Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Buns – delicious, spicy, soft and fluffy buns stuffed with chocolate chips and marked with traditional flour cross, is perfect recipe for Easter.
Happy Easter, friends!
What are Hot Cross Buns? Hot Cross Buns are spicy, sweet yeast dough buns traditionally made with dried fruits, usually raisins or sultanas, marked with a cross, and traditionally eaten on Good Friday in the UK, Ireland, Australia and some western countries.
But, I see no reason why you could not eat them any time of the year, you can omit a flour cross if you want, which is associated with Easter, that is, Good Friday, signifying the crucifixion of Jesus.
I’ve always wanted to try Hot Cross buns, but as I wrote above, they are traditionally made with raisins, and I’ve never done them because I really, really hate raisins. I hate them so much I can’t even look at them. I was thinking of putting some other dried fruit, but the chocolate chips/chunks were more appealing to me.
For this recipe, I adapted the recipe from my Homemade Buhtle recipe (with Tangzhong technique) because I really wanted to get extra soft and fluffy buns.
WHICH INGREDIENTS YOU NEED
- all-purpose/plain flour
- milk and full-fat sour cream
- unsalted butter, very soft (but not melted)
- egg, large, 60 grams
- granulated sugar
- dry yeast
- vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg
- salt
- chocolate chips or chopped semi-sweet/dark chocolate
TIPS AND TRICKS
- I always suggest using a kitchen scale. If you don’t have one, buy it! They are cheap and you will always ensure same results in baking!
- I use Large eggs which are around 60-65 grams. In US it would be a XL egg.
- Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature for a better result.
- Make sure that the milk is not too hot (it should be lukewarm, up to 37 °C/98 ° F) as the heat kills the yeast and your dough will not rise.
- Weather can affect your ingredients. If you live in a moist climate, chances are you’ll need at least the recommended amount of flour – 400 grams, maybe even 50 grams more. The dough should be soft, but still manageable. While you’re kneading, the dough should come together and pull away from the sides of the bowl, leaving the bowl mostly clean. Don’t add too much flour because your buns will be dense.
- Instead of chocolate, you can put dried fruits (raisins, sultanas, currants, cranberries, chopped apricots …) or chopped nuts in the same amount – 150 grams.
- If you use fruit, you can also put a teaspoon of grated orange or lemon zest, and instead of syrup, brush them with melted apricot jam (about 3 tablespoons).
- After you take the buns out of the oven, immediately brush tops with prepared syrup.
- Leftovers can be stored, covered tightly, at room temperature for few days or in the fridge for up to 1 week. Baked buns also freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge. Warm up or toast before serving.
MORE SWEET YEAST DOUGH BUNS/ROLLS TO TRY
→If you make this sweet buns, please leave a comment, rate it and tag @mihaela_biteitquick on Instagram! I would love to see what you baked!
Happy baking,
Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients
For slurry
- 100 ml milk 3.5 oz
- 20 grams all-purpose flour 0.7 oz
Dough
- 120 ml warm milk 4.3 oz
- 60 grams full-fat sour cream 2.1 oz, 1/4 cup
- 80 grams granulated sugar 2.8 oz
- 1 package dry yeast 7 grams, 0.25 oz
- 400-450 grams all-purpose flour 14.1 oz-15.9 oz
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 80 grams butter softened and diced
- 150 grams semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate 5.3 oz, 1 cup
Flour Cross
- 60 grams flour ½ cup
- 70-90 ml water 5-6 Tablespoons
Syrup Glaze
- 45 grams water 3 Tablespoons
- 60 grams granulated sugar ¼ cup
Instructions
- Mix 20 grams flour and 100 ml milk in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook shortly until thick; set aside to cool.
- In a bowl of stand mixer (or if using your hands for kneading, use large bowl) add milk, yeast and sugar and let it rise for 10 minutes until bubbly. Add in sour cream, 400 grams flour, cinnamom, nutmeg, salt, egg, vanilla and lukewarm slurry and using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until your dough comes together. Add in the butter, piece by piece and continue kneading on medium speed for about 10 minutes until the dough is no longer sticky and is elastic. Add in chocolate chips and use lightly floured hands to finish mixing to form soft dough. (If the dough seems very, very soft and sticky, add the rest of the flour, tablespoon by tablespoon, mixing between additions until smooth and stretchy but still soft. Stop adding the flour when you get to that point.) Gather the dough into a ball shape.
- Grease a large bowl with oil. Place dough into a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it proof until it’s doubled in size, about 1.5- 2 hrs.
- Grease 33x23 cm (9x13-inch) baking pan with butter.
- Deflate the dough by punching it down and and divide the dough into 15 equal portions, if you want them the same size, weight the dough. Roll each piece into a smooth ball on a lightly floured work surface, pinching it on the bottom to seal. Arrange in prepared baking pan.
- Cover with kitchen towel and let it rise for 45 minutes. While buns are rising, preheat oven to 180°C ( 350°F).
- For flour crosses, mix flour and water until a thick, but still runny paste forms. Spoon into a piping bag or small ziplock bag (snip off a small piece at the corner).
- Pipe a line along each row of buns, then repeat in the other direction to create crosses.
- Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
- While buns are baking, make syrup glaze. Heat water and sugar in a small saucepan on high until sugar has dissolved completely. Set aside.
- After you take the buns out of the oven, immediately brush tops with prepared syrup. Allow to cool to warm before serving.
Notes
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