Chocolate Couronne
Literally meaning a ‘crown of chocolate’ this eye catching sweet bread was baked by Head Cook Julia after watching BBC’s The Great British Bake Off! It is fun to make, tastes delicious and is a treat for any occasion!
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 500 g strong white flour
- 75 g dark brown sugar
- 15 g fresh yeast or 10g easy blend yeast
- 125 ml milk
- 3 eggs - beaten
- 150 g butter
For the filling:
- 200 g dark chocolate - Bournville type
- 150 ml milk
- 3 tbsp cocoa
- 3 tbsp runny honey
- 1 tsp cinnamon
For the glaze:
- 75 g dark or light brown sugar
- 75 ml water
Instructions
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To make the dough: Mix salt into the flour and sugar. Crumble in fresh yeast. Warm butter and milk together, add to dry ingredients with eggs. Mix to a soft dough and knead until smooth and springy. Cover with linen cloth or plastic film, leave to prove for two hours.
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To make the filling: Put chocolate in food processor, add everything else and whizz to a paste.
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Very lightly flour the work surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle 60cm x 40cm – the long end should be twice the length of a long ruler. Spread the filling evenly on top. Roll up from the short end, using a plastic scraper to help. Smooth the roll out into a long sausage shape. Using a sharp non-serrated knife or metal scraper, slice it in two length ways. Twist the two lengths together and draw them together into a circle, tucking in the ends. Transfer to a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Cover again and leave to prove for 45 minutes.
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Preheat oven to 200c. Bake for 45 minutes, covering with foil after 25 minutes to stop it browning too much. Make a glaze by bubbling sugar and water together for five minutes or so. Glaze the couronne when it’s fresh from the oven, leave for five minutes then glaze again. Cool before eating.