Easter is around the corner and I thought I’d attempt to make hot cross buns, since I hadn’t tried since home economics in year eight.

I remember as a kid growing up, the only hot cross buns you could find were the fruit filled ones. I would spread copious amounts of butter on them just to cover up the fruit peel taste. I was not a fan. But one day someone gave me a hot cross bun with CHOCOLATE in it, how could I say no O_o!? I remember it tasting like it was one of the most amazing creations ever! So, finally I could participate in the eating of “hot cross buns” over Easter with the same excitement as those who ate the fruit filled ones

These buns when eaten warm are soft to bite into, with gooey chocolate chips oozing into your mouth as you chew. You can’t help but munch on them one after another according to my dad, who ate quite a number of them.

Chocolate chip buns
adapted from butterbaking.com

Ingredients:

Dough
10g Yeast
50g Sugar
200ml Milk (Luke warm)
418g Flour
1/4 tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Orange Rind (I used 2 large oranges)
25g Butter (melted)
1/2 Egg (I crack the whole egg into a separate bowl and weigh it then divide it by two)
140g Chocolate Chips

Glaze
30g Sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp Hot Water

Cross
30g White Chocolate (melted)

What to do:

Combine yeast, milk, sugar in a bowl and set aside for 15 minutes

In a larger bowl add flour and orange rind, make a well and add the butter, egg, salt and lastly the yeast mixture

Attach your dough hook to your free standing mixer (I like to use a free standing mixer, but you can use a wooden spoon and your hands) and knead for 5 minutes or until a ball forms and it is smooth and elastic. (To test, push your finger into the dough and it should bounce back slightly)

Place the dough ball into a glass bowl and place glad wrap to cover. Cover for about 1-2 hours or until doubled in size.

Line your tray with baking/parchment paper.

Once the dough has risen, knock it down gently and gently knead. Separate the dough into equal sized balls. (I managed 8 medium sized buns, you can make 16 smaller ones for snack size).

Put them close together on the tray and cover for about 20 minutes

Preheat oven to 200 C. fan forced

Bake for about 15 minutes (small size) – 25 minutes (medium size) or until golden brown and fragrant. Prepare glaze while buns are baking.

For the glaze, combine water and sugar, and dissolve.

Once buns are baked, coat them quickly with a few coats of glaze

To make crosses, melt white chocolate in small 20 second bursts, stirring in between each burst. Using a piping bag snip off the end and slowly pipe crosses over each bun so that it “hugs” the bun.

Enjoy warm and please share! 😀

Note: These buns are best enjoyed warm so reheated them in the microwave for 10-20 seconds and last about 2 days in an airtight box.