Chocolate Babka Recipe

• 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 1½ tsp Baking Powder
• ¾ tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Cinnamon (ground)
• ½ tsp Salt
• 1 cup unsalted Butter
• 1¼ cups White Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 3 Eggs
• 1 cup Sour Cream
  
  Topping
• 1 cup semisweet Chocolate Chips
• 1 cup Pecans (chopped)
• ¼ cup White Sugar
• 1 tsp Cinnamon (ground)

• Preheat oven to 350 °F (175 °C).
• Grease a 10 inch tube pan with butter.
• Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon and salt together in a large bowl. Keep aside.
• Place butter and 1¼ cup white sugar in a medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on high speed till the mixture turns light and fluffy.
• Reduce the speed to medium and beat in the vanilla.
• Beat the eggs in the mixture, one at a time.
• Add flour mixture and sour cream alternately into the creamed mixture on low speed. Begin and end with flour mixture. Beat well till the mixture is just blended.
• Mix together chocolate chips, pecans, ¼ cup white sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon. Work on to form crumbles.
• Pour half the batter in the greased pan.
• Sprinkle half the crumbled mixture and pour in the remaining batter.
• Top with the remaining crumbles and press them lightly so that they stick to the batter.
• Cut through the batter and crumbs gently quickly with a knife in an up and down motion.
• Rap the pan lightly against a hard surface to allow the batter settle.
• Bake the batter for 40 minutes.
• Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 20 further minutes until a toothpick inserted halfway between the side of the pan and the tube comes out clean.
• Remove and cool the cake for 30 minutes on a wire rack.
• Loosen the cake from the pan and invert it onto the rack. Cool it completely.