“What has a Romanian living in Denmark to do with making Hot Cross Buns?”, you might wonder. Oh well, they bring back some dear memories, even though it’s only last year I baked these type of delicious buns for the first time. The story goes all the way to New Zealand, one year ago, around this exact time. The pandemics had taken the world by storm, all the nations were shutting down one by one. And so was New Zealand. So it happened that a good part of our dream holiday driving around New Zealand and exploring other Pacific islands became this super nice staycation in a cozy AirBnb in Central Auckland.
It was a few weeks before Easter, and there were a lot of Hot Cross Buns in the supermarket. But we were spending a lot of time in the kitchen ourselves, so I decided I’ll just bake some for us, to try them. And I wanted it to be as local as possible. I thought that would be helpful, ingredients-wise. I was in a country where I didn’t know the produce, and it does help to use a local recipe in that sense. This way you know for sure you can find what’s in the recipe. That is how I stumbled upon The Kiwi Country Girl’s blog and successfully baked my first ever Hot Cross Buns. I knew it was not going to be the last time. That smell in the kitchen and the spicy fruity flavour, they were spot on.
So this year I decided to work on a recipe of my own, with a combo of that I love and find to match very well the spiced in these buns. And I do believe you should give it a try.
Why orange & dark chocolate Hot Cross Buns?
I mean… why not? If you’re just like me and love the dark chocolate and orange combination, then I promise you’ll absolutely adore my take on the Hot Cross Buns. Maybe it sounds a bit Christmassy, but hey! Christmas was just like yesterday… plus, who needs a specific time of the year to indulge some orange-choco goodies? Not me 🙂
Not only are we just right after the orange season and that means I made sure to pack my fridge with citrus zest preserves and candied orange peel in syrup, but honestly, I’m not a huge fan of raisins and other dried currants or berries. I used to hate them as a child, and would always pick them out from babkas or other sweets I was served. However, I learnt to accept them later in my adult life, and I now use them in my home-made granola or in my autumn inspired spiced pumpkin soft buns.
Nevertheless, I also really enjoy how well the salted butter goes with these chocolate and orange packed buns. There’s no better way than trying them and see for yourself. So here comes the recipe!
Ingredients (makes 15 pull-apart style buns)
For the buns:
- 230g whole milk, warm
- 10g fresh yeast
- 50g brown sugar
- 500g flour*
- 1 egg
- 1tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1tsp each ground nutmeg, cloves and ginger powder, or 1tbsp all spice
- a pinch of salt
- 100g cubed & softened butter
- zest from 2 oranges and 2 lemons (ecological, non treated) or 1tbsp each orange and lemon zest preserve
- 30g candied orange peel cut into small pieces**
- 70g dark chocolate chips (suitable for baking)**
- 1 egg for egg wash
*If you’re using bread flour, the dough will be even more easy to work with; on the other hand, all purpose flour will give you softer buns. But both work fine, it’s an easy dough to work with.
**I love this combo, but feel free to replace with the add-on of your liking. I would also recommend dried fruit pre-soaked in good rum and orange juice. In total 100g add-ons.
For the crosses:
- 60g all purpose flour
- 10g icing sugar
- 60g water
For brushing the hot buns:
- orange syrup from the candied orange peel
or
- syrup made of 30g sugar, 40g water and orange skin
Equipment
- kitchen scale
- stand mixer with dough hook attachment (optional, can also be done by hand)
- fine grater
- dough scraper
- baking tray
- baking paper
- pastry brush
- small piping bag (optional)
Instructions
1. Prep the ingredients. Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk, then add the brown sugar and stir until dissolved as well. In the bowl of a stand mixer add the milk-sugar-yeast mixture, the flour, egg, salt and spice and mix on low speed until everything comes together, then increase to medium and mix for about 2-3 minutes. If needed scrape down the walls of the bowl from time to time.
2. Add the softened butter and mix on medium-low until incorporated. It will split at first, make sure to scrape down the bowl edges from time to time. Increase to medium and mix for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough slips the edges and bottom of the bowl. If kneading by hand, it will probably take a bit longer, but you’re looking after the same result. The dough should feel smooth and should not be very sticky to touch when it’s ready.
