Welcome to babka heaven. This pumpkin babka is moist and mellow and filled with a jammy gingersnap filling making this an excellent Fall Babka.
Brushed with a pumpkin spice simple syrup after baking, it’s shiny and slightly sticky. It’s the perfect yeasted coffee cake for enjoying with a cup of coffee–maybe even a PSL.
You may also enjoy my chocolate babka recipe, or for savory pumpkin goodness, my savory pumpkin bread. For ease of browsing, you can find all my sweet yeast breads in one place. Enjoy!
This Pumpkin Babka, At a Glance
✅Skill Level: Intermediate
✅Skills: Making Yeast Dough, Shaping, Proofing, Baking, Simple Syrup
✅Type: Sweet Yeasted Coffee Cake
✅Number of Ingredients: In the Dough: 10 In the Filling: 6, In the Syrup: 5
✅Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
✅Cook Time: 25 minutes
✅Yield: 32-36 cookies
Jump Straight to the Recipe
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Inspiration for Pumpkin Babka
My idea started with pumpkin. Initially, I was going to make pumpkin sweet rolls. Sort of like cinnamon rolls but pumpkiny.
I’ve already done that with the espresso pumpkin sticky buns and sweet rolls, and then I remembered a gorgeous cake Denise from Chez Us posted, a Krantz Cake or Babka.
This was her version of an Ottolenghi beauty, personalized with cherries and pistachios.
I loved the look and resolved to make something similar happen as soon as I could.
Pumpkin Babka Filling
For filling inspiration, I asked my friends on Pastry Chef Online Facebook Page for ideas.
The result is a crowd-sourced filling that is unique and delicious and fallish. I love it.
The flavors all work together beautifully, but know that you can leave any of the ingredients out if you don’t like them or can’t find them.
You’ll just need to adjust the amount of the other filling ingredients to compensate. Easy!
Here are the filling ingredients:
- maple syrup
- pumpkin puree (canned or homemade)
- brown sugar
- ground gingersnaps
- pumpkin pie spice
- salt
The Secret Filling Ingredient
I used pulverized gingersnaps to bind the filling and give it a jammy consistency.
This worked very well, and the gingersnap flavor complements the other flavors nicely.
I used Graham cracker crumbs in my sorghum pie as well. It’s a great way to thicken fillings.
How to Make Pumpkin Babka
If you are already pretty well-versed in making babka (maybe you’ve made my chocolate babka?) you can skip straight down to the recipe.
Otherwise, let’s go over the ingredients.
Several of these ingredients appear in more than one component of the recipe.
For the Dough
- whole milk: Provides some of the liquid for the dough as well as lending milk sugars and fat for tenderness
- maple syrup: Gives the yeast a little jumpstart and adds a bit of flavor as well as liquid for the dough
- kosher salt: Brings all the flavors into focus and keeps the yeast from multiplying too quickly so you don’t end up with a flabby dough
- pumpkin puree: Provides some bulk, mellow sweetness, moisture, and gorgeous color to the dough
- brown sugar: Sweetens the dough, yielding a more tender crumb
- egg: Adds moisture, emulsifiers, and proteins for structure
- pumpkin spice: Perfumes the dough with warm fall spices
- melted butter: Carries flavor, provides a bit of liquid for the dough, and tenderizes the crumb
- bread flour: The main bulk of the dough, with its high protein content, bread flour yields a nice and chewy bread. You may substitute all-purpose flour, although you may need to add an extra couple of tablespoons of flour since higher-protein flour absorbs more liquid than lower-protein flour
- yeast: You can use instant or active dry. If you are unsure if your yeast is alive, proof it in warm milk and maple syrup, making sure it gets foamy before proceeding with the rest of the recipe
For the Filling
- maple syrup: Adds sweetness, fall flavor, and a gooey texture for spreadability
- pumpkin puree: Adds bulk to the filling as well as moisture, fiber, and mellow sweetness
- brown sugar: Sweetens the filling and helps moderate the texture so it isn’t too thin to spread
- gingersnaps: Crushed finely. Not only do the gingersnaps bring a lot of flavor to the filling, they also soak up liquid, keeping the filling from being runny and yielding a lovely “jammy” texture to the filling
- pumpkin spice: Adds fall flavor. Substitute with apple pie spice or a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and a hint of clove and allspice
- salt: Brings the flavors into focus and keeps the filling from being too sweet
For the Simple Syrup
A flavored simple syrup to make the babka shiny
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- water: water, together with an equal amount (by weight) of brown sugar, is the base of simple syrup
- brown sugar: You can use regular granulated if you prefer
- salt: Brings the flavor of the spices into focus to keep them from seeming “muddy”
- pumpkin spice: Substitute apple pie spice, cinnamon, or your favorite blend of fall spices
- vanilla: Rounds out the flavors in the syrup. Not strictly necessary, but a little vanilla never hurts!
