This blueberry cream cheese babka is everything you want in a yummy breakfast or brunch treat. Homemade buttery dough envelopes swirls of sweetened cream cheese and quick made from scratch blueberry preserves. This recipe makes 2 babka loaves so you have one to stash in your freezer when you need a delicious homemade bread in no time at all.
This week has been a doozy. It’s been groundhog day over here with family breakfast, figure out how to entertain a toddler for 5 hours without leaving the house, family lunch, blessed nap time for said toddler, make dinner, family dinner, maybe allow a little too much tv time and then mercifully bedtime for the 2 year old and Netflix for the adults.
Add to that a few more unexpected life changes and this one will go down in the record books.
These times in a pandemic are unprecedented for all of us. There are people losing their jobs, people fighting this invisible virus on the front lines (thank you ALL hospital workers and first responders) and people trying to cope with working at home and home-schooling.
It’s a tough time to process all the changes and figure out how to adapt to this new way of life.
My hope for this time is that we can continue to give each other grace, to not assume what may or may not be happening in others’ lives and to give where we can and accept help when we need it.
I hope for a new appreciation for precious family time, the art of slowing down, and an understanding of where our priorities now lie.
It seems like during this time, there is also an increase in home baking. If you’ve never tried a yeast recipe before (hopefully you can get your hands on some yeast!) or had one that flopped previously, I hope you will give this blueberry cream cheese babka a chance!
How to make babka dough
To start this recipe, you will begin to “proof” your yeast which simply means that you are making sure the yeast is alive before combining it with the other ingredients.
To do this, you’ll warm some milk in the microwave or on the stove until it reads 100-110 degrees. Then you’ll add this warmed milk and 1 tsp of sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast over the top.
Stir it into the milk and then let it stand for about 5 minutes until it is foamy at the top. This tells you that your yeast is good and you can proceed with the recipe. If for some reason the yeast didn’t foam (milk too hot, old yeast, etc) then you would want to start over with new yeast.
From here, the rest is really simple. You will mix in your eggs, vanilla, flour, sugar and salt to the yeast mixture and then let the mixer do the magic.
Mix on low speed until combined and then on medium for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth. Next, you’ll add in the very room temperature butter and mix for another 4 minutes until the butter is incorporated.
Grease another bowl with baking spray and then transfer the sticky and wet dough into the new bowl. Cover this bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for an hour to an hour and a half until it’s doubled in size.
Foamy yeast after proofing. 
Dough after mixing in all dough ingredients. Dough after rising for 1-1.5 hours.
How to shape and assemble babka
Once your dough has risen, punch down the dough and scrape it onto a lightly floured surface. Cut it into 2 equal halves. Starting with one half, you will roll the dough into a 12 x 16 inch rectangle and then spread it with the half of the sweetened cream cheese.
Next, spread on half of the blueberry preserves. Roll the dough up into a long log and then slice it in half lengthwise. Last, twist the 2 halves around each other creating your final babka dough.
Transfer each babka to a loaf pan lined with parchment paper squishing it at the ends to fit if needed. The dough will need another hour to do a second rise.
You’ll then bake it for about 40 minutes or until it’s golden brown on top. Right after taking it out of the oven, you’ll brush a simple syrup mixture over the top of each loaf. Cool for a few minutes in the pan and then transfer to a wire rack to cool the rest of the way.
Can you make babka dough ahead of time?
If you would prefer to tackle the blueberry cream cheese babka over two days, here is the method for that. Make the babka dough as described above.
Instead of letting the dough rise for 1-1.5 hours in a warm place, transfer the covered bowl of dough to the refrigerator overnight.
It will rise overnight in the fridge and then you can proceed with the shaping and assembling steps above. You will still let it do the second rise in the loaf pan before baking.
Can you freeze babka?
Once the babka is cooled, you can wrap it in a layer of plastic wrap, a layer of foil and then place it in a zip top bag and freeze it. It will last for 1-2 months in the freezer.
