Chocolate Buns with Mexican Crust topping

Lacking of motivation to bake lately...I guess those that are close to me will know what is going on with me now. Nothing really, in case any of you out there is concern. I guess a couple days later I will be back in gear and off baking more goodies again. As for today...I felt like I have neglected my blog for almost a week now, I know if I don't get to work soon, some of my readers/followers might be disappointed. :-P So I got my lazy bones into the kitchen and bake a batch of Chocolate Buns with Mexican topping. For the benefit of those who don't know what Mexican topping is; if you have eaten Roti buns before, those crusty topping? Yes, those are called Mexican topping....why you say? I guess it originated there perhaps? Enlighten me if you know more, thanks!

I had this Chocolate bun recipe for the longest time now but just did not tried it till today. Got inspired by a couple of Taiwan blogs for this recipe, so I came up with my version:

Ingredients for Chocolate Buns:
Ganache mix:
125ml fresh whipping cream
50g quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa) , chopped
Set A:
280g bread flour
45g caster sugar
3g salt
40ml chocolate milk
30g unsweetened cocoa powder
4g active dry yeast
100g custard sauce *(see below for method)
Set B:
30g unsalted butter, room temperature

Ingredients for custard sauce:
1 egg
15g caster sugar
20g bread flour
75ml fresh milk
10g unsalted butter

Method:

• Place all ingredients in a saucepan and cook at medium low heat.
• Constantly stir the mixture till it thickens
• Remove from fire when it is thick like jam texture. Add butter and mix well.
• Let cool before use in the main dough.
  

Method:

• To make the ganache mix, heat up the heavy cream till bubbly then add to chopped chocolate. Let stand for 5 minutes before stirring into a smooth mixture.
• Prior to mixing the main dough, please get the custard sauce ready to be added in to Set A.
• Mix all ingredients in Set A together in a large mixing bowl. Mix well till it comes together.
• Knead the dough till it is not sticky and elastic. Takes about 20 to 25 minutes. Add Set B which is the butter and continue to knead to mix it in.
• To test if the dough is ready, pull a small piece off and stretching it with your fingers. If dough is very elastic and pulls to almost see through without breaking, then it's done.
• Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap and allow to proof for at least 2 hrs till double in size.
• Punch out the air after proofing. Divide the dough into 10 - 12 equal portions. Roll into balls and place in paper cups or just on to the baking tray lined with parchment paper.
• Let the buns proof for another 30 to 45 minutes before baking them. At the meantime, make the Mexican crust topping.

Ingredients for Chocolate Mexican Crust topping:
30g unsalted butter
35g caster sugar
1/2 whole egg
25g cake flour
10g unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tbsp roasted ground peanuts

Method for topping and assemble:

• In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together till pale yellow. Add egg and vanilla extract and continue to beat mixture till combined. Add cake flour and cocoa powder and mix well.
• Scoop the sauce into a piping bag and snip of the tip for piping later.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C.
• Piped the Mexican crust topping on the ready proofed buns and sprinkle some roasted ground peanuts in top.
  
• Bake the buns in the oven for 15 minutes. Let cool on rack before serving.

I made the buns in the muffin cups for easier "handling" when passing some to my friends. Furthermore it looks nicer too, rather then just a small brown bun, haha!
Now for the taste. The buns turned out soft and moist...almost cakey! I have to say the chocolate taste is really intense...not for the faint of heart, haha! However personally I felt the sweetness wasn't enough...if only I have added 1 more tablespoon of sugar! (I have adjusted the above recipe for the extra sugar) Now I reckon my girls won't eat these buns unless I spread something sweet on them. But for me, eating them on it's own is really good enough for me....especially for a chocolate cum carb fix!
Besides baking the Chocolate buns today, I too baked some Cornflakes cookies and Moist Brownies. I got the recipe of the Cornflake cookies from ResseKitchen, so if you are interested, drop by her blog to check it out. These cookies are buttery, crunchy and addictive! My girls loved them! So thanks ReeseKitchen for sharing such a yummy recipe. ;)As for the Moist chocolate brownies. I got the recipe from PreciousMoments. I followed the recipe closely, and the result was great...crusty top and moist, chocolaty inside. One bite and you will be in "chocolate heaven". Well, in case you are wondering why am I baking all these chocolate recipe? Well recently I bought quite a fair amount of Valrhona chocolate and wanted to try out all sorts of my favorite chocolate recipes. So bare with me if you are not a chocolate person....if there is one out there?
Anyway, had enough chocolate that will last me a week! By the way, it is already past midnight and I really need to put up this post, so have a good day and peace out. ; )

