Blueberry Lemon Babka with Cream Cheese Glaze

This recipe wasn’t just something I pulled out of a cookbook. It was inspired by my sweet neighbor, Mrs. Mellisa. She has lived next door to us for the past four years. She’s the kind of woman who always has a warm smile and never complains when my children accidentally throw their toys over her wall. Plastic dolphins, nerf gun darts and many balls have made their way over her wall through the years, and she always tosses them back into our backyard with a laugh saying, "I remember when my son played like that." Once the weather turned warm, she gifted my children with a giant water blow up. Compleat with two slides and a water gun. I wanted to say thank in the best way I know how so, I decided to make this blueberry lemon babka with cream cheese glaze in her honor and for all the women like her who mother in quiet, consistent ways.

Ingredients:

Dough:

113g-142g (1/2- 3/4cup) warm water

1 egg, room temperature

375g (3cups) all-purpose flour

21g dry milk

9g (1 tablespoon) instant yeast

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

50g (1/4 cup) white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

71g (5 tablespoons) butter

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

Zest of 1 lemon

Filling:

1/2 cup blueberry jam

1/4 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup frozen wild blueberries, thawed. (I like the frozen wild blueberries for this because they are nice and small but regular blueberries will still be just as delicious.)

Glaze:

Powder sugar

4 oz cream cheese

4-6 tablespoons cream, milk or half and half

Method:

Combine all the dough ingredients starting with the lesser amount of water and mix until everything is moistened. Add additional water if necessary to bring the dough together. Knead the dough until it’s soft and smooth. Cover the dough and allow it to rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until it’s quite puffy.

To make the filling, combine the sugar and vanilla together.

Roll the dough out into approximately a 9 x 18-inch rectangle, if the dough fights back, let it rest for 10 minutes and then try again.

Spread the blueberry jam and vanilla sugar over the dough and scattered the blueberries. Starting with the short end, roll the dough into a log sealing the ends. Using a sharp knife, cut the log in half lengthwise to make two pieces of dough about 10 inches long. Twist the two pieces into a braid filling side up, tucking the ends underneath. Place the bread into a 9x5 inch loaf pan lined with parchment paper. Cover the bread and allow it to rise for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 300°F. Bake the bread for 35 minutes. Tent the bread lightly with foil and bake another 15 to 20 minutes for a total of 50 to 60 minutes. The loaf should be a nice golden brown.

Remove the loaf from the oven and then cool it on a wire rack for 10 minutes then turn it out of the pan. While the babka is cooling, mix the cream cheese glaze together. Using a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar together, add enough milk or cream to thin the glaze out.

Once your loaf is mostly cooled, generously pour over the cream cheese glaze. Slice the blueberry lemon babka with cream cheese glaze thickly and enjoy!

Baking this babka felt like an act of love. As a mother myself, I often think about how the small things are the big things. The crumbs swept up after breakfast, the songs sung in the car, the way your child’s hand fits into yours like it was always meant to be there. These are the moments that string together the story of our lives. They may not make headlines, but they make a home. So, this Mother’s Day, I’m giving thanks for my sweet neighbor, for my children’s laughter, for babka shared over coffee, and for the sacred, messy, glorious gift of being a mother. May we all take a moment to savor the sweetness around us.

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I sure hope you give this blueberry lemon babka with cream cheese glaze a try this weekend! If you want to stay in the loop and never miss another blog post, subscribe to my e-mail list today!

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