Place it in the refrigerator the night before you will want to serve it to allow it to defrost. Slices can be toasted in a toaster or warmed in a microwave if desired.
The babka will last tightly wrapped for about 3 days on the counter or longer if refrigerated.
For more babka and yeast bread recipes:
Tag me on Instagram @themarblekitchenblog if you make this and leave a review and comment below! Thanks and enjoy!
Blueberry Cream Cheese Babka
Ingredients
Blueberry preserves
- 3 cups blueberries
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Babka Dough
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar + 1 tsp sugar divided
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 pkg active dry yeast about 2 1/4 tsp
- 1 cup milk warmed to about 100-110 degrees
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 10 tbsp unsalted butter very soft and cubed
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- ½ cup sugar
Sugar Syrup
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup water
Instructions
Blueberry Preserves
- Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened and crushing some of the blueberries with the back of the spoon. Refrigerate the preserves while the dough rises.
Babka Dough
- Whisk together flour, 1/3 cup of sugar and salt in a bowl. Warm milk in the microwave for about 45 seconds or until a thermometer reads 100 to 110 degrees. Add the milk and 1 tsp sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a dough hook. Sprinkle the yeast over the milk and stir to combine. Let stand for about 5 minutes until the yeast starts to foam.
- Add eggs, vanilla, flour, sugar and salt to the yeast mixture. Mix on low speed until combined and then increase speed to medium and mix for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth.
- Add the softened butter gradually and mix on medium about 4 minutes until butter is incorporated and dough comes together but is sticky. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until the dough is about doubled (or let rise in the refrigerator overnight). Punch down the dough and scrape out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 2 halves and shape into a rectangle.
- Starting with one disc, roll the dough out on a floured surface to a 12 x 16 rectangle. Spread with half the cream cheese mixture leaving a small border on one long edge. Then spread with half the blueberry preserves again leaving a border on a long edge.
- Starting with the long side without the border, roll the dough into a tight log. If the dough is very warm or sticky, you can refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes to make it easier to work with (if you didn't refrigerate overnight).
- Trim off about an inch from each side. Slice the dough down the middle lengthwise into 2 long halves with the layers exposed. Place the end of one of the halves over the top of the other half, pressing together lightly (see pictures above) and then braid the 2 pieces over one another to the bottom, again pressing together lightly. Repeat the last 2 steps with the other dough disc.
- Line two, 9 x 5 loaf pans with parchment paper leaving an overhang on the long sides. Carefully place the braided dough into each loaf pan, squeezing the ends slightly to fit if needed. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for an hour.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until golden brown and a tester comes out clean. Immediately after taking out of the oven, brush each loaf with half the sugar syrup, using it all.
- Cool a few minutes in the loaf pan and then transfer the babka using the parchment paper to a wire rack to cool completely.
Cream Cheese Filling
- Combine the cream cheese and sugar in a bowl and beat using an electric mixer until combined.
Sugar Syrup
- Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and stir, cooking on medium high until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.
Notes
- Make the blueberry preserves first and be sure to refrigerate them so they have enough time to thicken up!
- After cooling the babka completely, wrap in plastic wrap or foil. It will keep for about 3 days on the counter or up to 5 refrigerated.
- Freeze the babka loaf by wrapping in a layer of plastic wrap, then foil and then placing in a zip-top bag. The babka will keep for 1-2 months in the freezer. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- To make the dough over 2 days, instead of the first rise, place it into the refrigerator overnight and then proceed with the recipe.
- You can use purchased blueberry preserves instead of the homemade preserve if you need to save time!
Carly says
Can I make this recipe with instant yeast instead of active dry yeast?
Tara Kringlen says
Hi Carly! Yes, you should be able to sub instant yeast for the active dry. You can just add it to the dry ingredients and skip the initial proofing step.
