Bábovka Recipe – Czech Bundt Cake - Cook Like Czechs (2024)

One of the most beloved Czech desserts is the Bábovka cake, which has been baked for generations in beautiful decorative molds. Try this little wonder of Czech cuisine!

I'm here with a classic old-fashioned Czech recipe for Cocoa Marble Babovka that is easy to make and doesn't call for any of those crazy fad ingredients.

➜ Czech Bábovka

Bábovka is a very popular weekend dessert in the Czech Republic. The most common is a combination of light and dark batter colored with cocoa powder. After baking, a lovely two-color pattern appears on the cut of each piece of Bábovka.

This bundt cake is called "Mramorová Bábovka" in the Czech Republic, while its English name might be Marble Bundt Cake.

MY TIP: Other famous Czech pastries are kolache or vánočka houska bread

When I was little, my father would make Bábovka. He used to prepare this beautiful swirl cake in the same way as this recipe: the vanilla part was generously marbled with a layer of cocoa cake. We were always curious about the pattern inside the Bábovka when we cut it open!

➜ Ingredients

Equipment: a smaller, 6-cup bundt cake pan (1.5 liters in volume), two mixing bowls, a hand-held electric mixer

➜ Instructions

STEP 1: First, prepare the bundt cake mold. Grease it thoroughly with a piece of solid fat (for example, Crisco) and sprinkle with about two tablespoons of breadcrumbs.

Read: How to grease and flour a bundt cake

STEP 2: Crack the eggs in a large bowl. Beat them with an electric mixer, slowly at first, then increase the speed. Gradually add the granulated sugar until you've used it all. After about five minutes, you should get a light, fluffy egg mixture.

STEP 3: Reduce the mixer speed to the minimum. Gradually add the flour mixed with baking powder, oil, and yogurt to the mixture.

STEP 4: Take less than half of the batter and put it in a clean bowl. Add in the cocoa powder and a little milk to keep the cocoa batter from being too thick. Briefly whisk with a mixer.

STEP 5: How to marble bundt cake: Pour half of the light batter into the prepared bundt pan. Cover with all of the cocoa cake batter and finish with a layer of the remaining vanilla cake batter. During baking, the two doughs come together to form a beautiful marbling that is visible when you cut into the cake.

STEP 6: Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C), and set to upper and lower heat. Bake the cake for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the type of mold.

TIP: At the end of baking, test for doneness. Insert a wooden skewer into the center of the cake. If it comes out dry, the cake is done. If there is any raw dough left, bake for another five minutes and repeat the test.

⇢ Learn how to tell when my bundt cake is done

➜ Unmolding

Taking the Bábovka out of the mold can be quite tricky, especially if you have an old pan handed down from your mother or grandmother.

So when you bake a cake, you should start by greasing all the pan creases and dusting them with fine breadcrumbs. This should prevent any problems when removing the cake from the pan.

Once you've baked the Bábovka, let the cake cool on a wire rack for about 10–15 minutes. Place a flat plate on top of the pan and turn it over.

If the cake does not come out of the pan immediately, cool the surface of the pan with kitchen towels soaked in cold water and wrung out. This will allow the cake to release from the sides of the pan and turn out easily without tearing.

➜ Decorating

In the Czech Republic, Bábovka is usually sprinkled with powdered sugar before serving. Glazing is less common. A bundt pan produces beautiful shapes on the surface, so the cake doesn't need any extra decoration to amaze.

➜ Pronunciation

I have recorded a short audio clip about pronouncing the Czech word Bábovka. The first word in the audio is "Bábovka", and the second is "Mramorová bábovka," which means marble bundt cake.

➜ Useful tips

• The baking time depends on the material of the pan. If you have a stoneware or cast iron pan, the cake will take longer to bake in the oven. Light metal and silicone pans allow the cake to bake faster.
• I bake my bundt cake in an old stoneware mold (note that one of the handles is already chipped off). It just took an hour for the cake to be fully baked.
• The center of the cake usually puffs up during baking. You can cut it off to make the cake flat and help it sit better on the platter when served.

More Czech desserts:

• Zemlovka – apple bread pudding
• Livance – yeasted pancakes with cinnamon
• Míša řezy – black & white sheet cake
• Poppy seed bundt cake – maková bábovka
• Walnut bundt cake – orechova babovka

Bábovka is an ideal treat for mornings; Czechs like to eat a slice of this bundt cake for breakfast!