M is for Mother's Day Treats

Pain au chocolat or chocolate bread is a treat that I love but have never considered making.  They are often sold as chocolate croissants here in Australia and are small rolls made from the same dough as croissants with chocolate inside.  When I came across a recipe for making easy pain au chocolat I knew they would be perfect for Bear and Bee to make for Mother's Day.

This recipe does use sheets of ready made puff pastry though.  I have seen recipes that include instructions for the proper dough but I didn't think that was necessary.  And after trying these I wouldn't actually bother with making the proper dough at home.  If I want more authentic pain au chocolat I can visit the local French bakery.  For a quick treat however, these are perfect.  They can also be made a day ahead and stored in the fridge before baking.  That way you can have fresh baked pain au chocolat and perhaps a cafe latte for breakfast in bed on Mother's Day - ah bliss!

Easy Pain Au Chocolat
Download the free recipe card here.
Makes 12

Ingredients
2 sheets frozen puff pastry thawed (my sheets were 25cm x 25cm)
200g dark chocolate pieces or chips
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
2.  Line a baking tray with non stick baking paper.

3. Cut the puff pastry sheets into 6 rectangles each.

4.  Place about 1 tablespoon of chocolate on each pastry rectangle towards one short end.

5.  Roll up tightly around the chocolate and place seam side down onto the prepared baking tray.

6.  Repeat for the rest of the pastry rectangles.

 

7.  Brush each roll with a little of the beaten egg.

8. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

9. Allow to cool slightly before dusting with icing sugar.

Variations
You might like to try these with white chocolate chips and a raspberry for the filling.  Or even jersey caramels for a caramel flavour.  Almost any chocolate will work as long as it is a good quality one and you like the taste.  We have even used up leftover easter egg chocolate and a mint flavoured chocolate and they turned out just as good.

Happy Mother's Day for the 12th!