Carly says
Thank you!!!! I can’t wait to try this 😊
Sasha says
Hello Tara,
Lovely recipe! Just wondering how you place the two finished dough disks in the pan? It looks like there’s only the one in the pan but maybe that’s because they’re lying on top of each other? Not entirely sure.
Tara Kringlen says
Hi Sasha! Thanks! This actually makes 2 individual loaves so you would need 2 loaf pans 🙂
Jessi says
Hi! The recipe states 7.5 hours of rising time, but I am just not getting that math when I follow your steps.. only about 2.5-3 hours? Can you confirm this for me. Thanks very much, so excited to try!
Tara Kringlen says
That was a typo! Should be 2.5 hrs of rising time. Fixed now :-). Enjoy!
Jessi says
Thanks Tara, going to make this RIGHT NOW! Already drooling 🙂 xoxo
Tara Kringlen says
Great! Let me know how it goes!
Kathleen says
Not sure what went wrong (maybe I got the world’s juiciest blueberries?) but the “preserves” just never became thick enough. When I tried putting it all together the dough just become slimy as the blueberries oozed all over the place. Managed to wrangle it all into the pan and am crossing my fingers as it rises one more time and then bakes. Too bad I have no more flour or blueberries to try again.
Tara Kringlen says
Hi Kathleen!
Two things. How long did you cook the preserves? They need a good 15-20 minutes of simmering to thicken up. Second, did you refrigerate them until cool before assembling the babka? This really helps firm them up more. Making babka is a messy process due to the filling and rolling so there should be some leakage and cleanup to do on your counter :-). That said, if you followed the steps above and they still didn’t get thick then I would recommend increasing the cooking time of the preserves slightly until it gets thicker. Even if they were thinner preserves, the babka should still taste good!
Kathleen says
Oh it was messy alright – delicious but messy. Being a glutton for punishment I tried again, simmering longer and refrigerating the blueberries. I added a teaspoon of cornstarch and water (which I usually do when I make a syrup for waffles. Still messy, but I was ready for it this time! (Sort of)
Tara Kringlen says
So glad you tried again Kathleen! Refrigerating the preserves helps immensely! I hope it was delicious despite the messiness 🙂
Mimi says
I had the same thing happened!! the blueberry preserves went slimy all over the place. Just a bit of suggestion from a beginner baker, maybe it can be mentioned in the recipe to make the blueberry preserves a day before so it can be chilled on the fridge to avoid this problem? I cooked mine about 15-20 minutes and it actually looked thicken. It tasted super delish, thank you for the recipe!!
Tara Kringlen says
Hi Mimi,
I’m sorry your preservers were not thick enough. I do mention to refrigerate the preserves both in the recipe and the notes at the bottom of the recipe and mine did thicken with just a couple hours in the refrigerator. I’m happy to hear it still tasted great!
Jen says
Wow! So yummy! The dough was easy to make but the blueberry preserves didn’t end up setting up very well. I simmered for 20mins, added a tablespoon of corn starch, and refrigerated for an hour before using it. In the end I made a mess putting the loaves together but just sort of scooped up what had run out and put it over the tops of the loaves. No problem. The finished product is rich, buttery, sweet, pillowy, and so tasty. I’m daydreaming about making into French toast. Thanks for the recipe!
Tara Kringlen says
Thanks for the comment Jen! French toast made with this sounds divine :-).
Melissa says
Hi! I made this last week and it was a great success! Easy to follow! My family loved it so much they want me to make it again with different fillings! Would this recipe work if I used Nutella instead of cream cheese and blueberries?
Tara Kringlen says
Yay! So glad it was a success. Yes, you could definitely sub in nutella for the filling and it would be delicious!
Rachel Belleman says
Can you make this with only half? I’ve currently only got one loaf pan on hand 🙁
Tara Kringlen says
Hi Rachel! I haven’t tested it halved yet but you could try! Sometimes baking recipes don’t turn out the greatest halved but this one may work. The other option is to just refrigerate the other dough half until the first one is done baking and then proceed with letting the second one rise and bake. Good luck!
