I refrigerate the dough immediately after kneading for a good 18 hours. You can also let it rise conventionally and then punch down. It is your choice.
finely grated chocolate of your choice or real chocolate sprinkles(1/3-1/2 cup)
For the Topping
2Tablespoonshoney, heated so it is thin
2ozsemisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
2ozheavy cream
2Tablespoonsgranulated honey
pinch salt
(optional) colored sprinkles or nonpareils
Instructions
For the Dough
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add in all the ingredients and mix on low speed until no dry flour remains.
Increase the mixer speed to medium and knead for 6-8 minutes. The dough will be soft and a bit sticky but be nice and extensible (stretchy).
Once the dough is smooth and supple, gather it into a ball, spray a sheet of plastic wrap with pan spray and then wrap the dough in the plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 8 and up to 24 hours.
For the Filling
On baking day, mix all filling ingredients except the chocolate together evenly. It should have a spreadable consistency.
Remove the dough from the fridge and on a lightly greased surface roll it out into a rectangle about 14" wide and 12" tall. The dough should be about 1/4" thick.
Evenly spread the filling mixture all over the dough. Spread it from end to end the short way and leave about 1/2" of bare dough on the long ends.
Sprinkle evenly with finely grated chocolate, mini chocolate chips or real chocolate sprinkles.
Roll up the dough from either of the long ends, meeting in the middle so the whole thing looks like a scroll.
Using a piece of dental floss, cut off either end of the scroll so the sides are even.
Cut the remaining scroll into 6 even pieces, each about 2" tall.
To form the hear shapes, unroll each piece just a bit from either end so there are about 2" of filling showing.
Press the two still-rolled-up ends together, pressing the bend in the center into a point.
Place each heart-shaped roll in an 8"x2" round baking pan so the points face in and the rolls are facing the edges of the pan. The rolls should barely touch, if at all, and there should be about 1" in the center where you can see the bottom of the pan.
Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 2-3 hours. It won't look like a ton is happening, but don't worry.
Bake at 375F for about 20 minutes. Then turn down the heat to 350 and bake another 20 minutes or until the internal temperature is about 200F. You may need to cover the rolls with some foil during the last 15 minutes or so if they seem to be browning too quickly.
Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes before depanning them to cool completely upright on a wire rack.
For the Topping
Brush the top of the cooled rolls with the melted honey.
Put the 2 oz chocolate in a small bowl.
Mix the cream and granulated honey together and bring to a boil.
Pour the cream mixture over the chocolate and let stand for a minute.
Slowly whisk to emulsify your ganache. Whisk in the salt.
Chill the ganache for a few minutes just until it is the consistency of frosting.
Put the ganache in a piping bag fitted with a #10 round tip (or cut off abou 1/4" of the corner of a Zip-top bag.
Pipe a chocolate heart on the top of each of the 6 rolls.
Garnish with white and pink sprinkles, optional.
Heat them up just a bit to serve.
Notes
If you don't want to wait hours and hours to bake, after kneading shape the dough into a ball and oil it lightly. Put it in a bowl, cover it, and it let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hours or so. Then press out the gases and roll on a lightly oiled surface and continue with the recipe. You may have to oil the top of the dough as well since you won't be rolling it straight from the fridge. Once shaped, the second rise should only take 45 minutes to an hour before baking.