Cheese Babka

The smell of this baking is enough to drive you crazy. So delicious. I will say - be patient with the rising times - mine took much longer than stated - but that might have been that it was pretty chilly here. I also used the zest of one fresh lemon - I had no dried. I am not Polish and I had never made a Babka before - this will be the start of a whole new tradition.

I reviewed this recipe on March 30, but decided to update the review after making it several times and each time it gets better than the last. Doubt it is as authentic, but it is sure scrumptious. We have now become Cheese Bapka addicts, thanks to this wonderful recipe, and no longer have to order it from New York. We incorporated the following changes to the recipe and it is right on the mark for us and is picture perfect, like Kristina’s photograph. As others have indicated, dough is a bit sticky and we added about ¾ cup of flour. We added additional vanilla to the dough and also the filling. We rolled the dough out on a huge cutting board covered with parchment paper which made the dough much easier to roll. We used cream cheese, instead of Farmer’s Cheese (as suggested by one reviewer), and it was just as good or better. We also did not spread the cheese mixture all the way to the other end and the mixture stayed contained in the dough and spread throughout to the end when rolling it. Next, we did not twist the dough and none of the cheese leaked out to the side of the pan during cooking time. We baked for 30 minutes perfect; moist and delicious.

After searching for a cheese babka for Easter and finding that all the stores and bakeries were out of them, we decided to make this on Easter Eve! My husband put all of the dough ingredients into the bread machine and ran it on the dough cycle while I was at work. When I got home, I removed the dough and got started. The dough was very sticky, so I would probably add some additional flour next time. For the filling, I subbed cream cheese for the farmers cheese and I also didn't need the whole 2 tbl. of melted butter, but otherwise I followed the recipe and it came out fabulous. On Easter, my family all said they hoped I would make it every year and never buy one again. This definitely was equal or better than any babka we've purchased...even from the Polish bakery. It wasn't too difficult to make and was so worth it. Thanks for sharing the recipe. It will now be a family Easter tradition for us. (Mine came out a little dark. My oven runs low, so I upped the temp to 375. Next time, I'll leave it at 350 and I think it'll be perfect.)

I love this Babka.. I am Ukrainian and it is a staple at holidays. I even made my own farmers cheese (also a recipe I found on this site...thanks!) and it turned out delicious!

My dear 91 year old mother in law from Slovakia used to make this but never wanted to share her recipe. I recognized the ingredients and made it. It was easy to do and tasted absolutely delicious, just like she used to make. So good on Easter Sunday with ham and easter eggs. Thanks for sharing

This was a beautiful bread. The top side was even more gorgeous than the bundt side. The dough was very sticky - I had to add another cup of flour before and at least one cup during the kneading process (almost 2 more cups than recipe called for). I also had to sub cream cheese for farmer's cheese - my store just didn't have it. The dough was tender and soft and sweet and wonderful. And the house smelled fabulous as well. Great recipe. Will make again.

Amazing recipe! My parents are Polish & Ukranian and both raved that this recipe reminded them of their grandparent's babka. The bread was extremely moist & flavorful! I added some raisin as well. My only problem is that my dough did not rise (double in size as directed) - even after over 2 hours. It still tasted great, but I'd like to see dough rise as it should. Thanks for posting this awesome recipe!

So Moist!! My first time making babka, a little tricky but worth the time and effort...everyone loved it!!

Being of Polish descent, I've made or had a few babkas, and this was very good. Earlier, I attempted to make my own Farmer's cheese for this, from this site, but it didn't turn out well at all. So, I followed other's advice here and sub'd cream cheese. It worked very well. I just thought that there was TOO MUCH cheese. It's very rich. I would have liked a little more bread. Next time, I would halve the filling, and I think I would like it better. My oven runs hot, and it was ready at 30 min. I know it's a cheese babka, but I can see this plain, with raisins added, or even changing out the filling, i.e. prune. Thanks KRISTINALANGER for the great recipe! Smacznego! UPDATE 12/14: I tried this recipe using canned prune filling instead of the cheese and it came out great!

This was a surprise to everyone. I always make desserts for the holidays & I was interested in this thinking it would be like a bread meets cheese danish & I was glad I hit the head of the nail. The process was a bit complicated but I had so much fun twisting this up. Don't worry about the dried lemon peel, I just zested a lemon. I also never used farmer's cheese, I found it easily in my grocer's dairy section by friendship. Good luck & thanks it was yummy!

Oh man was this yummy. Used small curd cottage cheese, drained over night and then put through a ricer. It worked.

