Babka s čokoladom i liešnjacima - Babka with chocolate and hazelnuts filling - Babka con il cioccolato e nocciole

I will start this year writings very late and with one of my last year recipes that I have never finished. This is even not one of last recipes I have had in my mind last year. Not at all, I have prepared this one back in May. How annoying it is to leave unfinished thing around, right?! I dislike it (but I continue doing it!) like I hate even numbers.

What is the connection here? It happens that this is the year with even number and there is a lot of unfinished stuff in my PC. It is not the best start!

Something changed in my last years, I don't have fixed plans or "to-do lists" and I'm always kinda afraid to finish what I'm doing so I leave plenty of undone things behind and I start new ones again and again...whitout plans, with no order, because I always have to do something new and different...it's crazy,isn't it?

The real reason for this situation is too much commitments at work, but it's only my fault, because I pretend all to be done in the most proper way, almost perfect! So I run out of energy that I should use for things that I prefer. Running became my favourite sport, ironically speaking of course (I'm not athlete at all!).

Therefor I'm so damn late in everythig, so now I have decided that I need the plan! A good and realistic one. Not only the abstract sketch in my head that can vanish in a moment. I even have a list of things to do (I saved it in my mobile phone)! Incredible, I almost can't believe that I'm doing all these businesslike steps to organize my free time. I know that this will bring more quality to this little space that is more and more important to me. Almost like a real job!

Last holidays I have passed at home in Croatia relaxing with my parent, thinking a lot and eating plenty of traditional meals that I usually don't cook to Mr.M. And I made a promise to myself. Hope I will succede in it. I must slow down, not only when my body collapses. Sometimes my mind must stop working and take some break. Before it happens I must do a general reordering of old, unfinished ideas and do some cleaning in my PC. It is so crowded and messy space right now!

So the very first intention is to unload as much material from my PC to avoid its unexpected break down, because I don't want to lose everything. Old pictures are still acceptable, I mean, I still like "some of them" and the recipe must be finished and posted before I change my mind. I must hurry up! Very often I'm unhappy with my pictures short time after I took them and I tend to leave them aside and shoot new ones.

And I will be quicker in writing. Writing is that part of the story that scares me more then everything. I offten start and erase all the words after few lines. Then I start again and again, or I leave the text space white and I only write the recipe...and I elaborate the story in my head. At least I don't risk to lose the important part of the story - the recipe! Having the idea of what you want to write doesn't mean that it's easy to transform it into words. For me it's easier to describe the story with images. Fotograms are more my stuff. They are so impressed in my mind that it comes very natural to transform them into pictures. I only need a simple click. Therefore I don't have drafts or sketchs drown on the paper, all is in my head!

All ideas are hidden and braided inside of me and suddenly the clear flash appears in the surface like the fillilng of this babka that I've baked months ago, but never finished to tell the story of it.

BABKA S ČOKOLADOM I LJEŠNJACIMA

za tijesto:

250 gr brašna

1,30 dl mlijeka

50 gr maslaca

1 cijelo jaje

25 gr svjetlog šećera od trske + 1 žličica za kvasac

7 gr svježeg kvasca

prstohvat soli

za nadjev:

3 žlice svjetlog šećera od trske

5o gr omekšalog maslaca

1,5 žlice kakaa u prahu bez šećera

50 gr smrvljenih lješnjaka (netrebaju biti smljeveni)

Otopiti kvasac i 1 žličicu šećera u malo mlakog mlijeka i ostaviti da se diže 10 minuta.

Zagrijati mlijeko (ne treba vrijati) i u toplom mlijeku otopiti maslac.

U zdjelu staviti brašno, šećer, lagano razmućeno jaje i kvasac, te početi mijesiti mikserom.

Postepeno u tijesto dodavati mlijeko uz neprestano miksanje da se svi sastojci sjedine. Na kraju dodati u tijesto prstohvat soli i miksati još par minuta.

Pokriti zdjelu prozirnom folijom ili poklopcem i ostaviti tijesto da se diže dok mu se volumen ne udvostruči.

U međuvremenu izmutiti maslac sa šećerom, dodati u kremu kakao u prahu i dobro promiješati kremu.

Razvaljati tijesto u pravokutnik debel 1 cm, premazati tijesto kremom od kakaa i posuti po površini smrvljene lješnjake.

