• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Somebody Feed Seb
  • Home
  • VEGANUARY
  • MAINS
    • MEAT & POULTRY
    • FISH & SEAFOOD
    • PASTA
    • RISOTTO
    • SALADS & BOWLS
    • SOUP
    • VEGETARIAN
    • VEGAN
    • BUDGET
  • SOURDOUGH
    • ACTIVE STARTER
    • DISCARD
  • DESSERTS & BAKES
    • CAKES & TORTES
    • TARTS & PIES
    • CHEESECAKE
    • COOKIES, BISCUITS, BARS
    • DESSERTS
    • SMALL BAKES
  • BREAKFAST
  • SIDE DISHES
menu icon
go to homepage
  • RECIPES
  • ABOUT ME
  • CONTACT
  • SUBSCRIBE
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • RECIPES
    • ABOUT ME
    • CONTACT
    • SUBSCRIBE
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » EASTER

    Polish Babka | Traditional Easter Bundt Cake

    Published: April 3, 2022 · Updated: April 6, 2022 by Ieva · This post may contain affiliate links · 12 Comments

    Jump to Recipe

    Easter is celebrated across the world! Today we are sharing a recipe for Traditional Eastern European Easter Bundt Cake that is both easy to make and impressive to look at! Polish Babka is a cross between enriched bread and a cake, that is typically made with lemon icing dripping down the sides! Serve a slice of this Polish Easter bread at breakfast or with your afternoon tea!

    Take Me To:
    • What is Polish Easter Babka?
    • Frequently Asked Questions:
    • Step-By-Step Polish Babka Recipe:
    • Looking for Other Ideas for Easter Bakes?

    What is Polish Easter Babka?

    Polish babka recipe is renowned across the world, especially in the Eastern European countries, where this delicious sultana-studded bread is made every spring in anticipation of Easter! Traditionally, this enriched bread is made with egg yolks, however, there are numerous recipes for this bread! This particular Polish Babka (Babka Wielkanocna) recipe came from a dusty drawer in my parents’ house! Written down on a piece of paper, in handwriting that we did not recognise, it felt very special and mysterious. And now, with a few minor tweaks, we are sharing this recipe with you all!

    Easter Bundt Cake is placed on a white cake stand and a slice is being cut.

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost for you! Thank you!

    Frequently Asked Questions:

    Can I Use Strong Bread Flour in this Polish Babka Recipe?

    Yes, absolutely! Since it is a cross between bread and a cake, it works equally well with both types of flour. Plain flour produces more fluffy, lighter bread, whilst strong flour makes this babka more bready and easier to slice.

    What Other Fruit Can You Put in Polish Babka?

    Traditionally, this Easter Bundt Cake is made with either sultanas or raisins, but it takes really good with chopped up dried apricots too! My grandmother used to make it with pieces of prunes too!

    How to Make Sure The Cake Doesn’t Stick to the Tin?

    First, generously grease your bundt cake tin with butter. I actually like to melt my butter, then using a pastry brush, get the butter in all the nooks and crannies of the bundt cake tin (especially useful when you’re using an intricately designed tin). Place the tin in the fridge for 15 minutes. Then brush with butter again. This time, before fridging, spoon 2 teaspoon of dried breadcrumbs and swish them around so they stick to the bottom and sides of the tin. Tip out any excess. Place the tin in the fridge for the butter to solidify. This method never failed me!

    What Can I Substitute Rum With?

    Use spiced or dark rum, brandy or cognac. For a non-alcohol option, use orange juice!

    Step-By-Step Polish Babka Recipe:

    In a bowl of your stand mixer, mix the flour, yeast, salt and caster sugar. Pour the milk in, add the vanilla bean paste and the eggs. Fitted with either a dough hook or a K-beater, run your mixer for approx 6-8 minutes until the dough forms (it will be thin and sticky).

    With the mixer still running, bit by bit, add the slivers of soft butter and keep on mixing until all the butter is incorporated.

    Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel or cling film and leave in a warm spot to prove for 1.5-2hours, until the dough doubles in size.

    In the meantime, place the sultanas and rum in a small saucepan and heat for a minute. Take the pan off the heat just before the rum boils, cover and leave to soak whilst your dough is proving.