Oh yes. This is babka I remember as a kid. I really love the hint of lemon as well. thanks very much!

This was a great recipe!!!! I will never buy Babka again. Thanks for sharing :)

I am 100% Polish and have held a traditional Easter every year of my life. This recipe is a legit Polish Babka!! I have made this for 3 years now and its super easy to make. My in laws are immigrants from Poland and can’t wait every year for me to bake this for Easter! You have to use a real Farmers cheese that looks like dryer cottage cheese or Twarog cheese which is a polish Farmers cheese if you have any Polish stores near by.

I substituted the farmer's cheese for cream cheese as a reviewer mentioned. It must have changed the texture of the cheese mixture because it was impossible to 'spread-roll&twist', it was really runny. I also ended up using 1/8 c of sugar in the dough, and less than 1/4 c to the cheese mix, so I reduced the amount of sugar by a lot. I ended up using a deep 9x13" pan, making the dough covering the sides like a crust and poured the whole mixture in, crossing my fingers. 45 mins was perfect, as the recipe called. I swore to never do that again because of the mess it caused on the kitchen counter and the disappointment of its inconsistency. However, it turned out to be the most delicious sweet bread I have ever made! I will definitely make it again.

This is a easy recipe to follow however it is time consuming, but worth it for sure. I followed the recipe as it read except I did not have a bunt pan it called for. So I used two loaf pans and it worked out wonderfully. (use parchment paper on the bottom of each loaf pan, bake 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes) I patted down the dough as instructed before spreading the filling onto it then rolled just like you would making a jelly roll.(no twisting needed) I used the advice from two other reviewers : one suggested before patting down the dough to use parchment paper under the dough so it would not stick...good idea! The second person suggested using cream cheese, which I did, instead of farmers cheese. (my grocer does not carry it) I will definitely make this a gain. It's a keeper. Thank you!

I made this recipe a few times. The first few just as the recipe was written, and then every once in awhile, I add raisins, or put in different types of pans. This year no raisins, but we doubled the cheese filling. I am American with Polish heritage, and have had various babky- The recipe is pretty authentic. I shudder reading other bakers substituting cream cheese however recognize that Americans without any prior taste of an authentic babka or conditioned to typical American tastes would use it. I highly suggest if you are interested in tasting an authentic cheese babka, use farmers cheese (Twaróg). If you live anywhere between Rego Park NY and Philadelphia you can find this type of dry-ish farmers cheese at Net Cost Supermarkets, a Russian-European market. We also used the dough but switched it up a bit and made plain/no cheese, and simple raising babka. This recipe is worth coming back to again and again.

This Babka is so delicious! My family just loves it! It will be a new tradition in our home.

Delicious! Like the old fashioned polish babka that my grandmother used to make. I added golden raisins onto the cheese layer and it was perfect! Thanks for sharing this!

This babka was delicious, however instead of a cheese filling I made a chocolate filling. This recipe is a keeper.

I will make this again. I will also make a few changes as my grandmother made a bread that was close to this one, only sweeter. So I would add cinnamon to the dough and make the cheese filling a little sweeter and make the cheese size to about 2 1/2 cups of cheese. I also added white raisins. Every one has their own taste when it comes to baking so make it the way you like it but I will say it was really good.

Delicious! Like the old fashioned polish babka that my grandmother used to make. I added golden raisins onto the cheese layer and it was perfect! Thanks for sharing this!

I absolutely love this recipe, my grandmother use to make babka every holiday and never passed on the recipes, out of 6 aunts and uncles and countless cousins I am the only one who makes it, and everyone always requests it, it went from being a Christmas tradition to an every holiday staple. The only thing I do is double the vanilla simply because we love vanilla!!!

Very good recipe. Babka came out light and airy. Just a hint of sweetness and infused with hint of lemon. I used 1/2 farmer's cheese and 1/2 cream cheese (was good!), and fresh lemon zest instead of dried peel. What a mess to roll and twist -- the filling oozed out everywhere. Baked up really tall and the filling was distributed nicely within. It was quite impressive looking coming out of the oven. After cake cooled, I sliced it thickly, then wrapped it all together in plastic and foil and froze as a whole cake. We enjoyed individual slices thawed in fridge overnight and then toasted for 1-2 minutes in toaster oven next day (just for two!). Came out great. Very happy to have this recipe -- thanks for sharing! Notes: Next time will try thickening filling some to avoid runny mess when twisting. May add a bit more vanilla and sugar to filling also.