Zamotati tijesto u roladu. Razrezati roladu na pola po dužini, te ostaviti 1 cm rolade nerazrezan na jednom kraju, okrenuti razrezane strane rolade prema gore i isplesti tijesto tako da obje razrezane strane rolade uvijek budu okrenute prema gore.
Smjestiti pletenicu u pleh za pečenje obložen masnim papirom, ostaviti da se diže dok se volumen pletenice ne udvostruči i peći u zagrijanoj pećnici na 180°C 20-30 minuta. Površina tijesta treba biti zlatno smeđe boje, pa da ne izgori, ako je potrebno treba pokriti pletenicu aluminijskom folijom nakon 15 minuta pečenja.

BABKA WITH CHOCOLATE AND HAZELNUTS FILLING

for the dough:

250 gr flour

1,30 dl milk

50 gr butter

1 egg

25 gr light cane sugar + 1 teaspoon for the yeast

7 gr fresh yeast

pinch of salt

for the filling (the quantity is for the standard roll):

3 tablespoon light cane sugar

50 gr soften butter

1,5 tablespoon bitter cacao powder

50 gr crumbled hazelnuts (not grated in fine powder)

Dissolve the yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar in little lukewarm milk and let it raise for 10 minutes.

Warm up the milk (don’t boil it) and dissolve the butter in it.

In one bowl put the flour, sugar, slightly whisked egg and the yeast and start to knead the dough with the mixer. Gradually add milk with the butter in the mixture and continue to knead for about 10 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and knead for another few minutes. Cover the bowl with the PVC wrap or the bowl cover and leave the dough to raise until its volume become double.

Meanwhile whip butter and cane sugar, add to it cacao powder and mix well together.

Roll the dough to 1 cm high rectangle, spread over cacao cream and sprinkle onto crumbled hazelnuts. Roll the dough. Cut the roll in half lengthwise and leave last 1 cm entire, turn cut side up and start to braid leaving always cut side up.
Place the braid it the baking pan covered with parchment in warm place until the volume of the braid will double. Bake it in preheated oven at 180°C for 20-30 minutes. It must be golden brown on top, if needed cover it with aluminum sheet after 15 min baking to avoid getting burned crust.

BABKA CON IL CIOCCOLATO E NOCCIOLE

per la pasta:

250 di farina “00”

1,30 dl di latte

50 gr di burro

1 uovo

25 gr di zucchero di canna chiaro + 1 cucchiaino per il lievito

7 gr di lievito di birra

un pizzico di sale

per la farcia:

3 cucchiai di zucchero di canna chiaro

50 gr di burro ammorbidito

1,5 cucchiaio colmo di cacao amaro in polvere

50 gr di nocciole sminuzzate grossolanamente (non la farina di nocciole)

Sciogliere il lievito e 1 cucchiaino di zucchero in poco latte tiepido e lasciare lievitare per 10 minuti.

Riscaldare il latte (non fatelo bollire) e sciogliere il burro nel latte caldo.

In una ciotola unire la farina, lo zucchero, un uovo leggermente sbattuto ed il lievito e cominciare ad impastare con il mixer. Gradualmente aggiungere al’impasto il latte con il burro e continuare ad impastare per 10 minuti. Alla fine aggiungere un pizzico di sale e impastare ancora per qualche minuto. Coprire la ciotola con la pellicola trasparente oppure con il coperchio della stessa ciotola e lasciare a lievitare fino al raddoppio del volume dell’impasto.

Nel frattempo montare il burro con lo zucchero, aggiungere nella crema il cacao e incorporare bene la crema.

Stendere la pasta in un rettangolo spesso 1cm, spalmare la crema di cacao sulla pasta e cospargere sopra le nocciole sminuzzate.

Arrotolare la pasta. Tagliare il rotolo di pasta a metà nel senso della lunghezza lasciando il rotolo unito da un lato per circa 1 cm, girare la parte del taglio verso l'alto e intrecciare sempre con la parte del taglio rivolta verso l’alto.
Sistemare la treccia nello stampo rivestito da carta da forno e farla lievitare in un posto caldo fino al raddoppio del suo volume. Infornare nel forno già caldo a 180°C per 20-30 minuti. Non bruciare la superficie della treccia, se necessario copritela con un foglio di alluminio dopo i primi 15 minuti di cottura.