CHOCOLATE RUGELACH WITH BAT-CHEN DIAMANT

Makes ~25 units

Dough Ingredients

(prepare a day ahead):

500g bread flour

10g dried yeast

100g sugar

180ml milk (3%)

2 large eggs

100g butter, cubed

Pinch of salt

Our guest chef for this issue is Bat-Chen Diamant, 44, living in Moshav Ein Vered in Israel. She is married with two children, a dog, a chicken, and a vegetable garden. BatChen studied at the French Culinary Institute in New York, and then worked for several years in some of the city’s top Michelin restaurants.

After returning home to Israel, she was the sous-chef at top Israeli restaurants and owned a catering business.

Recently, she decided to bring her passion home and build a business around home and garden kitchens, where she leads cooking and baking workshops.

Learn more about Bat-Chen: https://batchen.cooking Instagram

For the Filling:

150g melted butter

60g cocoa powder

150g light brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Sugar syrup ingredients:

1/4 cup of water

1/4 cup sugar

Egg wash ingredients:

1 egg

1 tbsp milk

Pinch of sugar

Preparation

Making the dough:

Place flour, sugar, and yeast in a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook and mix on low speed until combined. Gradually add eggs and milk, mix on medium speed; gradually add butter, a few cubes at a time, until incorporated; then add the salt. Continue mixing for 10-12 minutes on medium speed and 1 minute on high speed. The dough should be completely smooth, elastic, and shiny. Transfer the dough to a large bowl brushed with oil, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least half a day or overnight.

Making the filling:

Mix all the filling ingredients in a bowl with a whisk until incorporated.

Rolling the dough:

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough and shape it into a rectangle, thickness of 0.3-0.4 cm

Spreading the filling:

Using an offset spatula, spread about 3/4 of the filling evenly over the dough

Folding the dough:

Bring one side of the rectangular dough to the center and then bring the other side on top of the dough. This creates three distinct layers of dough-chocolate spread. On a floured worktop, roll out the three-layered dough into a rectangle again. Spread the rest of the filling and repeat the folding.

Shaping:

• Use a pizza cutter or knife to cut the dough in the middle, lengthwise.

• Starting at the left side of the strip of dough, create triangles.

• Roll up each triangle, starting from the base of the triangle, to form rugelach.

• Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Brush the rugelach with egg wash

Allow the rugelach to rise once again for 30 minutes until doubled in volume.

Make the sugar syrup by heating the water and sugar together over medium heat until the sugar is fully dissolved. Allow to boil for 1 to 2 minutes to thicken just slightly

Preheat the oven to 340°F / 170°C

Bake the rugelach for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven, and cool on the pan. Brush the sugar syrup over the rugelach.