest — up to a day. It develops flavour and becomes much easier to roll without springing back.
The tighter the log, the more layers of dulce de leche the babka will have. Do not be tentative — roll firmly.
Brush the syrup the moment the babka comes out of the oven. This is what gives it its characteristic shine and keeps the crumb moist for days.