Alli says
Holy smokes! This looks SO fantastic. I definitely want to make this over the weekend. Such a great share. Thank you! <3
xo Alli | http://www.onthetripside.com
Tara Kringlen says
Do it! It’s so good!
Jess Johnson says
Hello Tara the Magnificent!!
Thank you for sharing your recipe. It was fun to make and came out great!
The only thing I will criticize is the way you decided to put the recipe together for all to read.
First set of directions described flour, sugar and salt.. but then it jumps into warming milk for the yeast. That caught me off guard at first, so I decided to read the whole recipe first to make sure it wasn’t as random as the first paragraph.
Then I found that you had put the cream cheese filling and sugar syrup way at the end where people could miss it. Maybe some have applied the cream cheese without the sugar mix. Idk. All I personally think is that it’s just bad placement.
Again, this is just my opinion and my opinion alone. Please don’t take this in anyway personal.
Respectfully,
Jess
Semi-Crazy baker lol
Tara Kringlen says
Hi Jess,
Thanks for the feedback. I feel the recipe is written logically as to the way I prepared it so I’m sorry if you felt it didn’t flow well. As far as the cream cheese and sugar syrup parts of the recipe, they are at the end of the recipe ingredients as they are a secondary part of the recipe with the dough being the primary part. With the dough taking some time to come together, these parts can be made after the dough has been made and is rising to maximize time. I always recommend reading a recipe through entirely before starting so you know what is to come! Thanks :-).
Lisa says
Just took these two beautiful loaves out of the oven. I put them in the oven as soon as I put them in the pans and they didn’t get their second rise. Hope they are ok. The look great. Rose up to the top of the pans. Will be tasting shortly.
Tara Kringlen says
They should be fine despite no second rise! They will at least taste good still :-).
Talulla Barney says
Loved this recipe! My bread turned out great. I ended up baking it for a bit long than recommended. I took the bread out of the oven when it reached an internal temperature of about 185-190 and it was perfectly baked. I ended up using my own homemade blackberry vanilla jam, and I was very pleased with the results. I really enjoyed this recipe and I can’t wait to make it again!
Tara Kringlen says
Blackberry vanilla jam sounds delicious! I’m happy it turned out great!
MizzouMary says
Hello, thanks for this recipe. I’d like to make with prepared black raspberry preserves that I have – how much would I use to be equivalent to the fresh blueberries used in your recipe?
Tara Kringlen says
About a cup and a half of preserves should work for the 2 babkas. Enjoy!
Autumn says
Why is the sugar in the dough part divided?
Autumn says
Never mind. I see that the 1 t of sugar goes with the yeast mixture and the 1/3 c with the remaining dough ingredients.
Tara Kringlen says
Yep, that’s correct :-). The sugar added to the yeast at the beginning helps it activate.
Brandi says
I made every mistake imaginable: I didn’t cool the blueberries; I didn’t get the dough to cut without being a mess; and I forgot to make and add the simple syrup until the pans came out and cooled a bit – and it’s still perfect and delish. So fun to make, too. Thank you!!
Tara Kringlen says
Hi Brandi! Happy to hear the recipe was forgiving! Thanks!
Anne Marsh says
Would there be any difference to length of rising time or anything else since I don’t have a stand mixer? I have an electric beater but the dough looks pretty thick. But this looks so good that I really want to try it!
Tara Kringlen says
Hi Anne! No, there shouldn’t be a difference with rising time without the use of the stand mixer. Enjoy!
Debbie Dittrich says
Just have to share. I have canned pears that I put up. Cooked them for about 15-20 min to soften them up. Added about 1/2 cup sugar, diced into small pieces and added some cinnamon. OMG. This was so delicious. Will definetely make again.
Tara Kringlen says
Thanks for sharing Debbie. That sounds delicious!
