Caracolas de chocolate y naranja/ orange and chocolate rolls

¡Estamos en la temporada de naranjas! Ya lo sé que he repetido eta frase una y otra vez, pero soy un gran fan de las naranjas. Creo que nunca me cansaré de hacer dulces con naranjas.

Esta vez he preparado el clásico – caracolas de naranja y chocolate. El relleno puede variar – podéis poner solo chocolate, chocolate con avellana (que queda de maravilla). Vamos, ¡usa la imaginación!

Ingredientes:

115 ml leche entera

3 cucharas de yogur natural

58 g de mantequilla ablandada

73 g de azúcar

Ralladura de una naranja

1 cucharadita de cardamomo molido (opcional)

3.5 g de sal

340 g de harina de fuerza

7 g de levadura seca activa (una bolsita)

Para relleno:

55 g chocolate negro

34g almendras laminadas

34g almendras molidas

¾ cucharadita de cacao

¼ cucharadita de jengibre molido

½ cucharadita de canela

Una pizca de chili (opcional)

Preparación:

Primero, mezclamos los ingredientes líquidos, los calentamos un poco que tengan la temperatura “al cuerpo” (cuando metes el dedo, no quema).  Batimos el azúcar con mantequilla y ralladura de naranja, añadimos la mezcla de leche y yogur, y poco a poco incorporamos la harina y levadura. Formamos una bola y empezamos a amasar unos 10 min hasta que la masa deje de pegarse y quede plástica. Dejamos reposar por lo menos una hora en lugar de temperatura ambiente tapado con un paño humedecido para que no se seque.

Mientras tanto, preparamos el relleno. Metemos todos los ingredientes en una picadora y mezclamos hasta obtener una especie de pasta. Probamos al gusto y si hace falta, agregamos más cantidad de ingrediente que nos hace falta.

Cuando la masa ha crecido, la amasamos ligeramente y con ayuda de rodillo formamos un rectángulo con unos 3 mm de grosor. Repartimos el relleno por todo el rectángulo y lo envolvemos como si fuera un brazo de gitano. Luego aplastamos ligeramente con la mano  cortamos en cilindros de 1 cm de grosor aproximadamente (nunca salen todos exactamente iguales :P ).

Colocamos en la bandeja y dejamos que doblen su tamaño (una hora más o menos).

Calentamos el horno a 200ºC, pintamos las caracolas con huevo batido y horneamos unos 20 min. Tienen que quedarse dorados, y el palito tiene que salir seco. No dejéis que se horneen demasiado porque se secarán.

Dejad que se enfríen un poco antes de comerlas. En mi caso no ha les ha dado tiempo enfriarse como se puede ver en la foto :P

ENGLISH

FOR THE DOUGH

115ml full-fat/whole milk

3 tablespoons natural yoghurt

58g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for the bowl

73g caster sugar

finely grated zest of 1 large (or 1½ medium) oranges seeds from 4 cardamom pods, finely ground

3.5g fine sea salt

340g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting

7g fast-action dried yeast

FOR THE FILLING

55g dark chocolate (about 80% cocoa solids), broken up 75g ground almonds

34g flaked almonds

¾ teaspoon cocoa powder

¼  teaspoon ground ginger

1/2  teaspoon ground cinnamon large pinch of grated nutmeg

A pinch of chilli (opcional)

Gently warm the milk with the yoghurt, then leave to cool until it feels very comfy when you dip in your little finger. Meanwhile, put the softened butter, sugar, orange zest, ground cardamom and salt into the bowl of a free-standing electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat until the mixture is light and creamy.

Add the liquid mixture and little by little add the flour with yeast. Mix until you form a ball and start kneading, around 10 min until it’s very smooth and pliable. Transfer to a large mixing bowl that has been lightly greased with butter, cover tightly with clingfilm and leave to rise on the worktop for about 1 hour until doubled in size.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Put the dark chocolate pieces, the ground and flaked almonds, cocoa powder, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and chilli into the bowl of a food processor. ‘Pulse’ several times, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.

Punch down the risen dough to deflate it, then scoop out on to a lightly floured worktop and shape into a ball.

Roll out or pat out the dough to rectangle, placing it horizontally in front of you so the long sides are top and bottom. Scatter the filling over the dough, spreading it evenly – leave a 1cm border along the long edge closest to you. Gently press the filling on to the dough. Starting from the long edge farthest away from you, roll up the dough fairly tightly (like a Swiss roll) until you reach the 1cm border of dough. Gently stretch and pull out this border until it is 2cm wide, then finish rolling up the dough. Carefully pinch the dough seam to seal the roll.

Turn the roll over so it is seam-side down on the worktop. Trim off the ends to make a neat 36cm roll. Using a ruler and a sharp knife, cut the roll across into cylinders, each 3cm thick. Arrange them, cut-side up and widely spaced, in the prepared tin in 4 rows of 3. Leave on the worktop to rise for about 45 minutes until the rolls are doubled in size and have joined up.

Towards the end of the rising time heat the oven to 200°C. When the bread is ready, uncover and brush it carefully with the beaten egg, then sprinkle with the cacao nibs. Bake in the heated oven for about 20 minutes until a rich golden brown and firm – check after 15 minutes and rotate the tin, if necessary, so the bread bakes evenly.

Remove from the oven and run a round-bladed knife around the inside of the tin to loosen the bread. Gently turn it out on to a wire rack and leave to cool before pulling apart to serve. Eat the same or the next day (keep in an airtight tin).