Ingredients
50g unsalted butter
50g golden caster sugar
1 heaped teaspoon mixed spice
1 whole nutmeg, for grating
200ml semi-skimmed milk
1 large free-range egg
400g strong white bread flour, plus 2 tablespoons and extra for dusting
50g quality cocoa powder
1 x 7g sachet of dried yeast
150g quality dark chocolate, (70%)
100g raisins, or mixed dried fruit
3 tablespoons runny honey
Method
Put the butter, sugar, mixed spice, grated nutmeg and a pinch of sea salt in a pan over low heat. Let it warm gently until it is melted stirring occasionally.
Remove it from the heat and then pour in the milk. Next, crack in the egg and whisk well.
Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a large bowl and add in the yeast. Make a well in the middle, then slowly pour in the milk mixture.
Make sure to stir and bring in the flour to form a rough dough.
Dust some flour onto a surface so you can knead the dough. Do this for around 5 minutes, or until it is smooth and springy.
Move the dough to a flour-dusted bowl and cover it with a damp tea towel. Let this prove in a warm place for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until it has doubled in size.
Chop half the chocolate into 12 equal-sized pieces and put aside. Next, finely chop the remaining chocolate into small chips and also chop any large dried fruits into smaller pieces.
Once the dough is ready, move it to a clean surface and use your fist to knock out the air. Stretch and flatten out the dough, sprinkle over the chocolate chips and dried fruit, then knead for a few minutes until it is smooth again.
Push any chocolate or fruit that comes out back into the dough again.
Then preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4, and grease and line a 25cm x 35cm baking tray.
Next, divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Flatten one piece slightly and add a piece of chocolate into the centre, pushing it to fit.
You can also fold the dough back over the chocolate to make sure it can’t escape. Shape the dough into a ball and place on the prepared tray.
Do this with the remaining dough and make sure to leave a small gap between each bun.
Then cover with a damp tea towel and leave to prove in a warm place for around 45 minutes. During this time it should have doubled in size.
Next, mix 2 tablespoons of flour with some water to give you a thick batter consistency and transfer this to a piping bag. You can then pipe thin crosses across the top of the buns.
The bake should only take 25 minutes and should look golden. Transfer this to a cooling rack. Heat the honey a little to loosen it up and then gently brush over the buns to glaze.
Make sure to slice them open while warm to enjoy the melting middle.