    Generously grease your bundt cake tin with butter. Spoon 2 teaspoon of dried breadcrumbs and swish them around so they stick to the bottom and sides of the tin. Tip out any excess. Place the tin in the fridge (this will solidify the butter and prevent your Easter Bundt Cake from sticking to the tin).

    Once doubled in size, place the bowl back in the stand mixer. Drain the sultanas and discard the leftover rum. Squeezing any excess rum out of the dried fruit, add them to the dough hand run the mixer on low speed to incorporate the fruit into the dough.

    Scrape the Easter Babka dough into the prepared bundt cake tin. Cover with a damp tea towel or cling film and leave for 1.5 hours to prove again. It should double in size.

    The dough is scraped into the greased and breadcrumbed bundt cake tin.
    Before second proof
    The dough has been proved for 1.5 hours and has doubled in size.
    After…

    Preheat the oven to 180 C. Place the cake in the middle of the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes. The skewer inserted should come out clean.

    Once baked leave it in the tin for 10 minutes. Then invert the cake onto a wire rack and leave to cool down completely.

    In the meantime, mix the icing sugar with lemon juice to make thin(ish) icing. Spoon the lemon icing all over the Polish Babka and leave for an hour to set before slicing!

    lemon icing being poured over the Polish Babka.

    Looking for Other Ideas for Easter Bakes?

    Why not try some of our favourite Easter-themed recipes:

    • Paska | Ukrainian Easter Bread With Apricots and Marzipan
    • Carrot Cake with Coconut, Pecans and Sultanas
    • Lithuanian Fourteen Layer Honey Cake
    A slice of Polish Babka is being cut.

    Polish Babka | Traditional Easter Bundt Cake

    Easter is celebrated across the world! Today we are sharing a Traditional Eastern European Easter Bundt Cake that is both easy to make and impressive to look at! Polish Babka is a cross between enriched bread and a cake, that is typically made with lemon icing dripping down the sides! Serve a slice of this Polish Easter bread at breakfast or with your afternoon tea!
    5 from 9 votes
    Print Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 35 mins
    Proving Time: 3 hrs
    Total Time 3 hrs 50 mins
    Course Dessert, Sweet Bread
    Cuisine Polish
    Servings 16 portions
    Calories 182 kcal

    Equipment

    • Bundt Bake Tin approx. 2 L capacity
    • Stand Mixer

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 320 g plain flour
    • 7 g fast-action yeast typically 1 packet
    • 120 g caster sugar
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 100 ml milk lukewarm
    • 3 eggs small
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
    • 100 g butter soft, cut into thin slivers
    • 80 g sultanas or raisins
    • 30 ml rum

    For the Icing:

    • 200 g icing sugar
    • 2 tbsp lemon juice

    Instructions
     

    • In a bowl of your stand mixer, mix the flour, yeast, salt and caster sugar. Pour the milk in, add the vanilla bean paste and the eggs. Fitted with either a dough hook or a K-beater, run your mixer for approx 6-8 minutes until the dough forms (it will be thin and sticky).
    • With the mixer still running, bit by bit, add the slivers of soft butter and keep on mixing until all the butter is incorporated.
    • Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel or cling film and leave in a warm spot to prove for 1.5-2hours, until the dough doubles in size.
    • In the meantime, place the sultanas and rum in a small saucepan and heat for a minute. Take the pan off the heat just before the rum boils, cover and leave to soak whilst your dough is proving.
    • Generously grease your bundt cake tin with butter. Spoon 2 teaspoon of dried breadcrumbs and swish them around so they stick to the bottom and sides of the tin. Tio out any excess. Place the tin in the fridge (this will solidify the butter and prevent your Easter Bundt Cake from sticking to the tin).
    • Once doubled in size, place the bowl back in the stand mixer. drain the sultanas and discard the leftover rum. Squeezing any excess rum out of the dried fruit, add them to the dough hand run the mixer on low speed to incorporate the fruit into the dough.
    • Scrape the Easter Babka dough into the prepared bundt cake . Cover with a damp tea towel or cling film and leave for 1.5 hours to prove again. It should double in size.
    • Preheat the oven to 180 C. Place the cake in the middle of the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes. The skewer inserted should come out clean.
    • Once baked leave it in the tin for 10 minutes. Then invert the cake onto a wire rack and leave to cool down completely.
    • In the meantime, mix the icing sugar with lemon juice to make thin(ish) icing. Spoon the lemon icing all over the Polish Babka and leave for an hour to set before slicing!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 182kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 4gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 130mgPotassium: 93mgFiber: 1gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 207IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 20mgIron: 1mg
    Keyword Easter Babka, Easter Bread, Easter Bundt Cake, Easter Cake, Polish Babka, Polish Babka Cake, Polish Babka Recipe, Polish Bundt Cake, Polish Easter Babka, Polish Easter Bread
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
    Pin for Pinterest.

