It’s no secret that I LOVE sweet potatoes (I even affectionally refer to Snoopy as one)! Every year at this time, I look forward to sweet potato pie. I eat one before Thanksgiving, one during the week off, and another after. This is my holiday ritual, which should have begun last week, but we hit a snag when I went to the bakery at our local grocery store to look for one. (Now, I would have made myself one, but it was midweek, and I was too tired from work to whip one up). So there I was at the store hunting among a thousand pumpkin and pecan pies for the glorious sight of one with the words “sweet potato pie” inscribed. Nothing, seriously, nothing, except for one miserable and overly sugary frozen pie! I got the pie and picked up several pounds of sweet potatoes so this wouldn’t happen again. I made a pie and then some babka!
This recipe was originally published on November 24, 2014.
Print sweet potato pie babka
If you’re looking for a fun holiday breakfast treat or for that matter an anytime breakfast bread, this babka does it! Not only does it encase swirls of sweet potato and nutmeg but it also has sweet potato infused into the dough which gives it a lovely bright yellow color. Plus, now I can eat sweet potato pie for breakfast and dessert, so it’s a win all the way.
- Yield: Two 9 in by 5 in/23 cm by 13 cm loaves
Ingredients
2 cups/250 g sweet potato purée (See Notes)
1 large egg yolk + 2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed (3 1/2 oz/100 g) dark brown sugar + 1/4 (1 3/4 oz/50 g) cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract, divided
1/2 cup/60 g almond flour
1/2 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated (see Notes)
3 1/2 cups (15 1/2 oz/440 g) all-purpose flour + a little extra for dusting
1/2 cup /120 ml whole milk, warmed to 110F/43C
4 oz/115 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature and cubed
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
a little neutral vegetable oil (an oil spray will work well here)
1 Tbsp water
4 Tbsp demerara sugar, dark brown sugar, or pearl sugar
Instructions
- Prepare the filling: Take 1 cup of the sweet potato purée in a medium bowl. Add the white of one egg, 1/2 cup/100 g brown sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla, almond flour and 1/4 tsp salt. Blend the ingredients using an immersion blender (alternatively, transfer all of this into a blender and purée) until silky smooth. Cover with a lid or cling film and keep refrigerated until ready to use.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk 2 egg yolks, the remaining 1 cup of sweet potato purée, 1/2 tsp vanilla, and milk, mix until combined. Keep aside.
- Add the flour, 1/4 cup/50 g brown sugar, salt, and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer. Dry whisk until mixed. Attach the dough blade to the mix and set the mixer to low speed. Pour the milk-sweet potato liquid into the dry ingredients and mix for 3 to 4 minutes until almost combined. Stop and add the cubed butter, a little bit at a time, until completely incorporated. The dough will start coming off from the sides and be sticky. Transfer the dough onto a clean, lightly dusted surface.
- Dust the surface of a clean and dry kitchen counter with a bit of flour, and knead the dough to form a ball. Place the dough in a large, clean bowl that is lightly greased with a bit of oil. Brush the dough lightly with oil. Cover the bowl with a lid or cling film and allow to rise and double in volume, about 1 to 2 hours (it will vary depending on the temperature of the room).
- Knock the dough back to deflate. Transfer the dough onto a clean and dry surface. Divide the dough in half by weight and work with one half at a time. Shape one half of the dough into a rectangle with your hands, and then, using very little extra flour, roll it out into a thin rectangle that is approximately 14 in by 20 in/35.56 cm by 50.8 cm.