Caroline says
My first time making babka and it was great. It’s messy but fun. I made one blueberry (no cream cheese) and one Nutella. Delish. Keeping this gem. Thanks!!
Tara Kringlen says
Thanks Caroline!
Kimberley says
This was AMAAZING!!!! It made the fluffiest finished product, definitely going in my favourite recipes folder! Thanks so much for sharing!
Tara Kringlen says
So happy to hear!!
Amy Price says
Thank you so much for this recipe! I just wanted to share my experience with making it, because I was so nervous for the consistency of the blueberries after reading some of the comments…. I personally found that they thickened up BEAUTIFULLY following the directions exactly as written. I actually found that it was WAY less messy putting than babkas I have made in the past (with Nutella etc). I was so pleasantly surprised. Just in the middle of my second rise now but I will post a photo of the finished product on instagram (@cookiediaries_) 🙂 Thanks so much again! XOXO
Tara Kringlen says
So happy it worked well for you Amy! Thanks for the comment and looking forward to seeing the pics!
Megan says
Can you use frozen blueberries?
Tara Kringlen says
I haven’t tested it with frozen blueberries but I think it would work. The only concern is that there may be more liquid than with fresh blueberries so if you see it isn’t thickening after 15-20 minutes then I would try adding a cornstarch slurry (cornstarch mixed with a little water) to thicken it. Let me know if you try it!
Alex M says
Has there been any success making this with coconut flour? I really want to try it but I cannot use regular flour. Thanks
Tara Kringlen says
Hi Alex. I haven’t tested this with alternative flours so I couldn’t say. Let me know if you try!
Sarah says
I just made this, and it is SO good! I’ve never made any type of babka, and I followed everything to a T! I seriously couldn’t believe how well it turned out. My only advice is if your preserves aren’t thickening up, they just need to sit on the stovetop longer. Mine almost took an hour to thicken up! Just be patient, and start that way ahead of time!
Thank you for sharing your recipe with the world! I found it on Pinterest, and loved how simple it was to follow, and I will definitely be making it again and playing with different fillings!
Tara Kringlen says
Thanks Sarah for your kind comment!! So happy it turned out well!
Lucia Abuin says
My babka didnt rise!
Why?!!!!!! Ugh…
Tara Kringlen says
Hi Lucia,
I answered on Instagram but wanted to answer here too in case anyone else had this issue. Most often when using yeast, if your dough doesn’t rise, it means the yeast is not working. Often the cause of this is using too hot of a liquid (the milk in this recipe) which kills the yeast. The other culprit could be old yeast. This is why it’s important to make sure you proof the yeast (see that it foams after a few minutes-see details in the post) to make sure it’s alive before moving forward in a recipe. Hope this helps!
keri says
how much of the preserves would be needed if going with store bought vs making from scratch? thanks!
Tara Kringlen says
Hi! It should be about a cup to a cup and a half of preserves total for the 2 babkas.
Hannah says
How do you use medium setting with the dough hook? I thought you were only supposed to use setting 2 with that attachment. Sorry if that’s a stupid question this is my first time using the dough hook. It’s the spiral one if that makes a difference… I’m worried now that my dough will be really tough from so much mixing and I couldn’t really get the butter to incorporate
Tara Kringlen says
Hi Hannah,
I actually had not heard to not use the dough hook above a level 2 however I did google it and saw that Kitchen Aid recommends that. I personally have never had an issue with using it on a higher speed and have had my kitchen aid for many years with no issues with the motor. I have not had any issues with the dough being tough either the many times I’ve made this dough. I would just suggest doing what you feel comfortable with your mixer and if you do use it on the lower speed, it may just take some more time to come together and get the butter incorporated completely.
Hannah says
Thank you for the response, it did turn out delicious!
Tara Kringlen says
Yay! Happy it turned out well.
Gloria Schondelmayer says
Hi, this sounds amazing. Can I make this into a keto bread using Swerve and Almond flour? Would I need to add any coconut flour too? Thank you for your help.
