Last year our daughter was in 3rd grade, which in California means it was her year to learn to play the recorder. Which means we heard an awful lot of squeaky, ear-splitting renditions of the childrens’ nursery rhyme song “Hot Cross Buns” on a regular basis. I would get “hot cross buns, hot cross buns, one-a-penny, two-a-penny, hot cross buns” stuck in my head for days. It made me wonder, not for the first time, what hot cross buns actually tasted like since I didn’t grow up with them. Then this year I watched an episode of the Great British Baking Show where they made hot cross buns and decided it was a sign that I needed to make these and finally see what the hype was all about. These hot cross buns are going in my collection of the best Easter recipes along with other classic favorites like our family’s Lemon Pineapple Jell-O with Pineapple Whipped Cream Topping, Oven Roasted Asparagus with Garlic, Parmesan, & Lemon, and Easy Blueberry Custard Pie for dessert. Oh, and glazed ham, of course. These turned out so fluffy and perfectly spiced and sweet that I immediately called my sister and told her that she needed to make these for my nieces right away. Then I took four warm buns over to some friends so I wouldn’t devour the entire pan right away all by myself. Hot cross buns are my new favorite breakfast bread, even rivaling my beloved pecan sticky buns! I love how these bake up all puffy and touching, dinner roll style, so that you almost pull them apart. But you could take a cue from my cinnamon rolls and bake them on a baking sheet with more space between them if you want them round and distinct instead.
What are Hot Cross Buns?
These traditional sweet buns originated in England where they were iced with a cross pattern to represent the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. They were baked and served on Good Friday (the Friday before Easter) to mark the end of Lent. Some say that the spices in the buns represent the spices used to embalm Jesus before he was placed in the tomb. Many cultures seem to have traditional yeasted Easter breads. There is Italian Easter bread with colored eggs baked right into it, Portuguese Easter Bread, Russian Easter Bread (Paska), Romanian Easter Bread, Bulgarian Easter Bread, and these hot cross buns just to name a few. I think it might be a traditional food for so many at this holiday because Jesus referred to himself as the Bread of Life. Also, bread has a lot of spiritual significance and appears throughout the Bible. It represents the body of Christ in the sacrament. It was a literal gift from God in the form of manna that sustained the Israelites while they wandered through the desert. And Jesus performed the miracle of the loaves and fishes where he divided the bread to feed the multitudes.
What You’ll Need
I had to pick up a couple extra things from the store like dried currants and dried apricots for these buns, but otherwise most of what I needed was already in my pantry or my fridge.
Flour: You can use regular all-purpose flour or bread flour in this recipe. I like to use bread flour because it has a higher protein content which means more gluten and chewier bread with a better texture. But regular all-purpose flour used in this recipe still turns out really good and you can absolutely use it if you don’t have bread flour on hand. Dried fruit: The bits of dried fruit make these buns extra special. I like to use both dried currants (you can find them right next to the raisins at the grocery store – personally I think currants are better than raisins for these buns) and dried apricots (chopped up into small pieces) together. But you can use any dried fruit like cranberries, cherries, blueberries, or raisins. Milk: Milk is often used in making bread for rich, soft dough with wonderful flavor. I prefer using whole milk when baking, but if I don’t have it on hand I will fill my measuring cup with a little heavy cream first and then fill it the rest of the way with lowfat milk or whatever I have on hand. Butter and eggs: This is an enriched brioche dough which means it has fat added to it in the form of eggs and butter. These ingredients add wonderful flavor and richness to the dough. It’s best for these to be at room temperature when you add them, but if you forget you can stick the eggs in a bowl of really hot water for 10 minutes while the yeast is proofing and microwave the butter for 5-10 seconds. Yeast: I used active dry yeast, which requires proofing first. That’s where you add the yeast to warm liquid to wake it up and let it get all foamy. If you are using instant yeast, you can skip this step and add the yeast with the flour. Sugar: There is granulated sugar in the sweet dough and powdered sugar used to make the icing crosses on top of the buns. Orange zest: I love, love, love the bit of citrus flavor that the orange zest adds. It goes so well with the spices and other fruit and makes these hot cross buns extra special. Vanilla extract: A little vanilla adds a nice nuance to the other flavors. I like using my homemade vanilla. Spices: A few warm spices like cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cardamom give a traditional taste to these hot cross buns and make them feel extra festive. Salt: Don’t forget the salt or you will end up with bland buns! Apricot jam or preserves: These are mixed with a little water and heated up right at the end to brush on the buns when they come out of the oven. Not only do they add a nice glossy finish, but the added apricot flavor is the perfect touch to complement the dried fruit inside the buns.
