Chocolate Buns

3.58 from 7 votes

These chocolate buns with glossy chocolate icing are sticky and delicious, like a cross between a cinnamon roll and a chocolate babka!

Prep Time30

Cook Time25

Proofing time1 10

Total Time2 5

Course: Afternoon Tea, Breads, Dessert, Morning Tea, Snack

Cuisine: American, Australian, Western

Keyword: chocolate babka, chocolate buns, chocolate cinnamon rolls, chocolate rolls

Servings:

Calories: 560kcal

Put all the dough ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Mix on low speed to combine everything for 2 minutes, then increase the speed to medium and mix until smooth and glossy, about 6 minutes. The dough will be very soft, don’t worry if it doesn’t pull away from the sides of the bowl easily.
1 cup whole milk, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 4 cups all-purpose flour, 2 eggs, 4 oz unsalted butter, 2 tsp active dry yeast, 1 tsp fine salt

Set your oven to dough proving setting (or steam-only setting, if you don’t have dough proving), 100ºF/38ºC. Put the uncovered bowl in the oven for 40 minutes, after which the dough should have doubled in size. If you don’t have a steam oven, cover the bowl with a damp cloth and set it in a warm place (somewhere that’s around 75°F/25°C is ideal) until doubled in size. Depending on the air temperature this should take an hour or two.

Put all the filling ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture is well combined and mostly smooth, with a few pea-sized chunks of chocolate.
7 oz unsalted butter, 8 3/4 ounces semisweet chocolate, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Assemble the rolls: when the dough has finished the first proof, scrape it out of the bowl onto a floured bench. Gently press to knock out any large air bubbles, then roll it into a rectangle about 40cm/16 inches wide and 30cm/12 inches long. Using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon, gently spread the filling over the dough, squashing it out so there’s a thin, even layer. Try not to let the little nubs of chocolate tear the dough.
Roll the dough up tightly from the long side, so you have a 40cm/16 inch long spiral. Carefully cut into 12 even pieces with a serrated knife (it’s going to be soft, so you can either chill the entire roll for 30 minutes before cutting, or just gently reshape the buns after cutting). Lightly grease your baking pan and arrange the buns into it.

Set oven to dough proving setting (or steam only setting) again, 100ºF/38ºC. Put the uncovered dish in the oven for 30 minutes. The buns should look puffy and be starting to fill out the baking dish. If you don’t have a steam oven, cover with a damp cloth and leave in a warm place again to double in size. Or, if you prefer, see notes below for overnight proofing instructions.

If you did the fridge proofing method, remove the dish about an hour before you’d like to bake so the buns can come up to room temperature. If you’ve proved your buns in a steam oven, you can leave them in there while it heats up. Set oven to 350ºF/180ºC, combination steam setting (if you have variable steam settings, use 30%. If you can’t vary your steam, don’t worry. Just set to combination steam at the correct temperature and let the oven take care of the humidity). Bake the buns until deep golden brown and risen, about 25 minutes.

If you did the fridge proofing method, remove the dish about an hour before you’d like to bake so the buns can come up to room temperature. Set oven to 375ºF/190ºC, fan forced/convection setting. Bake the buns until deep golden brown and risen, about 30-35 minutes. If they’re browning too quickly, cover the dish with aluminum foil part way through cooking.
When the buns are done, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes, then spread the chocolate icing over the top of each bun. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Mix this up while the buns are baking. Put all the ingredients into a medium bowl and mix well to form an icing that’s smooth and able to be drizzled off the back of a spoon. If it seems too thick, add an extra teaspoon or two of water.
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, ⅓ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 tsp water

Makes 12 generous buns. You can cut the dough to make 16 smaller ones if you prefer.
You’ll need a wide, shallow dish for baking these. I used a 23x30cm (9×12 inch) baking tray; a round 30cm/12 inch low cast iron pan or ceramic dish will work too.
A note on yeast: I’ve used instant dried yeast in this recipe. If you’re using active dried, you’ll want to activate the yeast first. Pop the milk, sugar and yeast into a bowl and give it a stir, then wait 5-10 minutes until the yeast begins to bubble. Tip the mixture into your mixer bowl and proceed with the recipe as written.
If you'd like to make these ahead of time, you can make the recipe up to the second proof. Instead of doing this proof in the oven, cover the pan and refrigerate overnight. The buns will slowly proof in the fridge. When you're ready to bake, take them out and bring to room temperature for about an hour before proceeding with the baking step.