Tara Kringlen says
Hi Gloria,
I unfortunately don’t have experience with keto baking and alternative flours so I can’t say if it would work or not. Maybe search google for a keto brioche dough and see if something comes up and then you can adapt the fillings for keto? Good luck!
Mitzi Stinson says
have you tried this with any other fruit but blueberry? I was thinking of Cherry.. I have lots of fresh frozen cherries and thought this might be a good choice too.
Tara Kringlen says
Hey Mitzi,
Sorry for the late reply! Yes, you can absolutely adapt it to use other fruits. I know someone who made a cherry one and it came out great!
Lindsey says
This bread was one of the top 10 things I have made of 2020 and I’ve done a LOT of baking recently. Thank you for this recipe! I was able to cut it in half as I haven’t been dropping off baked goods with friends due to Covid but now I’m really wishing I had another loaf waiting for me….
Tara Kringlen says
You made my day! Thanks for the comment and I’m so glad you loved the babka!
Lindsay says
How do you recommend handling the dough without a dough hook attachment?
Tara Kringlen says
Hi Lindsay,
You can do it by hand but it will be a workout! Make sure that the butter is very soft to make it easier to incorporate it. It should give easily when you push your finger into the butter. Just follow the instructions as written but you’ll likely need to add a little bit more time for the dough to come together . Good luck!
Justi says
Hi! I live in Eastern Europe and I’d like to notice that although the yeast dough with fruit or curd, or sometimes both, is quite popular, we wouldn’t call it babka. Maybe it’s only in my country, but babka is generally a dry cake in a form of a bundt cake. It may be a yeast cake or baking powder cake. Yeast cake with fruit is called differently. In East Europe we use cream cheese on sandwiches only, and usually not in a sweet version. If we make a cake with cream cheese, it must mean the recipe is American…We use curd for cheesecake and many other desserts. I think it’s a very common misunderstanding. Otherwise your cake looks like a nice “strucla”, as I would call it 🙂
Tara Kringlen says
Hi Justi!
Good to know and so interesting! I haven’t heard of “strucla” before. I’ll have to look it up.
LCarter says
Hello! I would love to try this recipe this weekend, but I unfortunately don’t have a mixer. Is it possible to make the brioche dough by hand?
Tara Kringlen says
It is! I can’t say that I’ve done it without a mixer, but it can be done. Just make sure the butter is really soft (but not melted) to help you incorporate it. It will likely be messy and give you a good workout but it should work. Let me know how it goes! Also, if you google it, there are a few YouTube videos showing people making brioche by hand so that may help!
Nancy Starno says
I did it all by hand. It was a workout incorporating the softened butter and I hoped it would rise OK and it did.
I cut up the butter into small cubes and left it out in the warm kitchen while doing all the other steps. By the time I got to using it, it was soft enough.
Nancy Starno says
I was in the mood to try something new to use up the blueberries I had picked that were in the freezer. It all came out as I hoped. The preserves were a bit watery which made it messy to roll up. I did not have a mixer, so had to do all the mixing by hand. It came out looking spectacular. It tastes great too.
Tara Kringlen says
Thanks for the feedback Nancy and I’m impressed you did the mixing by hand!
Annie says
Can you make this in a bread maker? What if you don’t have a stand mixer?
Tara Kringlen says
Hi Annie,
I’m not sure about a bread maker as I don’t own one and don’t have any experience with them. Babka dough can be made from hand if you need to though. It will be quite the arm workout but is totally doable as some readers have mentioned they’ve done it this way. You can look on YouTube for “how to make brioche by hand” for some videos of making the dough by hand. Good luck!
Alyssa L. says
So so so good! Not to sweet and I found that I did need about an extra 15 mins in my oven. I loved the simple sugar addition to the tops right out of the oven, that sizzle was perfect for my little bakers (7) and (8).
Tara Kringlen says
Thank you Alyssa! So fun to get the kids involved!