This cheese babka is swirled with tangy raspberry jam and makes the perfect sweet treat or delicious breakfast.

Cheese babka with a raspberry jam swirl sliced sitting on tiop of a cutting board on a pink background.

A golden brown chewy pastry with a deliciously sweet and creamy cheese center.

Cheese Babka with Raspberry Swirl:

I love making babka. Especially when its filled with a sweet cream cheese filling and topped with raspberry jam. Now, it is a little more time consuming than some of the other recipes on this site but I break it down for you below, it is SO worth it! It also makes 2 loaves so you can have one now and put the other one in the freezer!

The dough is just insanely easy to work with. It’s not sticky, or hard to roll out, it is really just a dream.

My first recipe I use was for this cookie butter babka. Talk about IRRESISTIBLE. Cookie butter combined with a rich chewy dough- COME AT ME.

Because I love this dough so much I thought about other things I could stuff into it.

Enter this Raspberry Cheese Babka Recipe:

Chewy dough combined with a sweet cheese and raspberry swirled filling.

A slice of raspberry cheese babka lying on a pink napkin.

How to Make a Cheese Babka Recipe with Raspberry Swirl.

Making the dough in your mixer with the dough hook is your best bet. It will do all the hard work for you!

Follow the recipe below step by step to make sure you get the best results.

Activate the yeast in the hot water with the sugar, add the eggs, vanilla extract, flour, salt, and butter accordingly. Mix until the dough is uniform through out and springs back when you poke it, about 5-6 minutes. You know its ready when it starts forming into a ball shape.

When you see the dough coming together, remove it from the bowl onto a floured surfaced and shape it into a ball. Place the dough back into the bowl and drizzle a little oil on top so it doesn’t harden.

Let it rise for one hour.

How to Fill the Babka:

When the dough has doubled in size, pour it out onto a floured surface and cut it in half. Remember this makes two loaves!

Roll out one half into a 12″x16″ rectangle. You don’t have to be specific about it, just make sure its a rectangular shape.

Mix all the filling ingredients in one bowl, and grab the raspberry (or any other jam) you want to use.

Spread half of the cheese filling and then half of the jam on top of the dough leaving a 1″ border all around.

A slice of raspberry cheese babka lying on other slices of babka

How to Roll and Twist the Babka:

It’s all in the twist!

After you fill your babka dough, roll it up like you would cinnamon buns and seal the seam as best you can by pressing the dough together.

Next, take one end of the babka in each hand and twist in opposite ways.

Fold it over so the ends touch, (like an upside down U) and continue twisting the ends in opposite directions. Then stick it in a sprayed or parchment lined loaf pan.

Allow the babka to rest and rise again for another 30 mins on the counter.

If you need a visual of this, King Arthur Flour has a great tutorial on how to shape babka.

Theres nothing like biting into a fluffy fresh baked babka slice stuffed with cheese and jam, its like an all in one meal- totally balanced.

How to Bake the Babka:

This babka doesn’t need a long time to bake- you only need about 20-25 minutes in the oven. You will know the babka is done when the crust is a deep brown color and if you tap it, it sounds hollow.

All you have to do now is wait for it to cool.

How to Store and Freeze babka:

This babka freezes really well. Once it is cooled, wrap it in plastic wrap and then in tin foil and place its n the freezer for up to 2 months.

Store it wrapped up in tin foil on your counter for up to 3 days.

You can also use other toppings for this versatile dough! Heres some options:

  • Chocolate babka
  • Cinnamon babka
  • Nutella
  • Peanut butter
  • Peanut butter and jelly, say whattttt?!
  • Chopped nuts with cheese filling
A slice of raspberry cheese babka lying on other slices of babka
5 stars (3 ratings)

Raspberry Cheese Babka Swirl

This raspberry cheese babka is swirled with raspberry jam and a sweet cream cheese filling. It’s the perfect breakfast bread or sweet treat and you should totally make it this weekend!

Ingredients

Note- this recipe makes 2 loaves!

  • For the dough:
  • 8 oz warm milk, not boiling
  • 2 packets of Active Dry Yeast, ¼ oz each or 4 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
  • 5-5 ½ cups flour plus more for dusting
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ cup butter at room temperature
  • vegetable oil for dough
  • For the filling:
  • 2 8 oz bar regular cream cheese, softened
  • 2 large egg yolk
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup raspberry jam or any other jam

Instructions
 

  • In a large microwaveable bowl, heat the milk for 1 minute, 30 seconds at a time. If you are using a mixer, heat the milk in a measuring cup and transfer it to the mixing bowl. Add in the yeast and let it sit for 10 minutes until frothy.
  • Add in the sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract, and gently whisk to combine. Using the dough hook attachment, start adding in the flour one cup at a time mixing as you go. If you find the dough is coming together nicely after the 5th cup, then you can stop there. If it is still a little sticky, add the extra half cup of flour.
  • Add the salt into the last cup of flour and mix or knead until incorporated. Add in the softened butter and mix again until incorporated evenly. Continue mixing or kneading for 5-6 minutes, you may have to sprinkle some flour on your work surface so that the dough doesn’t stick. The dough is ready when it is no longer sticking to the surface and it is smooth and uniform throughout.
  • Place the dough back in the bowl used for mixing if you were kneading by hand. Pour 1 teaspoon oil around the dough and cover the bowl with a fresh tea towel. Leave it to rise to double it’s size for at least 1 hour or place in the fridge overnight.
  • Prepare the filling- in a small bowl combine the cream cheese, yolk, sugar, and vanilla and mix until combined evenly. Set aside and grab the jam.
  • Allow the dough to come to room temperature if it was stored in the fridge. On a lightly floured surface, cut the dough evenly in half and roll one portion out into a rectangle about 12” x 16” It can be smaller than that, you just want to make sure you have a rectangle shape.
  • Spread half the raspberry jam over the dough leaving a 1” border around the sides. Next spread half the cheese filling on top of that. Try not to mix the two if you really want to get the pink color, but it’s ok if you do a little bit!
  • Now starting from the long side, the side closest to you, start rolling the dough all the way up to the top border. It should now look like a log, like when you are making cinnamon buns, right before you cut them. Pinch the two ends of the log together and then with one hand on each end, twist the log as much as you can. Then fold it over so the ends touch, (like an upside down U) and do the same thing, twisting the ends in opposite directions. Kinda like a braid but with only 2 strands.
  • Spray a loaf pan with non stick spray and place the babka inside. Repeat the above steps with the other half of babka dough. Let the babkas rise for another half hour on your counter. Preheat your oven to 350° F and bake for 25- 30 minutes until golden brown.

Notes

  • For a babka with a crunchy shiny top, make a simple syrup and pour it on top of the bread as soon as it comes out of the oven.
  • You can cut the recipe in half if you only want one babka
  • If your yeast doesn’t not bubble or froth after being in the warm milk, it is probable dead and you will have to restart with fresh yeast.
Serving: 1g, Calories: 232kcal, Carbohydrates: 15g, Protein: 17g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 62mg, Sodium: 136mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 9g
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