    More EASTER

    • Boulangère Potatoes (French Onion Potato Bake)
    • Blackened Salmon with Mango Salsa
    • Canelés de Bordeaux: Canele Recipe Without Rum
    • Dukkah Salmon with Mint Yoghurt Sauce

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kushigalu

      March 06, 2022 at 1:02 pm

      5 stars
      What a gorgeous-looking cake for Easter. Pinned your recipe.

      Reply
    2. Kate

      April 06, 2022 at 9:51 am

      5 stars
      What a beautiful cake – tastes as good as it looks, moist and really easy to make.

      Reply
      • Ieva

        April 07, 2022 at 8:48 am

        Thanks, Kate! So glad you liked it 🙂

        Reply
    3. veenaazmanov

      April 06, 2022 at 2:46 pm

      5 stars
      A cake surely to try this Easter. Your recipe sounds delicious. Saved it on my best recipe list.

      Reply
    4. Liza

      April 10, 2022 at 1:48 pm

      5 stars
      How special to have your family recipe for Polish Babka! Thank you so much for sharing this treasure. Love the lemon glaze on top, too. Another winner from Somebody Feed Seb!

      Reply
      • Ieva

        April 11, 2022 at 2:25 pm

        Thanks for the amazing feedback, Liza! Glad you like it 🙂

        Reply
    5. Gina

      April 14, 2022 at 1:38 pm

      5 stars
      I absolutely love all Easter breads and cakes and this one is such a delicious change up from the Italian Easter bread my family usually makes. Love the flavor and texture!

      Reply
      • Ieva

        April 14, 2022 at 2:30 pm

        Gina, I would love to try your Italian Easter bread – send me the recipe, if you can! 🙂

        Reply
    6. Beth

      January 06, 2023 at 2:27 pm

      5 stars
      I’ve never tried making babka at home before but I’m going to give your recipe a try. It looks delicious.

      Reply
    7. Tara

      February 28, 2023 at 3:03 pm

      5 stars
      Such a beautiful cake! Definitely perfect for Easter and springtime. I especially love that lemon icing down the sides.

      Reply
    8. Ned

      March 06, 2023 at 3:05 pm

      5 stars
      I tested this out on my parents and they loved it! Can’t wait to make it again for Easter. Thank you for the recipe!

      Reply
      • Ieva

        March 06, 2023 at 5:28 pm

        You are most welcome, Ned! Thanks for giving it a go!

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    A photo of Ieva lookinf at Seb, both smiling.

    Hi, I am Ieva – the face behind this blog. I live in North Wales with my husband Seb and our golden retriever Sawyer. It’s safe to say that I live and breathe food: from researching and reading about food to creating new recipes and growing vegetables to use in my cooking.  The great thing is, Seb appreciates all the good meals that are also essential at his worst ‘hangry’ moments! Somebody HAS to feed Seb…

    More about me →

    Seasonal Recipes

    • Sourdough Hot Cross Buns
    • Torta Pasqualina: Italian Spinach Pie for Easter
    • Perfect Easter Roast: Apricot Stuffed Leg of Lamb
    • Slow Cooker Lamb Shoulder

    Trending Recipes

    • Irresistible No-Bake Biscoff Cheesecake (6 Ingredients)
    • Fried Tenderstem Broccoli with Garlic and Lemon (Garlic Broccolini)
    • Sticky Crispy Chicken Bao Buns
    • Homemade Chinese BBQ Sauce Recipe (Char Siu Sauce)

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2023 Somebody Feed Seb