Easy Chocolate Hot Cross Buns
These easy chocolate hot cross buns are soft and indulgent. Toasted with butter, they're perfect for parties during Easter.
Ingredients
Bread dough
- 475 g strong white bread flour
- 7 g fast-acting dried yeast
- 65 g cocoa powder
- 70 g sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tablespoon orange zest
- 50 g unsalted butter, melted and at room temperature
- 300 ml whole, full-fat milk
- 1 medium free-range egg
- 200 g chocolate chips or chunks, milk, dark or white
Crosses (decoration):
- 35 g plain flour, all-purpose flour
- 35 ml cold water
Sticky glaze - optional:
- 1 ½ tablespoon orange marmalade
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
Instructions
- Mix all dry ingredients (except chocolate chips) together in a large mixing bowl. Mix all wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Combine the two, using your hands until you get a slightly sticky and stretchy dough (be sure to scrape the insides of the bowl too). On a lightly dusted surface, knead the dough for 1 or 2 minutes.
- Place the dough back into the large mixing bowl, cover with a wet tea towel and leave it to rest in a warm place until the dough doubles in size (this usually takes 1-2 hours).
- Preheat the oven to 220C/180C fan/430F. Line a baking tin with baking paper.
- Add the chocolate chips to the risen dough, knead and knead it one more time (until the chocolate is evenly distributed). Divide the dough with chocolate into 12-15 individual balls (buns), and place them in the pre-lined baking tin.
- To make the white crosses, mix plain flour with cold water until you get a smooth but relatively thick paste (like a toothpaste), transfer this roux paste into a piping bag with a small tip (or a plastic bag with a corner snipped off; 3-4mm is plenty). Decorate the chocolate dough balls on top, creating crosses whilst closely following the curves of the dough (make sure the paste touches it).
- Place in a pre-heated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. Test with a wooden skewer, the buns are done when it comes out clean.
- (Optional) make the glaze by warming up the orange marmalade, butter and water in a saucepan. Stir until smooth and runny. Brush the glaze over the warm baked buns and leave to set.
- Serve warm with a knob of butter.
Notes
Possible swaps:
- Plain flour (1:1 ratio),
- Fresh yeast (14g),
- Semi-skimmed milk and 20g of unsalted butter, OR single cream (18%) instead of whole milk and unsalted butter,
- Baking fat (margarine; 1:1 ratio),
- No-egg hot cross buns – add extra 50 ml whole milk,
- Vanilla extract (1tsp) instead of orange zest,
- Warmed-up honey for glazing.
- Fruity hot cross buns - dried cranberries, sultanas, raisins, apricots, apples, candied orange peel, or glace cherries will all work instead of, or in combination with chocolate. Cut the dried fruit in halves or small dices.
- For an extra burst of orange flavour, add 1 teaspoon orange extract or 2 tablespoon of orange juice.
- Blonde - skip adding the cocoa powder.
- Never add hot butter or milk to a dough with yeast.
- Only add the chocolate chips after the dough has risen.
- Divide the dough evenly to ensure even baking.
- In a toaster (sliced).
- Under a grill (sliced) for a few minutes - don't burn them!
- In the oven (at 180C, wrapped in aluminum foil for 5-8 minutes; great for reheating a batch at once; sliced or whole).
Nutritional Information (Estimates Only)
Serving: 1bun | Calories: 285kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 40mg | Potassium: 179mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 224IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 1mg
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