Time for Easter!
We can’t believe it, but somehow it’s already mid-April and Easter is here. For us, this is a holiday that we don’t always celebrate with any particular traditions, except cooking, baking, and, of course, eating. It also feels like it marks the start of spring baking because the sun starts to show its face and we get more inspired to bake warmer weather recipes, rather than the hearty and rich recipes we’ve relied on to get through the winter. Ultimately, Easter is also an opportunity to bake some festive treats, especially if you’re hosting any gatherings! So, without further ado, let’s share today’s recipe: hot cross buns.
Hot cross buns
Before I moved to the UK, I had never eaten a hot cross bun. I vaguely knew what they were, but had never tried one. Our family isn’t very religious, and they don’t seem to be as popular where we grew up outside of Philadelphia. But I know people do make and eat them in the US as well. In the UK, though, the supermarket shelves fill up, not just with Easter eggs, but also with various flavors of hot cross buns. There are the traditional spiced ones with dried fruit, then you can get savory flavors like cheese. You can get some fun ones too, like double chocolate or blueberry and lemon. I am now very into the idea of hot cross buns and I love trying the new ones that appear every year.
Today’s recipe: Scandi hot cross buns
Once I had tried a store-bought hot cross bun, I knew I had to try making my own. I have made this Mary Berry recipe a few times, and it’s fantastic. But this year, we wanted to develop our own Scandinavian-inspired version to share with you here on the blog! That’s where today’s recipe comes in. We chose cardamom and orange because those are very classic Scandinavian flavors, and then had to add some white chocolate for sweetness and richness. This flavor combo was an absolute hit when we developed our biscotti recipe over Christmas, so why not create an Easter version? While I like a hot cross bun with raisins, I can’t help but think that a bit of chocolate makes them a million times better 😉
Creating the cross on top
Why do the buns have a cross on them? The cross on top of the traditional bun represents Jesus’ crucifixion, and these buns are typically eaten on Good Friday, a day that commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus. So, it makes sense that a cross is the decoration of choice! There are a couple of variations on how it’s created. Apparently, it was at one point traditional to use shortcrust pastry to create the cross. Nowadays, most recipes use a flour and water paste to create the shape, like our recipe does. Some also use other pastes, like a pastry cream or even a cream cheese filling, depending on the flavor of the bun. You might also find buns with icing piped on top after they’re baked, for a sweet version.
Ingredients you’ll need
To make these hot cross buns, you’ll need the following ingredients for the dough: milk, yeast, sugar, an egg, an orange, salt, cardamom, all-purpose or plain flour, butter, candied orange peel and white chocolate. The candied orange peel is optional! It adds a nice slightly bitter orange flavor throughout the dough, which works well with the sweet chocolate. Speaking of the chocolate, you can replace the white chocolate with milk or dark chocolate if you like or if that’s what you have. For the topping, you’ll need a bit of flour and water to make the cross, and then some syrup or honey or marmalade to brush on top as a glaze.
How to make these hot cross buns
To make the buns, combine the dough ingredients in a bowl. Knead for about 10 minutes, or until smooth and no longer sticky. Let this rise for 1-1.5 hours or until doubled in size. Then, it’s time to shape the buns. Divide the dough into 15 pieces and roll into buns, following the technique in the recipe below. Place these on a baking sheet reasonably close together but not touching. Let them rise again for 30-45 minutes. In the meantime, mix the flour and water together into a paste. Add to a piping bag and pipe the crosses over the proofed buns. Bake and once they’re out of the oven, brush with syrup. Enjoy your beautiful hot cross buns and happy Easter!
Hot Cross Buns with Orange, Cardamom, and White Chocolate
Ingredients
DOUGH
- 300 ml milk
- 2 tsp instant yeast (2.25 tsp active dry yeasst, 15-20g fresh yeast)
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- Orange zest from 1 orange (2 tsp – 1 tbsp worth; add more if you like!)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 550 grams all purpose flour
- 57 grams unsalted butter, softened
- 50 grams candied orange peel (optional – but if you can't find this in store, you can make your own!)
- 150 grams white chocolate (can be chocolate chips, a chocolate bar, chocolate chunks, whatever you have!)
TOPPING
- 75 grams all purpose flour
- 90 ml water
GLAZE
- Golden syrup, honey, maple syrup, or orange syrup from candying the orange (you can also use heated up orange marmalade and brush it on the top!)
Instructions
- Heat the milk, in the microwave or a saucepan, until it is "fingervarm" (finger warm), meaning it should feel warm to the touch but not hot. Add your active dry yeast/fresh yeast and 1 tbsp of sugar, stir, and leave it for 5-10 minutes until the mixture starts to bubble up, meaning your yeast is alive and not expired. If using instant yeast, you do not need to do this step; you can add the yeast directly to the mixing bowl with everything else.
- Add the remaining sugar (2tbsp), egg, orange zest, salt, and cardamom to a large bowl/bowl of a stand mixer and mix well. Once the yeast mixture has bubbled up a bit, add it to the egg mixture. Mix together.
- Add the flour and softened butter, mixing with a wooden spoon or the dough hook on a stand mixer until the dough starts to come together.
- Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Use a stand mixer if you would prefer! Add more flour if the dough is too sticky – if it sticks to the sides of the bowl or is really sticking to your hands, you need a little bit more flour! It is okay if it's a little bit sticky, as it makes for super soft buns, but it shouldn't be impossible to knead or work with.
- Add the candied orange and white chocolate at the end of the kneading period, making sure it's well distributed. You may need to do this by hand even if using the stand mixer.
- Cover the dough with cling film or a clean dishtowel and let rise at room temperature (if room temp is very cold wherever you are, put it in a warm place, i.e. under a light) for about an hour or until doubled in size.
- Once your dough has doubled in size, shape it into 15 balls. Pinch the dough together so you have a smooth ball of dough, then roll each ball on an unfloured surface to close any seam/imperfections on the bun.
- Place the buns close together, almost touching, in a 3×5 grid on a parchment lined baking sheet (we used a "half sheet" baking pan size).
- Cover and let rise until puffed up and touching, about 30-45 minutes more in a warm place.
- Towards the end of the rising time, preheat oven to 375F (190C).
- Mix together flour and water for the topping. Add to a piping bag or a small plastic bag. You can also use a parchment paper cone for piping. Pipe lines vertically and horizontally across the buns, creating the cross shape where the lines overlap on the buns.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and baked through in the center.
- Brush syrup/honey/marmalade on the top while they are still warm for a nice shiny top.
