Love getting creative in the kitchen on the weekends! Especially in the fall when it’s chilly outside, my kitchen becomes my happy place. This weekend I decided to level up my cinnamon rolls and make a cinnamon roll babka. Yep! They are every bit as delicious as they sound. The crisp caramelized edges and gooey center is ridiculously scrumptious. I rolled the dough a bit thinner than normal so I could get more brown sugar in every bite. Although I still need to master my babka braid and tuck, it was still amazing.

You’ve gotta make this ASAP! Here is the easy recipe and step by step photos.

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CINNAMON ROLL BABKA

Yield: 8 slices

Author: Yasmine Wahab

Ingredients

For the Dough

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm milk
1 tsp sugar
2 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened, cubed
1 egg
pinch of salt

For the Filling

1/2 unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp ground cinnamon

For the Glaze

8 oz Philadelphia cream cheese, room temp
4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temp
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp madagascar bourbon vanilla extract
1 tbsp maple syrup

Instructions

Make Dough: In large bowl, stir yeast, warm milk, 1 tsp sugar and 1/3 cup of the flour. Let rest 10 to 15 minutes or until bubbles appear on surface.
Use wooden spoon to stir in 6 tablespoons softened butter, egg and salt. Stir in 1 2/3 cups of the flour until dough forms. Transfer dough to well-floured surface. Knead 10 minutes, adding just enough remaining flour until dough is soft, smooth and elastic. Return dough to bowl. Cover with towel and refrigerate dough 6 hours.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl combine the softened butter, brown sugar and cinnamon together.
Preheat the oven to 375F. On a floured surface, roll out chilled dough to 12x20-inch rectangle. Spread the filling evenly over dough to edges. Roll dough up, then with a sharp knife, cut a dough in half, lengthwise. Braid the dough and pinch the ends, fold and place in loaf pan in rough coil. Cover and let rise about 2 hours or until doubled.
Bake loaf 30 to 35 minutes or until deep golden brown and remove from the oven. Meanwhile, in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and cream cheese until smooth, then incorporate, powdered sugar, cinnamon, maple syrup and bourbon vanilla extract and combine until smooth - about 3 minutes on medium-high speed.
Pour the glaze over the cinnamon roll babka and enjoy!