Excellent. I will say to work fast folding the cheese into the dough and getting it into the pan. Two of the three I made had the cheese oozing out of the dough before i could get in the pan. I was very frustrated, but they all tasted great; just like I remember from Gramma's!

I will make this again with ricotta cheese, the farmer cheese gave it a funky taste. The dough part was perfect.

I made this for my daughters mother in law who considers herself a Babka expert! She love it and told me her family demolished it in one sitting! I am making it again for my family! The only thing I did was substitute cream cheese as I didn’t have farmers cheese on hand!

It’s good but not great. I think cream cheese for farmers cheese would have been so much better, and some addition to the filling (apples, raisins, etc) would have taken this to a five star recipe. When I begin to roll it, it really became a mess. However, I had no issues with it rising or baking nicely. It’s just not anything really great as is.

Lovely pastry, not too sweet, time consuming and worth every moment.

Exceptional babka. All of our Polish relatives raved about this bread! I always have to make two since people want to take some home!

It’s my turn to fill the Pascha basket this year. I decided to use this bread. I made it today to be certain I could do it easily in the afternoon before Pascha. I followed the recipe almost exactly & using the bread machine to make the dough. Except I substituted cream cheese for farmer cheese in the filling. My neighbors—who aren’t fung—taste it for me & lived it.

This was my first time making or eating Babka so I wasn't sure of how it should taste. With that said,it looked beautiful but was very dry and tasteless . I shortened baking time because it looked done.I don't like giving bad reviews but I didn't like this at all.

I will forever keep making this absolutely fabulous dessert bread. This is beyond awesome! It made my house smell for two days like fresh baked Babka! I made this with two cream cheese, not Farmers Cheese. It came out wonderful! Everyone this! Have not made the chocolate one.

Amazing recipe.. Quarantine from Corona virus keeping me from my favorite Polish Deli that sells this. Part of our traditional Easter Breakfast. Made it and it was a complete success. My trial run is almost gone and now have to make 5 for Easter.

I had to substitute cream cheese and fresh lemon zest. I enjoyed it but my kids did not. It made an enormous bundt loaf. I will cut the recipe in half next time.

I made it just like the recipe except for fresh lemon zest. It turned out great. Really loved the cheesy flavor. The cake was very airy.

I apparently don't like Babka, but it did look nice and the texture and flavor was all there. Just not to my tastes.

I made my dough in the bread machine. For the cheese filling, I made a cream cheese filling. Came out beautiful and delicious!

Loved this!!! Smells divine while it’s baking!! There’s definitely a learning curve to twisting the dough and getting it in the pan and not losing filling but well worth it to keep trying baking new ones! I added a crumb topping to mine because that’s how I know Babka to be!! This is really delicious, I will be making this a lot, especially for Easter!

I love love love this! it's PERFECT! I moved away from NYC 17 years ago and haven't had good cheese babka since... now I can make my own! Thank You!

I have made this twice. Used some dry ricotta cheese instead of farmer's cheese. Not much ricotta was needed or else the filling will be too soupy. One time I put moist raisins with mini chocolate morsels in the filling. 2tbs. of melted butter is too much to brush on the dough before spreading the filling. Mine were baked in 35 minutes. This babka is not too sweet and great with some butter. I know it will freeze well and will portion in quarters. I am happy I came across this recipe. Fun to make. A beautiful yeast dough.

Thank you for the perfect Babka recipe. My family used to wait on line at our local Polish bakery for what we once thought was the best Babka - no more! This is so much better! My family INSISTS I make it every year - it is perfect! Thank you!

This is a good bread. Don't expect anything too sweet. It is a rich white yeast bread with a sweetened cream cheese filling.

I made this recipe a few times. The first few just as the recipe was written, and then every once in awhile, I add raisins, or put in different types of pans. This year no raisins, but we doubled the cheese filling. I am American with Polish heritage, and have had various babky- The recipe is pretty authentic. I shudder reading other bakers substituting cream cheese however recognize that Americans without any prior taste of an authentic babka or conditioned to typical American tastes would use it. I highly suggest if you are interested in tasting an authentic cheese babka, use farmers cheese (Twaróg). If you live anywhere between Rego Park NY and Philadelphia you can find this type of dry-ish farmers cheese at Net Cost Supermarkets, a Russian-European market. We also used the dough but switched it up a bit and made plain/no cheese, and simple raising babka. This recipe is worth coming back to again and again.

This is the second year in a row my daughter and I made this recipe and it's just to die for! This year we mixed it up and added some raspberry jam to the filling and it looks delicious!