Double Chocolate Swirls

My hands were itching to bake and the thought of buns came to mind. I wanted to try my hands with my best friend again and thought, why not something like cinnamon buns since my precious ones love them. But, this time, I will use nutella and chocolate. I was right. It was a hit with my munchkins. Yeahhhh!!

Growing well!

Chopped dark and milk chocolate

Time to do some hand exercises

After 1 minute

Fill it with your goodies!

Egg-glazed and ready for baking

Done!

This looks better... ;)

Ingredients

2 tsp of butter-diced and some extra for greasing the baking pan and bowl

225g of flour and a little extra for dusting

1/2 tsp of salt

7g of dried instant yeast

125ml of warm milk

1 egg - lightly beaten

Filling
6 tbsps of nutella 

150g of chopped dark and milk chocolate (mine was a little too big, you can have them in smaller bits)

Glazing
1 beated egg

Note: This recipe yields about 12-15 pieces (depending on your desired sizes) 

* I have doubled this recipe as I wanted to keep some for the weekend. 

Method

1. Lightly oil a baking sheet in a baking pan.
2. Sift flour and salt together into a warmed bowl. (I leave the bowl in the sun)
3. Stir in the yeast.
4. Rub in the butter into the flour with your fingertips till the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. 
5. Add the warm milk and egg, mix to form a dough.
6. Shape the dough into a ball and put into a greased bowl. 
7. Cover with a clingwrap and leave to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes or till double in size. 
8. Turn out the dough on a slightly floured work surface and knead lightly for about 1 minute.
9. Roll out into a rectangle.
10. Spread nutella and sprinkle chopped chocolate on it.
11. Roll it up like a swiss roll, then cut into desired sizes. About 12-15 pieces, depending on the size you want.
12. Transfer each swirl to the prepared baking sheet and leave to rest for another 30 minutes.
13. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.
14. Brush each swirl with the beaten egg. (for glazing)
15. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or till golden brown.
16. Leave to cool slightly and indulge!
17. Soooo sinful! ;)  

Pineapple Polo Buns

Grow! Grow!

Dough is divided into 12 portions-about 50g each

Topping is divided into 12 portions - about 25g each

A tsp of pineapple filling

Topping is flattened and placed on top of each bun

Fresh from the oven

I didn't have enough pineapple filling. :D

A tinge of sour and sweet in combination

These buns have been in my longest to-bake-list and I have done it today! Yippee! But they were left too long in the oven (I was doing the laundry and forgot the time!) as such, they were not as soft as they should be. A sweet and crunchy top, topped with a sourish pineapple filling, fluffy in the middle and crispy bottom. What a great combination! Taste wise is still not too bad. Just remember to keep an eye on the baking time. :) 

Ingredients

Dough

300g of flour

40g of caster sugar

1/2 tsp of salt

6g of instant yeast

1 egg

170ml of warm water

30g of butter

Topping (Mixed well)

150 of flour

50g of butter

60g of icing sugar

1 egg

Filling

1 can of pineapple, drained and stir-fried

Method

1. Filling: Blend the pineapple till fine and stir fry the paste over low heat until dry. Remove from the heat and set aside.
2. Dough: Mix all the ingredients well. 
3. Add in butter and beat at medium speed till dough is smooth and stretchable. It takes about 15 mins.
4. Cover the dough with a wet kitchen towel and leave to rise for 1 hour.
5. Divide the dough into 12 portions (about 50g each) and roll them like a ball. Leave to rest for another 5 minutes.
6. Divide the topping into 12 portions (about 25g each)
7. Use a teaspoon of pineapple filling and wrap it into each piece of dough.
8. Flatten the topping ( I use the back of a spoon) and place each topping on one portion of the dough. 
9. Use a butter knife and 'cut' lines on the top.
10. Cover all the buns with a wet towel and leave to rest for another 1 hour.
11. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.
12. Bake the buns (in the middle rack) for about 15-18 minutes. 
13. Remove and leave to cool on a rack.
14. Serve warm with a cup of your favourite drink. :)