Chocolate Raspberry Buns with Chocolate Ganache

Yesterday I got back from a second (and final) vacation to the cabin this summer. This time the whole family came along and it ended up being the perfect weekend of walks along the beaches, a 5 mile hike through gorgeous northern woods, knife throwing (did I mention I have a 15 year old brother?), sailing adventures, and, of course, good food.

In our cabin's backyard, we had an abundance of raspberries and lots of cocoa powder in the cupboard.... what was I to do? Well I decided to experiment a little and came up with my first almost original recipe! I'd say they turned out beautifully... although the recipe could maybe use a little tweaking.



Dough:

• 1 cup plain soymilk heated over the stove until warm- not hot!


• 2 1/4 tsp (or 1 0.25 oz packet) active dry yeast, at room temperature


• 2 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce


• 2 Tbsp canola oil


• 1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour


• 1 1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour (plus up to 1/4 cup for kneading and rolling)


• ½ cup cocoa powder


• 1 Tbsp baking powder


• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar (or 1/4 cup for a sweeter dough)


• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon


• 1/4 tsp salt

Filling:

•  1 cup smashed raspberries


• ¼ cup sugar


• 2 T melted earth balance


• 1 tsp cornstarch (I didn't actually add this, but the filling came out pretty watery and spilled out the sides when I rolled the dough up, so next time this is what I would try!)

Ganache (adapted from  Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World):

• 1/3 cup soy milk


• 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips


• 2 Tbsp maple syrup

1. Coat an 8×8 inch square baking pan, or 9-inch round cake pan, with canola oil baking spray. Set aside.


2. Scatter yeast over warmed milk and allow to activate for about 10 minutes, or until foamy.


3. Meanwhile, stir together both kinds of flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.


4. When yeast and milk mixture is bubbly, stir in the applesauce and oil. Add wet ingredients into the dry and mix. Transfer dough onto a clean lightly floured surface and knead for about 2 minutes. You may have to add extra flour to make it less sticky. Let it rest for 5 minutes.


5. Lightly flour work surface again and roll dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness, about a 12-inch x 9-inch rectangle.


6. Mix together the smashed raspberries, sugar, earth balance and cornstarch. Spread the filling onto your chocolate dough, leaving a 1-inch space around the edges.


7. Roll up the dough starting from the 9-inch edge- beware of oozing raspberries!!


8. Pinch the edges of your dough and cut the log into 8 even pieces, then place them in your prepared pan. Cover buns with a cloth and let rise for 1 hour.


9. Preheat your oven to 35o° F and once the buns are done rising, bake them for 30 minutes.


10. While they bake, prepare the ganache by heating up the soy milk until boiling. Add the chocolate chips and maple syrup and stir over heat for 30 seconds. Turn off the heat and continue to stir until it is smooth and chocolatey.


11. Let the buns cool for about 10 minutes, then drizzle them with the chocolate ganache and serve warm.

They got the family stamp of approval.