Description

Designed to be eaten warm, these little buns are no quick treat. But if you have time to play, they are wonderful to wake up to on Boxing Day morning.

Ingredients

  • 450g strong bread flour
  • 7g dried easy-bake yeast
  • 2 teaspoon golden caster sugar
  • 350 warm water
  • 0 egg beaten
  • 400g marzipan
  • 2 clementines zest
  • 100g pistachios, chopped
  • 75g flaked almonds, toasted
  • 50g dark chocolate

Instructions

  1. Put the flour into a large bowl, sprinkle in the dried yeast and the sugar then pour in enough of the water to make a soft but rollable dough. It should be a little sticky. Tip the dough onto a floured board and knead for a good 6 minutes, or use a food mixer fitted with a dough hook.
  2. Leave the dough in the bowl, in warm place, covered with a piece of clingfilm or a tea towel, for about an hour, till well risen.
  3. While the dough is proving, make the filling. Break the marzipan into small pieces and drop them into a mixing bowl or food processor with the grated zest of the clementines, the chopped pistachios and the flaked almonds. Chop the chocolate into small pieces the size of coarse gravel, then add to the marzipan and mix thoroughly.
  4. Set the oven at 220C/gas mark 7.
  5. Tear the bread dough into 15 pieces then flatten and roll each into a small disc about 8cm in diameter. Brush the edge of one of the pieces of bread dough with beaten egg, then place a ball of the marzipan in the centre. Bring the dough around the ball of marzipan, pressing the edges very tightly to seal. (A little filling will probably escape during baking anyway). Place the ball of dough into a very lightly oiled muffin tin, then continue with the rest of the dough and marzipan mixtures.
  6. Brush each ball of dough with some of the beaten egg, then pierce a tiny hole in the top of each and bake for 10 minutes till golden.
  7. Eat while they are still oozing warm almond paste.

Notes