Hallah dough of choice (you can either veganize a hallah recipe or use one of the recipes on the Shabbat Recipes page). Approximately 4 cups of flour should make 2 babkas. Sometimes I add a teaspoon of vanilla, a teaspoon of baking powder, and/or an extra Tablespoon of sugar to the dough if I'm making the recipe exclusively for babka.
Filling:
½ cup (or 1 stick) vegan butter or coconut oil, room temperature (a good brand for vegan butter is Miyoko's Creamery, though it is not certified kosher. See our discussion here on whether vegan restaurants, and by extension, certified-vegan products, need kosher certification)
½ cup powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons flour
1 heaping Tablespoon cinnamon
For optional crumb topping:
⅔ cup flour
½ cup brown sugar
⅓ cup cold vegan butter or coconut oil
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
Mix the filling ingredients together until they are the consistency of spreadable butter.
Once the dough has risen, roll out enough dough for one babka into a rectangle. Spread the filling over the babka, leaving a margin of about ½ inch (1¼ cm) on all sides without filling. Roll from on end to the other until you have a cylinder.
I generally place this into a loaf pan greased with cooking spray. I have found that when I put it onto a cookie sheet without sides, the filling oozes out, spills into the oven, and makes the smoke alarm go off.
If making the crumb topping, combine the flour and sugar in a bowl. Cut in butter using a two knives or a pastry blender (I like keeping the butter frozen, and grating it into the flour mixture with a cheese grater, then tossing it with a fork).
Once the babka is in the loaf pan, cover the babka with the topping.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until it seems browned on all sides.