Chocolate orange hot cross buns - a delectable chocolatey twist on the classic Easter bread. Perfect for breakfast or a snack. Includes instructions to make a vegan version.
It feels like we only just had Christmas but now it is somehow nearly Easter already; I don't know where the time has gone! I need to do some more Easter themed baking to blog but for now I do have these chocolate orange hot cross buns to share with you.
These are a delicious chocolatey twist on classic hot cross buns. The chocolate flavour comes from using cocoa powder in the bread dough, as well as adding plenty of chocolate chips so that every bite is chocolatey.
Orange zest, candied peel and a sticky orange glaze give the buns a hint of orange flavour that works perfectly with the chocolate, making them incredibly moreish!
Of course a hot cross bun is just a bun without the cross, fortunately they are really easy to do and are just made with a mixture of flour and water that you pipe on top of the risen buns before they go in the oven.
As with most homemade breads, these are best eaten on the day they are made but they are still good for a couple of days afterwards, especially if you serve them split and toasted with plenty of butter! They would make a fantastic Easter weekend breakfast or brunch or leave off the crosses and just make regular buns at any time of year.
If you want to break up the work a bit so they don't take as long to make in the morning then you can make the dough in the evening and leave it to rise in the fridge overnight then continue with the recipe as normal.
How To Make Chocolate Orange Hot Cross Buns:
(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)
Place the bread flour in a large bowl and add the cocoa powder, mixed spice, salt and sugar to one side and the yeast to the other (yeast doesn't like to come into direct contact with salt). Mix it all together.
Place the butter, milk and orange zest in a pan and heat until the butter has melted. Set aside until it has cooled to lukewarm (it shouldn't be so hot that you can't comfortably hold your finger in it). Pour the milk mix into the flour along with the egg (or flax egg) and stir until it forms a rough dough.
Turn out onto an un-floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. The dough should be sticky at first but become smooth as you knead it. Alternatively you can use a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook to knead it for about 6-7 minutes.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with clingfilm. Set aside to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours.
Flatten the risen dough out into a rectangle and scatter over the dried fruit and chocolate chips; knead until they are well distributed. Divide the dough into 15 equal pieces and shape each one into a ball. Place them slightly spaced apart on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Loosley cover with oiled clingfilm and set aside to rise until puffy, about 1 hour.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. To make the crosses, place the flour in a bowl and slowly whisk in enough water to form a thick, pipe-able consistency; your looking for something with a similar consistency to wallpaper paste. Place the paste in a disposable piping bag and snip off the very tip (or put it in a piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle).
Pipe a cross on the top of each risen bun then bake them for about 20 minutes. They should be well risen and browned; if you have a probe thermometer then the internal temperature should reach at least 94°C/201°F.
While the buns are baking prepare the glaze. Place the orange juice and sugar in a small pan; heat while stirring until the sugar has dissolved then bring up to a simmer and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes until syrupy.
Once the buns are baked, remove them from the oven and brush the tops liberally with the glaze. Allow to cool then serve them split, toasted and buttered.
Top Tips:
For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
If you want, you can split the work over two days – make the dough in the evening and let it rise the the fridge overnight then continue with the rest of the recipe in the morning.
If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook I would really recommend using it for this recipe. The dough is quite sticky and it’s much easier to work with in a mixer.
The recipe will work using plain (all-purpose) flour, but bread flour gives the best texture.
Make sure that your yeast hasn’t expired! Out of date yeast can lead to bread that doesn’t rise.
The best way to tell if bread is baked properly is to check the internal temperature with a probe thermometer. It should reach at least 94°C/201°F.
The hot cross buns are best eaten on the day they are baked but they will keep in an airtight container for a couple of days in which case they are best served toasted.
If you want a recipe for a plain version of hot cross buns then my classic vegan hot cross buns should hit the spot!
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Chocolate Orange Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients
Buns:
- 500 g (4 cups) white bread flour
- 45 g (5 Tbsp) cocoa powder
- 1 tsp mixed spice (pumpkin/apple pie spice)
- 1 tsp salt
- 100 g (½ cup) caster sugar
- 14 g (4 tsp) fast action (instant) yeast
- 60 g (¼ cup) unsalted butter (or dairy free margarine) softened
- 300 ml (1 ¼ cups) full fat milk (or soy/almond milk)
- 1 large egg (or 1 flax egg)
- finely grated zest of 2 large oranges
- 110 g (⅔ cup) chocolate chips
- 180 g (1 ¼ cups) mixed dried fruit (I used a mix of raisins, sultanas, currants and candied peel)
Crosses:
- 3 heaped Tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
- 5 Tbsp cold water
Glaze:
- 50 g (¼ cup) granulated sugar
- juice of 1 large orange
Instructions
- Place the bread flour in a large bowl and add the cocoa powder, mixed spice, salt and sugar to one side and the yeast to the other (yeast doesn't like to come into direct contact with salt). Mix it all together.
