Cinnamon or Chocolate Buns

Half our household loves cinnamon the other half hates it...solution?  Make half a batch of cinnamon buns and half a batch of chocolate buns.

Cinnamon or Chocolate Buns

125ml (4 fl oz) milk

175ml (6 fl oz) water
40g (1 1/2 oz) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon honey
7g sachet (heaped teaspoon) fast acting yeast
450g (16 oz) white strong bread flour
1 teaspoon salt

Filling:

100g (3 1/2 oz)  unsalted butter, melted

100g (3 1/2 oz) brown/demerara sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon and 100g (3 1/2 oz)  milk chocolate (chopped)

Icing:

Cup of icing sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Water

and

100g (3 1/2 oz) milk chocolate

Grease a 12 hole muffin pan with butter and set aside.

Warm the milk, water, honey and butter in a saucepan until the butter just starts to melt and the liquid is lukewarm.

Put the flour, yeast and salt into a mixer with a dough hook.

Pour the luke warm liquid mix onto the flour and mix with the dough hook for about 5 to 6 minutes. Or knead by hand for about 10 minutes - until the dough is soft and smooth.

Place in an oiled bowl and cover with cling wrap, leave for 90 minutes until dough is doubled in size.

Tip the dough onto a floured work surface and knock back by kneading for 30 seconds.

Roll the dough thinly into a rectangle (about 1cm deep). 

If you are making half cinnamon and half chocolate cut the rolled out dough in half.

Brush all over with the melted butter then sprinkle over the sugar and cinnamon evenly over one half and the sugar and chopped chocolate over the other half.

With the longest edge farthest away from you, use both hands to carefully roll the rectangles towards you keeping the roll tight.

Divide each roll into 6 equal slices (so you have 12 in total). Place the buns into the buttered muffin pan with the cut side uppermost and cover loosely with oiled cling film or a tea towel and leave to rise for half an hour. 

Preheat the oven to 190c or gas mark 5.

Remove the cling film and bake the buns for 15-20 minutes until well risen and golden brown.

Transfer to a cooling rack and make the icing:

Mix the icing sugar with the vanilla extract and enough water to bring it to a stiff dropping consistency.

Melt the milk chocolate.

Spread the white icing over the cinnamon buns with a palette knife.   

Pour the melted chocolate over the chocolate buns and smooth out with a palette knife.

Inspired by a Jo Wheatley recipe from her Home Baking book