Ingredients:
Dough:
250 g of softened butter, taken out of the fridge in advance to reach room temperature (I used 200 g)
200 g of sugar
4 eggs at room temperature
3/4 tsp of vanilla extract (or 1 packet of vanilla sugar)
350 g of flour (I used a little less)
2 tsp of baking powder (or 1 tsp of baking soda, dissolved in the sour cream)
160 ml of 12% cream at room temperature (a thin, homemade-style sour cream)
200 g of berries (currants, blueberries, etc.) for the dough, plus 1 tbsp of flour for dusting (I used poppy seeds, raisins, and chocolate)
Powdered sugar for dusting
Preparation:
1. Sift the flour and mix it with the baking powder.
2. Cream the butter with the sugar on high speed using a mixer for 4 minutes. Reduce to low speed and add the eggs one at a time, mixing for 30 seconds after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix.
3. Add half of the flour to the butter mixture and mix quickly. Add the sour cream (I used sour cream with baking soda, so I skipped the baking powder) and mix. Gradually add the remaining flour and mix well. The dough should be as thick as very dense sour cream.
4. Dust the berries with flour and fold them into the dough gently with a spoon. Substitute dried fruit for the berries if desired. I added 2 tbsp of dried poppy seeds, a handful of raisins, and 50 g of chocolate cut into small cubes.
5. Transfer the dough to a greased silicone Bundt pan and bake in a preheated oven for 65 minutes at 180u00b0C (350u00b0F). It baked for me in 50 minutes at 200u00b0C (400u00b0F). Let the babka cool.
6. Remove from the pan and dust generously with powdered sugar (this lets you slightly reduce the sugar in the dough). Or make a glaze: mix 3 tbsp of sugar, cocoa, milk, and 50 g of butter. Add a little rum flavoring for a taste like the “Romashka” candy.