- Place the butter, milk and orange zest in a pan and heat until the butter has melted. Set aside until it has cooled to lukewarm (it shouldn't be so hot that you can't comfortably hold your finger in it). Pour the milk mix into the flour along with the egg and stir until it forms a rough dough.
- Turn out onto an un-floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. The dough should be sticky at first but become smooth as you knead it. Alternatively you can use a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook to knead it for about 6-7 minutes.
- Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with clingfilm. Set aside to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours.
- Flatten the risen dough out into a rectangle and scatter over the dried fruit and chocolate chips; knead until they are well distributed. Divide the dough into 15 equal pieces and shape each one into a ball. Place them slightly spaced apart on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Loosley cover with oiled clingfilm and set aside to rise until puffy, about 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. To make the crosses, place the flour in a bowl and slowly whisk in enough water to form a thick, pipe-able consistency; your looking for something with a similar consistency to wallpaper paste. Place the paste in a disposable piping bag and snip off the very tip (or put it in a piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle).
- Pipe a cross on the top of each risen bun then bake them for about 20 minutes. They should be well risen and browned; if you have a probe thermometer then the internal temperature should reach at least 94°C/201°F.
- While the buns are baking prepare the glaze. Place the orange juice and sugar in a small pan; heat while stirring until the sugar has dissolved then bring up to a simmer and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes until syrupy.
- Once the buns are baked, remove them from the oven and brush the tops liberally with the glaze. Allow to cool then serve them split, toasted and buttered.
Notes
- For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
- If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook I would really recommend using it for this recipe. The dough is quite sticky and it’s much easier to work with in a mixer.
- The recipe will work using plain (all-purpose) flour, but bread flour gives the best texture.
- Make sure that your yeast hasn’t expired! Out of date yeast can lead to bread that doesn’t rise.
- The best way to tell if bread is baked properly is to check the internal temperature with a probe thermometer. It should reach at least 94°C/201°F.
- The hot cross buns are best eaten on the day they are baked but they will keep in an airtight container for a couple of days in which case they are best served toasted.
For more hot cross bun goodness check out my Hokkaido milk bread hot cross bun loaf.
I originally made these chocolate orange hot cross buns for DIYs, check them out for some awesome craft and recipe ideas.
Kathy
What size baking pan did you use?
hannahhossack
Hi Kathy, I think it was 25x35cm.
May
Made these today, and fair to say they did not disappoint. Yum.
Kristin
If I only have dry active yeast, how much longer do you think it would take for them to rise? And should I put in the same amount of yeast as specified above or more? These look amazing, and I can’t wait to try them!
hannahhossack
Hi Kristin, I would try adding an extra couple of grams of active dry yeast so a total of 16g or 5 level teaspoons. You will need to mix it with about a third of the milk, which should be lukewarm, and a pinch of the sugar and set it aside for about 15 minutes until it goes bubbly. Then proceed with the recipe as written. Apart from that the rising time shouldn't be dissimilar but it really depends on how warm it is so you'll just need to keep an eye on it. There are step by step photos in the post that show what the dough should look like. I hope you enjoy them!
Kristin
I just wanted to report back after trying this recipe. I did use 5 tsp of dry active yeast, and it seemed to turn out well. I felt like the dough was a little dry. I guess I'm used to most bread doughs being stickier. I mean, it was great kneading by hand, because it wasn't sticking to my hands or my pastry board at all. I think when I make them again, I'll add 3 - 3 1/2 cups bread flour instead of 4 cups (I did use the gram measurements, BTW) and see how it goes. I didn't add the dried fruit, since some of my sons said they would refuse to eat them if it was included. BUT, they all agreed that they liked this chocolate-orange version better than a more traditional hot cross bun that I had made the day before. These are really yummy, and I highly recommend splitting the bun in 2, and spreading butter on both sides. It makes them taste even better. Thanks for a great recipe, and for responding to my question.
June-Aloha
I made it with flax egg! I was afraid, but it turned out very and very fluffy! I only have small convection oven and no stand mixer, so, I made half the size of your recipe. Thank you!