How to Make Hot Cross Buns
If you have already made cinnamon rolls or my homemade hamburger buns, these traditional Easter buns from the U.K. aren’t any more difficult than those. It’s a pretty straightforward approach of mixing and kneading dough, letting it rise, then shaping into rolls and rising again before baking. Ba-dah-bing-ba-dah-boom, you’ve got yourself some hot cross buns!
Let’s make the dough!
Time for the signature icing crosses
Tips & Tricks
Scrape the sides of the bowl: It might look like the butter is not going to mix in at first, but it will if you use a spatula to scrape down the sides and let the mixer keep going. Work with room temperature ingredients: Room temperature ingredients incorporate together much better than cold ingredients. You can stick your eggs in a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes to take the chill off if you forget to pull them out in advance. Soak the fruit: This is especially important if your dried fruit is really hard. Soaking the fruit plumps it up and actually brings out its flavor. Serve warm: If you aren’t enjoying them warm out of the oven, I recommend warming them up in the microwave for a few seconds. You could also slice them in half and toast them. They are delicious spread with butter or jam, but they have enough flavor that you can enjoy them all on their own. Storage: Store any leftover hot cross buns in an airtight container on the counter for 2-3 days. After that they start getting a little stale, but they make excellent french toast!
For a Traditional Flour Paste Cross
The version I’m sharing with icing for crosses is slightly different than the flour paste version where the cross is baked directly onto the buns. Personally, I like the extra sweetness that appeals to my love of simple vanilla icing, but if you want a more traditional version, you can go the flour paste route. Just combine 1 cup of flour, ½ cup of water, and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar to create a thick paste. Pipe lines of the paste along the egg wash-brushed buns just before baking. The flour paste will bake into the top of the buns, creating a more subtle, less showy line than the icing gives you.
Variations
I watched an episode on the Great British Baking Show where they made hot cross buns and there are lots of variations you can do! Here are just a few ideas to get you thinking (although I do think these currant/apricot ones are incredible, so maybe make them first and then get creative!).
Lemon Blueberry White Chocolate: Use lemon zest instead of orange zest and dried blueberries and white chocolate chips in place of apricots and current. Cherry Chocolate Chip: Omit the orange zest altogether and use dried cherries and chocolate chips in place of the fruit. Cinnamon Raisin Orange: Use raisins and cinnamon chips with orange zest. White Chocolate Cranberry: I think the name pretty much sums this one up, but you can use white chocolate chips and dried cranberries for this classic flavor pairing that I LOVE and have used in cookies, bars, and fudge.
More Easter recipes
The BEST Brown Sugar Glazed Ham Bacon Green Onion Deviled Eggs Scalloped Potatoes [Au Gratin Potatoes] Garlic & Herb Roast Boneless Leg of Lamb Best Carrot Cake Recipe
More Sweet Bread Recipes
The BEST Homemade Cinnamon Rolls Deborah’s Knotted Orange Sweet Rolls Homemade Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns Christmas Star Bread Cranberry Orange Pull-Apart Monkey Bread New Orleans Beignets
Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour.
Mardi Gras King Cake
Small Batch Sticky Buns
TikTok Cinnamon Rolls
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