Toadstool Melon Pan
Step into a fairytale bake! These Toadstool Melon Pan are soft and fluffy with a hidden pocket of melty chocolate chips, crowned with a crunchy cookie crust in magical shades of red, matcha green, and cocoa brown. Topped with little white spots, they look like they’ve popped straight out of an enchanted forest, perfect for a playful teatime treat or a bake that’s as cute as it is delicious.
Ingredients:
Bread Dough:
400g bread flour
50g caster sugar
6g instant dry yeast
6g salt
200ml milk
50g whole egg (lightly beaten)
50g unsalted butter (room temperature)
Cookie Dough Topping:
160g cake flour
40g ground almonds
60g unsalted butter (room temperature)
80g icing sugar
50g whole egg (lightly beaten)
½ tsp matcha powder
½ tsp cocoa powder
1 drop red gel food colouring
Filling:
80–100g milk or dark chocolate chips
Instructions:
Make the Bread Dough
1. In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.
2. Add milk and egg, mix into a rough dough.
3. Knead in butter until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes by hand, 6-8minutes in a mixer).
4. Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled (60–90 minutes).
Prepare the Cookie Topping
1. Cream butter and icing sugar until pale and fluffy.
2. Mix in egg gradually until incorporated.
3. Fold in cake flour and almond flour to form a soft dough.
4. Divide dough into approx 100g for the red, green and brown and the remaining uncoloured is for the spots.
Red portion: Tint with red gel food colouring.
Green portion: Mix with matcha powder.
Brown portion: Mix with cocoa powder.
White portion: Leave uncoloured (for the spots). Roll out between 2 sheets of parchment paper and freeze until hard.
5. Wrap each portion in cling film and chill in the fridge until you need them.
Shape the Buns
1. After the first rise, punch down bread dough and divide into 12 equal pieces.
2. Flatten each piece, add a spoonful of chocolate chips in the center, and pinch to seal.
3. Shape into smooth balls and place each into a greased muffin tin cavity.
Second Proof
1. Cover loosely with a tea towel and let rise for 45-50 minutes until the dough is puffy and domed just above the muffin mould.
Add the Cookie Topping
1. Divide 4 equal portions per colour and roll out between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Roll into 3-4mm thin round discs.
2. Drape one disc over each bread ball, smoothing down gently.
3. Take the uncoloured (white) cookie dough out of the freezer and, cut out small circles (using a piping tip or straw) and press gently onto the red, matcha, and cocoa tops to create toadstool spots.
Bake
1. Preheat oven to 180℃ with the entire baking sheet inside.
2. Once preheated, place the muffin tin on the hot sheet.
3. Bake at 160℃ for 18 minutes until golden and just set.
4. Cool slightly before removing from the tin.
Serving Tip: Enjoy warm while the chocolate chips are still melty inside. These also look magical on a woodland-themed party table!