Supreme Chocolate Babka with Chocolate Chips 18 oz from Lilly's Bake Shoppe

I first tasted cinnamon babke about twenty years ago when visiting an out-of-state friend. I kept hinting she should send me more, but it didn't happen, and so I had to go looking in bakeries trying to find a match to that delicious bread-y, cinnamon-y dense loaf. And when I found out there was chocolate too?! One of the happiest moments of my life. Like the first time I tried Nutella. So anyway, I've visited dozens of bakeries, all in the name of research, but most don't have babke. I've gotten it every time it's available over the past twenty years, and of the approximately 25 loaves I've found I would give: 4 of them 5 stars, 6 of them 4 stars, 10 of them 3 stars, 3 of them 2 stars, and 2 of them 1 star. (You can see I've already thought about this too much.)THIS babke I give 5 stars. It was (and I'm using the past tense because we descended on it like locusts! It is SO gone.) dense, moist, intensely chocolate and with a bit of crispness in the flaky outer crust. Excellent babke.AND the price is very good. For the past few years I've gotten babke through an online store, don't remember the name, but the price has gone up to seventeen dollars a loaf! And it's no better or bigger than this one. Other places have it for twelve or more, and many don't include free shipping.Get this babke -- it's amazing!

I personally was looking forward for something chocolatey and cakey. Thought it might be similar to marble cake but it didn't. It was kind of hard and not soft at all like a cake. Just nothing like the picture. And tasted funky. Kind of like an after taste

Exactly what we expected. Rich, Decadent and as fresh as one would expect given 48 hours for order and shipping. If you know what a good Babka is then you found it with Lily's. The only reason that I didn't give it 5 stars is because it isn't same day baked fresh, but that can't be helped unless you purchase it at the bakery and eat it the same day.The consistency is classic babka where it is perfectly chewy, flaky, sweet and savory all at the same time. It was good enough after we tried it to send out 4 more to individuals as Holiday treats.

Sad to say I was disappointed. It just wasn't up to par and had an odd taste to it's sweetness. Something was missing. Indeed, it was flakey with a fair presentation but nothing I would serve at a party. The chocolate was dull and bland leaving an unusually odd aftertaste in my mouth. Sorry to say I would not recommend this Babka.

The first two times I ordered this it was absolutely delicious, moist, wonderful, and full of chocolate goodness. But after that, when I ordered this the cake was so stale and dry that I could not eat it. I had to throw it away. This cake is great when they send you a fresh one. But it is a gamble because you don't know what you are going to get.

I bought this for my husband looking for his favorite desert that he had when he was in Washington DC. We live in Cincinnati and there are very few places that make Babka. I had never tried Babka and I researched what i could. In the area, there are complaints of dry Babka and i didn't want to fall victim to this as i wanted to give my awesome hubby the best. I was scared to order online and when i did search for it I was pleased to find good reviews on the company and that it was on Amazon. We have prime, so it was a great way to try it. OMG what a surprise! Its was so moist and delicious. Just the smell alone was amazing. My Hubby said it was better than the one he had in DC! I fell in love too and he was lucky to get the last bite. Will be ordering again soon and now we know what to send family for gifts.

I received the package and there was MOLD in it!I don't see an expiration date, but it must have expired a long time ago. Even worse,I TASTED the mold before I saw it... not a pleasant taste to remember.

No, Lilly's might not be like the babka of your childhood because it's not as dry as rugelach. Did your parents buy gourmet babka? Probably not, and that's basically what this is!This is so moist that it's almost gooey. A few seconds in the microwave and it's unbelievably good. If you can find a dollop of creme fraiche with vanilla, you'll forget all your troubles. The cinnamon version of Lilly's babka would be unbelievable as french toast but I prefer this one.I've also tried Green's chocolate babka and it's good but not as good as this one.