Strawberry Chiffon Cake with Chocolate Mousse

When I was back in California (there I go again....), my better half and I would frequent those really nice bakery stores and buy their nicest cake on display. We would then go home and enjoy it with a nice cup of tea at the comfort of our house, just like in a nice cafe, heehee! Today I was so in the mood to make another cake. Not just any pound cake or cupcake...but a real 9" soft chiffon cake with the yummy icing covering it. Seriously, nowadays I do not need to have a birthday excuse to get me baking a nice cake. If you wonder where I got such urges, beats me! Haha! But I guess it has something to do with all the nice recipe books I bought and also inspiring posts from other food bloggers. :) Anyway, who doesn't like a nice piece of delicious cake?!

I wanted to bake something different, so I decided to try Strawberry Chiffon Cake this time. I wanted the taste of strawberries to be evident, so I added fresh strawberry puree into the cake batter. And knowing my little girl's taste buds, they love their strawberries with chocolate, so I made chocolate mousse to cover the chiffon cake. :) Not the usual combination I would say, but overall was still a satisfactory result. :)

Ingredients for Strawberry Chiffon Cake (9 inch round cake pan):

5 egg yolks
110g caster sugar
1 large egg
60ml safflower oil (any vegetable oil without a strong scent)
60ml strawberry milk (white milk also works)
1.5 tsp strawberry essence
40g fresh strawberry puree
100g cake flour
5 egg whites
1/8 tsp salt

Chocolate Mousse:
120g quality dark chocolate, chopped & melted under double boiler
250ml fresh whipping cream (or you can use non-dairy whipping cream)
30g confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

8 to 10 fresh strawberries
4 tbsp strawberry jam, heated

Method:

• In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks and 1/3 of the sugar till it is pale yellow colour, and triple in volume, about 5 minutes.
  
• Add vegetable oil, milk and essence into the yolk mixture ans continue to beat mixture till well blended.
  
• Sift the flour in and mix till well combined, set aside.
  
• Preheat the oven to 170°C.
  
• Beat the egg white with the salt till foamy. Then add the remaining sugar and continue to beat mixture till stiff peaks.
  
• Gently fold the egg white into the flour mixture in a few separate portions till all is combined.
  
• Pour the cake batter into the cake pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes till the cake tester come out clean.
• Remove from oven and let cool completely. In the meantime, prepare the chocolate mousse.
  
• In another large mixing bowl, beat the cream with the sugar and vanilla extract till stiff peaks. Then stir in the cooled melted chocolate till well blended. Refrigerate till needed.
  
• Slice the cake into 2 layers. Spread a thin layer of strawberry jam on the surface, follow by spreading 1/3 of the chocolate mousse on top.
  
• Slice some of the strawberries and place them on to of the chocolate mousse. Then top it with the other layer of the cake. Ice the whole cake with the remaining chocolate mousse. Decorate at will. Refrigerate for at least 2 hrs before slicing and serving.

I was really pleased with how soft the chiffon cake turned out! And the strawberry scent was there too, but was kind of masked off by the chocolate mousse taste...not that I'm complaining about the yummy chocolaty mousse! Did not do anything special for the decoration as I was rushing out to have dinner with some friends tonight.

The jam and the fresh strawberries added extra flavor and texture to the soft creamy cake, delicious! And since I also added strawberry puree into the cake, you might be able to see bits of strawberry in the cake itself. I was glad that my girls loved the cake too. :)

Do try it and let me know how you like it. Happy bakes!