How to Shape a Babka or Krantz Cake
This is the traditional way to shape a babka. I also offer a simplified way of shaping that you can read about in the next section. (Note this is a different babka, but shaping is the same regardless of flavor)
The signature braided, banded look of a babka is not hard to achieve. You will need to roll your dough into a long rectangle since you’ll be twisting and then pressing the twists together. Shoot for a rectangle about 18-20″ long and maybe 12″ wide. Roll from the long side.
- Spread the filling on the rolled out dough and roll up like a jelly roll
- Use a sharp knife to cut the roll in half, lengthwise
- Cross one half over the other in an x, cut sides up.
- Make two twists on either end and then pinch the ends together.
- Take your hands and push the ends of the twist in towards the center, compacting the twists so the bread will fit in the pan.
Note that you will still have to finesse the dough into the pan. Tuck the pinched ends down inside the short ends of the loaf pan to make the dough fit.
Simplified Babka Shaping
Since babka filling is fairly gooey, it can be messy to twist two “half pipes,” so here is a simplified method that bakes up just as pretty.
- Start with a rectangle of dough about 16″ long and maybe 12″ wide. Spread on the filling then roll up into a log, pinching the seams.
- Cut the log in half, but not all the way through. Open the log up like you would a book.
- Form the log into an “S” shape.
- Place into the pan. Cover and let rise until even with the top of the pan before baking.
In the photo below, you’ll see the simplified shaping. Just cut the roll almost, but not all the way in half. Open up the two halves like a book with all the lines of dough and filling pointing up. Shape the roll into an S shape, and fit it into your loaf pan. Tada!
Streusel?
Topping a babka with streusel adds another layer of flavor and texture, so if you want to add some streusel with some chopped pecans in it, that would be a lovely addition.
The downside is it’s harder to see the swirls on top, so you have to decide what is more important to you: a crunchy layer or pretty swirls on top. Either way, you can’t really lose.
Syrup
One of the hallmarks of a babka is its shiny finish. This is easily accomplished by brushing the babka with a flavored simple syrup once it comes out of the oven.
I flavored mine with pumpkin pie spice and vanilla, but you could just as easily go with cinnamon or just leave it plain.
Notes
This dough rises very quickly, especially on the second rise. You can reduce the amount of yeast to 1/2 teaspoon to allow for a longer rise, or you can do a bulk cold fermentation for the first rise by putting the finished dough in the fridge overnight.
Then you can shape, fill, give it a second rise, and bake the following day.
Alternatively, if you have 2 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ loaf pans, you can split the babka dough and filling between the two, making 2 smaller loaves.
Just putting all the dough in one 9″ x 5″ pan might result in a Very Generous loaf. If you end up with a very large loaf that rises well over the edges of your pan, follow the instructions for baking a larger loaf in the recipe card.
Questions?
If you have any questions about this post or recipe, I am happy to help.
Simply leave a comment here and I will get back to you soon. I also invite you to ask question in my Facebook group, Fearless Kitchen Fun.
If your question is more pressing, please feel free to email me. I should be back in touch ASAP, as long as I’m not asleep.
A Note About Measurements
My recipes are almost all written by weight, including liquids, unless otherwise specified.
For accuracy and consistency of results, I encourage you to buy–and use–a kitchen scale.
I promise that baking and cleanup will be so much quicker and easier.
This is the scale that I recommend for home use. I have owned and used one for years.
Don't let its small price and small size fool you. The Escali Primo is an accurate and easy-to-use food scale that I have used for years. It's easy to store, easy to use, has a tare function, and easily switches between grams and ounces/pounds for accurate measurements.
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Pecan Babka Recipe
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Ingredients
For the Dough
- 8 oz whole milk 227 grams or 1 cup, warm but not hot
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup 15 grams
- 1 ¼ teaspoons fine salt 7 grams
- 4 oz pumpkin puree 113 grams or about 1/2 cup
- 1 oz brown sugar 29 grams or 2 Tablespoons
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 oz butter 57 grams, 4 Tablespoons, or 1/2 stick, melted
- 19 oz bread flour 510 grams or about 4 1/2 cups
- 1 teaspoon yeast instant or active dry
For the Filling
- 2 oz maple syrup 57 grams
- 2 oz pumpkin puree 57 grams
- 2 oz brown sugar 57 grams
- 2 oz gingersnaps 57 grams, pulverized
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- heavy pinch of salt
For the Syrup
- 2 oz water
- 2 oz brown sugar
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- pinch salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Dough
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine warm milk, maple syrup, salt, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, egg, pumpkin spice, and melted butter. Mix until fairly uniform.
