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A baking mad elf

Our Christmas elf, Elfin is a keen baker. He especially enjoys cleaning up the mixing bowl. His method doesn’t involve any washing up liquid or water. We just find him head down in the bowl working hard to lick it clean. He didn’t learn this technique from Mrs Claus though.

Most elves train in Mrs Claus’s kitchen with Sugarplum Mary who is one of Santa’s oldest elves and Head of  Sweet Treats (doesn’t that seem like a dream job?). While Sugarplum Mary and Mrs Claus toil over elaborate creations, Elfin only likes easy recipes.

He has asked me to share with you his favourite all-year-around chocolate bun recipe. We have tried it at home and it was simple enough for kids to help (older children will manage most of it on their own).

Make some tasty chocolate buns

Ingredients

The recipe makes 18 to 20 small chocolate buns and you will need:

• 200g (8 oz) of butter
• 200g (8 oz) of caster sugar
• 4 medium eggs
• 50g (8 oz) of cocoa powder
• 150g (6 oz) of self-raising flower

For the icing:

• 100g of chocolate (milk or dark according to taste)
• 25g of butter
• 25g of icing sugar
• Smarties or sprinkles to decorate

Preparation

To make your chocolate buns:

• Heat oven to 180ºC, 350ºF, Gas Mark 4. Line 2 bun tins with paper cases
• Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, adding a little flour with each
• Gently fold in remaining flour and cocoa powder
• Half fill the paper cases with the mixture and bake for about 15 minutes until firm.

When the chocolate buns have cooled you can make the icing as follows:

• Gently heat the chocolate and butter in the microwave or using a sauce pan and mix well. Make sure not to overheat or boil the mixture
• Add  the icing sugar – use a sieve to avoid lumps
• Decorate to taste

Hope you enjoy Elfin’s easy chocolate buns recipe! It is a favourite with most of Santa’s elves. Children often wake up to find their Christmas elf has left all the ingredients and the recipe in the kitchen for a bit of family fun. Some over-zealous elves bake the buns themselves overnight – if your elf does this, you might find it hard to stop the kids eating them for breakfast!