Chocolate Swirl Buns

Imagine: soft golden, sweet dough, swirled with rich unctuous chocolate, sprinkled with crunchy sugar and drizzled with a sticky icing. Sounds good doesn’t it? Sounds like you’d like to gobble one up right away? Well, step forward the stunning beauty of chocolate swirl buns..

My cinnamon buns are always a massive hit, not just with my family but also with any one I make them for. So that got me thinking – how about another flavour, why are swirl buns always cinnamon? Maybe elsewhere you come across other flavours, but here in the UK, I’ve only come across cinnamon. Surely other flavours would work equally well? For example, everyone loves chocolate, and a swirl of dark rich chocolate would look rather stunning against the golden baked dough. Also, it would be almost like a bready pain an chocolat, or chocolate chip brioche but in a prettier form. Plans and experiments began!

They worked brilliantly – the resulting buns are absolutely stunning and and delicious – ideal for any occasion from a truly indulgent, luxury breakfast to a tasty snack or tea time treat. The advantage of the chocolate filling is that the buns aren’t too sweet, making them the perfect go to snack. I’m not sure they totally replace cinnamon buns, but as an alternative variation they’re absolute winner.

Chocolate Swirl Buns

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, vegetarian and vegan)

300ml dairy-free milk, I used Oatly

3 tbsp dairy-free spread, such as Pure

450-500g plain flour

2 tsp dried yeast

50g or 1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp chocolate extract [optional]

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp cornflour

For the filling:

1/3 cup caster sugar

2 tbsp cocoa powder

3 tbsp dairy-free spread

1/2 tsp chocolate extract [optional]

50g dairy-free chocolate, finely chopped [optional]

For the glaze:

2 tbsp soft brown sugar

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp pearl sugar/sugar crystals

And/or:

1/4 cup icing sugar

Water to make into a runny paste

• Melt the spread and milk together – you want it to be warm and melted but not hot
•  In a bowl mix together the flour, yeast, sugar, cinnamon, cornflour and salt
• Make a well in the centre and pour in the warm milk mix
• Bring together to a soft dough and knead until its smooth and bounces back when prodded
• Cover and let double in size
• Mix together the filling ingredients (except the chopped chocolate) to form a soft paste. Set aside.
• Knock back the risen dough and roll out to a large rectangle
• Smear on the chocolate paste. Sprinkle over the chocolate pieces, then roll up tightly into a long sausage
• Cut into even slices – I managed to get 25 small slices from mine
• Place on lined and greased baking pans and cover and leave to rise again for another half an hour
• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade/Gas Mark 4/375 degrees F
• Bake for 17-20 minutes until risen, golden and cooked through
• Melt the brown sugar with the water and brush over the top and sprinkle with the pearl sugar (if using)
• Remove from the pans and peel off the paper
• Drizzle with the water icing