Double chocolate rolls

I baked these on Saturday. We had the pleasure of expecting friends for several days on a row and I decided that it was the perfect excuse to try out a new recipe. This is from the Leivotaan magazine I mentioned in my last H54F post. These are kind of like cinnamon rolls, but with a chocolate filling instead. My version had about half and half semi-dark chocolate chips and grated white chocolate, the latter which was mixed in with the filling. The recipe called for vanilla sugar but I blissfully forgot to add it, although had some at home. It was delicious even without it.

Double chocolate rolls

20 pieces

150 g / 2/3 cups butter

500 ml / ½ quart milk

50 g / 1 3/4 oz fresh yeast

100 ml / a scant ½ cup sugar

½ tsp salt

1400-1500 ml / 6 - 6 1/3 cups flour

Filling

100 g / 3.5 oz butter, at room temperature

200 ml / a scant cup confectioner's sugar

1 tbl vanilla sugar

200 g / approx ½ pound chocolate, grated

For decoration

1 egg

confectioner's sugar

50 g / 1 3/4 oz chocolate, melted

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the milk and heat up to 37 C / 99 F. Crumble the fresh yeast into a bowl. Pour the warm liquid on top and let the yeast dissolve into it. Add the sugar, salt and then the flour little by little. Knead until smooth. Let rise under a cloth for about 40 minutes.

Make the filling. Mix together the butter, confectioner's sugar and vanilla sugar (and I mixed the grated white chocolate). 

Pour the dough into a lightly floured surface and knead. Divide in two. Roll both pieces into a rectangular sheet. Spread the filling on to the sheets (and I sprinkled the chocolate chips on top.) Roll the sheets of dough. Cut both rolls into 10 pieces and place them on a paper covered baking sheet the cutted side up. Let rise under a cloth for about 30 minutes. Set the oven on 200 C / 390 F.

Brush the rolls with egg and bake in the middle of the oven for 15-20 minutes until they gain a nice color.

Let cool. Melt the chocolate. Sieve confectioner's sugar on top of the rolls and decorate with the melted chocolate.


For my Finnish-speaking readers:

Pulla suklaalla & vaniljalla

20 kpl

150 g voita
5 dl maitoa
50 g hiivaa
1 dl sokeria
½ tl suolaa
14-15 dl venhäjauhoja

Täyte
100 g voita, huoneenlämpöisenä
2 dl tomusokeria
1 rkl vaniljasokeria
200 g tummaa tai vaaleaa suklaata rouhittuna

Koristeluun
1 muna
tomusokeria
50 g tummaa suklaata sulatettuna

Sulata voi kattilassa. Lisää joukkoon maito ja lämmitä 37-asteiseksi. Murenna hiiva kulhoon. Kaada päälle lämmin neste ja liota hiiva siihen. Lisää sokeri, suola ja vähän kerrallaan jauhot. Alusta taikina tasaiseksi. Anna kohota leivinlinan alla noin 40 minuuttia.

Tee täyte. Sekoita yhteen voi, tomusokeri ja vaniljasokeri (ja minä sekoitin myös valkosuklaamurskan).

Kaada taikina jauhotetulla leivinpöydälle ja alusta. Jaa taikina kahteen osaan. Kauli kumpikin osa suorakaiteen muotoiseksi levyksi. Levitä täyte taikinalevyjen päälle (ja minä ripottelin myös chocolate chipsit). Kääri taikinalevyt rullaksi kääretortun tapaan. Leikkaa molemmat rullat 10 palaksi ja nosta ne leikkauspinta ylöspäin leivinpaperilla päällystetylle uunipellille. Anna kohota leivinliinan alla noin 30 minuuttia. Laita uuni lämpenemään 200 asteeseen.

Voitele pullat munalla ja paista keskitasolla 15-20 minuuttia, kunnes pullat saavat kauniin värin.

Anna jäähtyä. Sulata suklaa. Siivilöi pullien päälle tomusokeria ja kuorruta suklaalla.

Chocolate tosca cake

We recently moved to a new home (again...!) and have had our work cut out for us arranging things and having to buy some new household appliances. One of the things we bought was a new stove. I love my new one and been excited to experiment with its different functions. For example, the pizzas we made in the new oven were crispier like none before! On this long weekend I decided to try out a new recipe and bake something sweet. Browsing through my favorite sites, this chocolate tosca cake caught my attention. The tosca cake is a Scandinavian pastry, basically a sponge cake with an almond praline on top and it's one of my favorite pastries. This recipe, however, gives a little twist to the traditional tosca cake as its tosca is made with chocolate instead of butter. Also the base has a little orange flavor in it. I really liked this, not least because of its chocolatiness :) It was really easy and quick too. The recipe in Finnish can be found on Valio's website where I took it. Below is the translated recipe, hope the American measurements make sense. I would love some feedback whether the recipes sound plausible with the American measurements. I have had to round some corners in them to make the amounts sensible.

Ingredients

4 eggs

2/3 cup sugar

a full 1 1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

2/3 cup butter

1/ cup orange juice

1/2 orange marmalade

Frosting

7 oz semi-dark chocolate

1 1/4 cup sliced almonds

1/3 cup sugar

(1 tbl almond liquor)

1 1/2 tbl flour

1/4 qt cream

On top

crushed pistachios of almonds 

Whisk the eggs and sugar into a light, thick foam. Combine the dry ingredients. Melt the butter and add into it the orange juice and marmalade. Mix the dry ingredients and the orange-butter-combination to the egg-sugar foam. Pour onto a parchment covered baking sheet. Bake in the middle of the oven in 390 F for 15 minutes. Meanwhile make the frosting: measure all the ingredients into a saucepan. Bring it to boil stirring. Remove from the heat. Pour onto the pre-baked cake. Sprinkle the crushed pistachios/almonds on top. Bake for another 5 minutes.