- Add the flour and yeast, and mix for another 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium, and knead for 12 minutes. The dough will be very soft, smooth, and shiny. A little may stick in the bottom of the bowl, but that's fine. Do not add additional flour.
- Oil up your hands and quickly shape the dough into a round. Place it back in the mixing bowl, smooth side up, and spray it with some neutral oil spray.
- Cover the bowl, and let sit in a cozy place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
To Shape and Fill
- When nicely risen, plop the dough out onto a clean work surface.
- Press out all the gases, spray the top with a little oil or pan spray, and then roll it out into a large rectangle about 16" on the long side and maybe 12" or so inches on the short side. Try to keep it as rectangular as you can (I love a tapered pin for this–it gives you a lot of control). NOTE: If shaping in the classic way, roll to an 18" or even 20" rectangle.
- Spread the filling evenly all over the dough–it will be a thin layer. Spread to within 1/2" of three sides and leave 1 1/2" plain on one long side.
- Roll up the dough starting with a long side and rolling toward the side with the wider margin of plain dough.
- Once you get to the end. Pinch the seam very well to seal and turn it seam-side down.
To Shape a Classic Babka
- Slice your cylinder of dough in half lengthwise so you end up with two "half-pipes" of dough.
- Place one half over the other half in the shape of a cross with the cut sides up.
- Twist either end one or two times, and pinch the ends together.
- Press the twists together from either end to compact them and gently fit the dough into a 5x 9" loaf pan.
Alternate Shaping (Simplified)
- Cut the cylinder of dough open but don't cut it all the way through. Open it up like a long clam shell.
- Shape this into an "S" shape and fit into your 5" x 9" loaf pan.
Second Rise and Baking
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Cover the loaf with a lint-free towel and let rise in a warm place until almost at the top of the pan, about 30-45 minutes. This dough rises QUICKLY, so be prepared!
- Bake in the bottom third of the oven for about 45 minutes, or until deeply golden brown with an internal temperature of 195F-200F. To prevent excess browning. tent the loaf with foil after 30 minutes. NOTE: If your babka overproofs or is just very ebullient and is enormous, it could take much longer to finish baking. Make sure it's in the bottom third of the oven, and that it is tented with foil. If it's not done after 45 minutes, turn the heat down to 325F or even 300F and continue baking, checking every few minutes with your instant read.
- Remove from the oven and liberally brush the entire top of the loaf with the pumpkin spice syrup. I like to brush 2 coats on top and then get all four sides with one coat. You will most likely not use all the syrup. You can use the rest to sweeten your coffee!
- Run a knife around the inside of the loaf pans to loosen any stuck bits, and turn out the loaves to cool completely. You may brush on a second layer of syrup if you like.
To Make the Filling
- Stir all the ingredients together until evenly combined.
To Make the Syrup
- In a small saucepan, heat water, sugar, spice, and salt to a boil. Allow to boil for 30 seconds.
- Remove the pan from the heat, and whisk in the vanilla.,
- Cool to warm before using.
Did You Make Any Changes?
Notes
Storing
If eating on the same day as you make it, store the babka, loosely covered, at room temperature. For longer storage, slice into thick pieces and freeze.Freezing
Since there is jammy filling inside a babka, before freezing a loaf, cut into thick pieces and place a piece of parchment in between the slices. Then fit into a freezer bag, press out as much air as possible, and freeze for up to 3 months. Take pieces out as needed and heat in a microwave for a few seconds or rewarm in foil in an oven or toaster oven until hot.Nutrition
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So good! Beautiful dough to work with and a delicious bread. I mixed cardamom, ginger and cinnamon for the pumpkin spice. The vanilla in the glaze was a good touch.
Husband always says he does not like pumpkin but he’s enjoying a slice as I type. And more than likely will have more.
Oh, yay, Carlin, I am so glad y’all like it! I like that it’s not too sweet but still satisfying and a little indulgent! Looking forward to catching up on Sunday in the Zoom meeting!
Hi jenni!
It’s seems amazing. Will try it soon.
Jenni what happen if i add pineapple instead of pomegranate.
Thanks for this great article. Kindly share more articles like this.
HI, Haley. Thanks for stopping in and for your question. I think pineapple would work well as long as you’re either using a reduced pineapple syrup or just crushed pineapple to keep the filling thick. The overall flavor profile will be sweeter, so you might consider cutting back on the rest of the sugar in the filling.
I have many other sweet bread/stuffed breads on the site. There should be links to some similar type breads in the post and in the search. Click on search and then choose “related” to find similar recipes.
Thanks again, and enjoy!
Love the look of this bread! Great idea to incorporate a ginger pomegranate filling with the pumpkin and nutty streusel topping – sounds amazing <3
Thanks, Claudia! I asked my fans what sort of filling they would use and then put together their suggestions that sounded good together. Crowd-sourced filling! =)