Cocoa Bean Ensaimadas
Recently I picked up the oh-so-delicious book Chocolate: The Nature of Indulgence which offers a broad academic history of the cocoa bean. This book, not surprisingly, has caused me want to gobble up Everything Chocolate within reach. Coincidentally I was just reading a recipe for Mallorcan ensaimadas and making a mental note that I wanted to try preparing those. This is when I had the idea to try smashing the two together.
1. I started out by mixing 5 tsp soy milk, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/2 oz of yeast (I used dried). Set aside and wait for the froth.
2. I then mixed together in a mixer (with bread paddle attachment): 2 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, dash of vanilla extract, 1 heaping spoonful of dried cocoa powder, 1 egg white, 2 tsp vegetable oil, and the yeast mixture (see above). If too dry, add a little more soy milk until the mixture is firm but pliant. Set this aside for 45 minutes covered with a damp cloth in a warm place.
3. Next was the fun part, melting 1/4 cup of butter and then placing the liquid in a bowl. Cut the dough into 12 parts, rolling each part into a very long rope. Dip the rope into the butter and then coil the ropes into round disc on a buttered sheet. Repeat until there are 12 coiled discs. Cover and allow to rise again for 45 mins or until doubled in size. Space them so they have room to rise.
4. Finally bake the coils for 10 mins at 375F. Before placing them into the oven, baste with a little water and sprinkle caster sugar over the tops. Bake, remove, place on wire rack, and dust again. Finally, before serving, shave a chocolate bar over the top.
Not overly sweet nor overly chocolatety, these were just great for a cold day and for helping to tame the Chocolate Monster which lurks inside each and every one of us.
