Ingredients
Cooking oil spray, for greasing
7g sachet (2 tsp) dried yeast
¼ cup caster sugar
½ cup milk, warmed
3 cups plain flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
50g unsalted butter, chilled, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
¼ cup warm water
1 cup assorted dark and white chocolate baking chips
1 tsp powdered gelatine
Extra 1 tsp caster sugar
1 Tbsp boiling water
Extra butter, to serve
Chocolate paste
¼ cup plain flour
1 Tbsp caster sugar
1 Tbsp cocoa
2½ Tbsp water
Method
-
Lightly grease an 18 x 26cm slice tin with oil.
-
Put yeast, sugar and milk in a bowl. Using a fork, whisk until yeast dissolves. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 10 minutes in a warm place until foaming.
-
Meanwhile, sift flour and spices into a large bowl. Rub in butter, using your fingertips, until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Make a well in the centre, and add yeast mixture, egg and water, and stir to combine. Turn out dough onto a clean surface. Knead for 1 minute or until almost smooth. Return to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 30-45 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.
-
Turn out dough onto a clean surface. Add chocolate baking chips and knead until well combined. Divide dough into 12 equal portions and roll each into a smooth ball. Put balls in prepared tin, spaced 1cm apart. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes or until slightly risen.
-
Preheat oven to 200°C.
-
To make chocolate paste, combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Stir until smooth and spoon into a small zip-lock bag. Snip off tip from 1 corner of bag and pipe a cross onto each bun. Bake for 5 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 180°C and bake for a further 12 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer and golden brown.
-
Put gelatine, extra sugar and water in a heatproof bowl and stir with a fork until dissolved.
-
Put buns, cross-side up on a wire rack. Brush tops with gelatine mixture and set aside for 5 minutes to allow to set. Cut each bun in half, spread with butter and serve warm or cold.