Wednesday, February 16, 2011

20 Sweets in 20 Weeks - #11: Golden Syrup and Chocolate Buns

Golden Syrup and Chocolate Buns

For some reason I have always been afraid of yeast. Kind of ridiculous right? I thought it would be hard to get it right, that it wouldn't rise and instead I would end up with a little dense rock instead of a delicious baked goodie. Well I was wrong - very wrong!

This was my first ever experiment with yeast and I have to say that not only was it extremely easy, but it also tasted fantastic and I really enjoyed making it. I loved watching the yeast froth up in the warm milk, the smell of the yeast in the kitchen, seeing my dough double in size, kneading the dough to release a bit of an extra stress and then putting it all together. Actually I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process.

And to top it off I think these buns taste wonderful - the dough is light and fluffy, the dark chocolate and brown sugar add a lovely richness to the bun and the golden syrup produces a nice sticky mess. These buns were seriously finger licking good. So if you are like me, and have been afraid to break out the yeast, fear no more - try out this recipe and I promise you won't be disappointed.

Golden Syrup and Chocolate Buns

Sticky Golden Syrup and Chocolate Buns (from taste.com.au)
Makes 8

375ml warm milk
3 tsp dried yeast
1 tbs caster sugar
600g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly whisked
80g butter, melted
70g brown sugar
100g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
125ml golden syrup
    1. Combine the milk, yeast and caster sugar in a small bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes until frothy.
    2. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre. Pour the milk mixture and egg into the well; stir until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap; set aside for 45 minutes or until dough doubles in size.
    3. Preheat oven to 200°C. Brush a 22cm round cake pan with butter and line the base and side with baking paper. 
    4. Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead for 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. 
    5. Use a rolling pin to roll to a 30x40cm rectangle. Brush with one-third of the butter; sprinkle with one-third of the sugar and chocolate. Fold a short side of dough over two-thirds of the filling. Fold remaining one-third over the top to enclose filling. 
    6. Roll the dough out to a 30x40cm rectangle. Brush with half the remaining butter; top with half the remaining sugar and chocolate. Repeat folding and rolling. Repeat filling with remaining butter, sugar and chocolate; drizzle with half the golden syrup. 
    7. Roll up dough from a long side to enclose filling. Cut crossways into 8 pieces. Arrange, cut-side up, in prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap; set aside for 15 minutes to rise.
    8. Drizzle over remaining golden syrup. Bake in oven for 5 minutes. Reduce oven to 180°C and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. 
    9. Set aside for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
    Golden Syrup and Chocolate Buns

    11 comments:

    Rose said...

    They look SO SO good!!!
    I really want to try making these or something similar.

    Rose

    offline said...

    oh dear this looks so yummi
    going to try this out :)) !!

    http://neon-tree.blogspot.com/

    By the Bluegrass said...

    Me too....I'm scared of yeast! It just seems so difficult to make something like this. But, you better believe that I'd have no problem eating it up!
    If you found it to be do-able, maybe I'll give it a try sometime. It looks lovely and yummy!
    xo,
    Sena

    Mitsy / ArtMind said...

    What's to be afraid off when your yuminess doubles in size? Looks nomnom!

    cocoa and coconut said...

    Looks like you had success! I'd never guess that this is your first time with yeast. It is a lot of fun to experiment with.

    melissa said...

    OOoh - they look yummy.

    I'm scared of yeast - and with good reason, it never doubles properly for me!

    Melanie's Randomness said...

    I feel so spoiled with Pillsbury cinnabons in my fridge right now. hehe. These look really good. My boyfriend loves sticky buns so I think I'll surprise him with these. I've used yeast to make pizza dough but other than that no & it was pretty simple too, just throw some into the mix. These really look yummy!!! =)

    Melanie's Randomness

    oneordinaryday said...

    Mmm. They look utterly perfect.

    Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

    I've been wanting to try golden syrup for the first time but have never had a good enough excuse to buy it. Problem solved! Especially combined with chocolate, resistance is clearly futile here.

    Lisa said...

    Oh my gosh these look amazing!
    Definitely something I'd like to try and make, just so i can eat them all myself haha
    x

    Cole Franke said...

    Oh WOW this looks amazing. Need to try this! Just wanted to say hi. I'm also doing the indie 3.0 class. :)