Chocolate and orange hot cross buns

Chocolate and orange hot cross buns

Hot cross buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday, hot from the oven with lashings of butter. Try this chocolate and orange hot cross bun recipe, for a bit of variation, this Easter.

Chocolate and orange hot cross buns

Easter wouldn’t be Easter without hot cross buns. Try these tear-and-share hot cross buns slathered with boozy marmalade whipped butter.

 

  • Serves icon Makes 12 buns
  • Time icon Hands on time 45 mins, 20 mins cooking time, plus proving

Hot cross buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday, hot from the oven with lashings of butter. Try this chocolate and orange hot cross bun recipe, for a bit of variation, this Easter.

Easter wouldn’t be Easter without hot cross buns. Try these tear-and-share hot cross buns slathered with boozy marmalade whipped butter.

 

Nutrition: Per bun

Calories
341kcals
Fat
11g (5.9g saturated)
Protein
6.5g
Carbohydrates
57.9g (25.9g sugars)
Salt
0.5g

Ingredients

  • 475g strong white flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 25g good-quality cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp ground mixed spice
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 85g chilled unsalted butter, chopped
  • 100g golden caster sugar, plus 50g extra to glaze
  • 2 x 7g sachets dried yeast
  • 1 large free-range egg
  • 190ml lukewarm milk
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing
  • 75g milk chocolate, chopped
  • Finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
  • 75g chopped candied peel
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Method

  1. Sift 400g of the flour, the cocoa powder, mixed spice and salt into a bowl. Add the butter and, with your fingertips, rub together until the mix resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir through the sugar and dried yeast, then form a well in the centre. Whisk the egg and milk together and pour into the well. Quickly mix with a wooden spoon to incorporate.
  2. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes until soft and silky. Shape into a ball. Put in a large, lightly oiled bowl, covered with cling film. Leave for 1½ hours in a warm place, loosely covered with greased cling film, until doubled in size.
  3. Remove the risen dough to a lightly floured surface, flatten slightly, then knead in the raisins (optional), chocolate, zest and candied peel, until everything is evenly distributed.
  4. Divide into 12 equal pieces (about 100g each) and shape into smooth-surfaced buns. Place in rows on a lightly oiled baking tray, leaving a little gap between each. Cover loosely with lightly oiled cling film and leave to prove in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size again. The buns should now be touching each other. Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6.
  5. With a serrated knife, score the tops of the buns with a cross. Mix the remaining 75g flour with 1 tbsp oil and 5 tbsp cold water to a smooth paste, then spoon into a piping bag (or a small, clear, sturdy plastic bag with the corner snipped off).
  6. Carefully pipe the mixture in lines along the knife scores on the buns, going first one way, then the other, using a knife to stop the flow. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until risen and firm to the touch.
  7. Meanwhile, put the remaining sugar into a pan with the orange juice. Put over a low heat until it has dissolved. Bring to the boil and bubble for 2 minutes until thickened.
  8. Remove the buns from the oven and turn out onto a rack. Glaze with the syrup and serve warm or cold.

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving
Calories
341kcals
Fat
11g (5.9g saturated)
Protein
6.5g
Carbohydrates
57.9g (25.9g sugars)
Salt
0.5g

delicious. tips

  1. Freeze the cooled buns in a sealed container between layers of baking paper. To serve, cover loosely in foil and warm through in a low oven.

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Read what others say...

  1. All was going well until the 2nd prove whereby the individual buns just merged into a big splodge and never recovered. Didn’t rise and tasted horrible. Really dissapointed

    1. Hi Katy, thanks for your feedback! We are srry to hear this. Each recipe we publish has been tested three or more times to ensure consistency. One thing we have experienced a lot is yeast losing its life, before its best before date. Do you think this might have been the case? You can test the yeast in a small bowl of water and leave it for 5-10 minutes – if bubbles appear on the surface, it should still be alive. Happy cooking!

  2. Awful recipe. Made twice and had to throw out twice as dough didn’t rise at all.
    My suggestion would be to bloom the yeast in the warmed milk before adding to dough. Such an expensive disappointment :(

    1. Hi Nate – I’m sorry to hear that this recipe didn’t work for you. I can only suggest that the milk may have been too warm when it was added. If yeast gets hotter than 65C, it dies, which would cause the dough to not rise at all. However it’s also likely that the dough was in too cool a place to rise – it has taken over 2 hours in the test kitchen sometimes for an enriched, hot cross bun dough to begin to move. If you have a proving setting on your oven, then perhaps use that next time. Alternatively simply turn it down to 50C or lower to help speed up the rising. We can assure you that this recipe has been tested and worked before! Hope that helps and happy cooking. Ellie

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