- Take 1/2 of the sweet potato filling and reserve the second half for the second loaf. Spread 3/4 of this filling prepared in step 1 in a smooth layer with a spatula or frosting knife. Sprinkle half of the nutmeg over the sweet potato layer. Then, roll the dough into a cylinder, starting from the shorter side of the rectangle. Add a few drops of water and pinch to seal the ends. Spread the remaining amount of filling over the top surface of the cylinder. Then, fold it in half, seal the ends with a few drops of water, and pinch the seams. With a sharp knife, cut through the length of the cylinder and divide in half. Then, braid the two strips of dough with each other to form a double figure 8 shape. Place it in a well-greased loaf 9 in by 5 in/23 cm by 13 cm loaf pan. Wrap the tin loosely with cling film and allow it to rise in a pre-warmed oven for 2 hours or until doubled in size. Repeat steps 3 and 4 with the second half of the dough to prepare the second loaf.
- Prepare the egg wash by lightly whisking the whole egg with the water. Brush the surface of each loaf with the egg wash and then sprinkle 2 Tbsp of demerara sugar over each loaf.
- Bake each loaf in the center of an oven preheated to 350F/180C for about 45 minutes or until the surface is golden brown (the sugar will caramelize and give a lovely crust) and the internal temperature reaches 190F/88C. Remove from the oven and let the loaves cool on a wire rack to room temperature before serving. Babka tastes best the day it’s made. Leftovers can be stored at room temperature for 3 days in a container with a loose lid or frozen and stored in a freezer-proof container for 2 weeks.
Notes
- I make my own sweet potato purée by oven roasting about 1 lb /455 g of sweet potatoes (with the skin) wrapped in foil at 400F/200C on a baking sheet for about 40 minutes until it is completely tender in the center and a knife can pass through easily. I then let them cool completely; this will allow the skin to shrink and peel off easily. I think chop the pulp and blend it using an immersion blender or food processor until silky smooth.
- Use fresh nutmeg; it makes a huge difference. Switch it up with cinnamon, ground ginger, or even pumpkin spice.
- Instead of adding all the flour at once, adding a little bit towards the short kneading stage helps bring the dough together and removes the stickiness.
- The egg white and almond flour help make the sweet potato filling feel like a pie filling.
17 Responses
A beautiful babka! So moist and fluffy. Perfect and wonderfully seasonal.
Cheers,
Rosa
This is utterly amazing, Nik! The taste must be heavenly. May I ask you how you create your action shots? Do you shoot with the help of the self-timer release (that’s what I do!) or do you have a helping hand? These shots are brilliant.
Sini, thank you so much! Yeah, I do the same thing as you, a self-timer on the camera for the shots.
Awesome work!
This looks AMAZING, Nik!!! Yessss to pie for breakfast. (And I love that you call Snoopy a sweet potato. That kills me with cute.) Happy Thanksgiving week, friend!! 🙂
ohmygosh, nik! i woke up and saw this on pinterest and literally gasped with excitement! these photos are magic, and the words:" sweet potato pie babka" sound so incredibly perfect together – i can just image how delicious this is! have a great week, sir! xo
Your action shots are killer! I am a big fan of your photography! I would love to know how you take this gorgeous pictures – may be you should consider doing a post 🙂 And "sweet potato pie babka" – its totally on the menu this week. Happy Thanksgiving!
OMG STOP. This is amazing!!!!!!! I’ve been dying over Smitten Kitchen’s babka for years, but this is EVEN BETTER. Sweet potato everything!!!!!!!!! (Btw, the link to Michelle’s blog didn’t work for me 🙁 )
All fixed Erika! Thanks for letting me know, I suck at coding 🙂 Have a great holiday week .
Nik! This looks and sounds amazing. Gorgeous!!
nothing more stunning than this nik! wow. a true love for sweet potatoes 🙂
Gorgeous babka, those swirls are perfection!
All I have to say is wow!! This is beyond impressive! The photos, the flavors, it’s holiday perfection!
Gorgeous gorgeous photos! You have some serious talent Nik. I’ve never tried babka, looks complex. 🙂
So beautiful photos. I’m in love! This light is amazing! Awesome work!
Your work is wonderful! From recipes to photos, in, out and around. And yes, that sweet potato pie babka must be so delicious 🙂
Thanks for an excellent and inspired recipe!