3. Add the candied orange peel, the dark chocolate and the lemon and orange zest. If I have fresh oranges and lemons, I like to grate them directly into the bowl to get all those oils as well. Mix on low speed for a couple more minutes, just until the add-ons are more or less evenly distributed in the dough. Cover and let sit in a warm place for about 2 hours, or until it doubles in size.
4. After the dough has risen, with the help of a dough scraper transfer it on the working surface. The dough is so nice to work with that you don’t need any oil or flour to dust the working surface or to cover the hands. Using the scraper and a kitchen scale, weigh pieces of dough of 70-71-72g. If you’re following my recipe with the exact quantities, then you’re ok with this size. If you want to double-check, the safest way is to weigh the entire dough and divide by how many buns you’ll be making.
5. After dividing the dough, start rolling each piece into a roll. You can either make them perfectly round or rustic, whichever way you prefer. Place on your baking tray lined with baking paper. Cover (I’m using a kitchen towel) and let rest in a warm place for about an hour, or until they’re visibly risen and they’ve come closer together.
6. Meanwhile prepare the crosses dough/ batter. In a small bowl add the flour, icing sugar and water and with a fork or a small whisk stir everything together until no clumps remain. It will have the consistency of a thick batter (similar to the one for pancakes). Let sit on the counter until the buns are ready to be decorated, the flour will keep absorbing some of the water and it will thicken a tiny bit more. Prepare a small piping bag. I like to make one out of parchment cut into a triangle (how-to make a paper piping cone videos available on YouTube). But if you’re using a paper cone, only fill it with the batter at the exact moment when you’ll be piping, as the paper tends to get wet.
7. If you are using candied orange peel in syrup, just skip this step. If not, you’ll have to quickly fix a little syrup to brush the hot buns. In a small sauce pan add the sugar and water, place on medium-low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes until slightly reduced. Remove from heat, add a couple orange skin strips to infuse and let cool. If you don’t have fresh oranges around, you can just add half a tsp. orange or lemon extract instead.
8. When you see the buns are almost ready, preheat the oven to 200C, no fan. In a small bowl crack an egg, add a tbsp of milk/water (optional) and lightly beat with a fork. Brush the nice puffy rolls with the egg wash. Pour the crosses batter into the piping bag and decorate the buns. Bake in preheated oven at 200C no fan for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown on top and the crosses are still white. I am baking on the rack between the middle and bottom ones of the oven.
9. Remove from the oven and brush while hot with the orange syrup. Let cool in the tray for the first 15 minutes or so, then grab the baking paper and transfer to a cooling rack. Enjoy warm with salted butter. They are softest while warm, so enjoy the 2-3 days old ones toasted, with salted butter. Don’t forget to share with friends and family. I like to use the baking paper to nicely wrap them and give further. And if you’re baking a large batch, they freeze just fine for rainy days 🙂
Happy Easter and Happy Baking, everyone!
Hot Cross Buns with candied orange peel and dark chocolate
Equipment
- kitchen scale
- stand mixer with dough hook attachment (optional)
- fine grater
- dough scraper
- baking tray
- baking paper/ mat
- pastry brush
- small piping bag (optional)
Ingredients
For the buns dough:
- 230 g whole milk lukewarm
- 10 g fresh yeast crumbled
- 50 g brown sugar
- 500 g flour all purpose
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 100 g butter cubed & softened (I use salted)
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp orange zest
- 30 g candied orange peel finely chopped
- 70 g dark chocolate chips
- 1 egg for brushing
- 1 tbsp milk (optional)
For the crosses:
- 60 g flour all purpose
- 10 g icing sugar
- 60 g water
To brush the hot buns:
- syrup from the candied orange peel jar (to make separately, check above)
Instructions
- Weigh and prep the ingredients. Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk, then add the brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook attachment. Add the flour, egg, salt and spices, and mix on low until everything comes together. Increase speed to medium and knead for a couple of minutes.
- Add the cubed softened butter to the dough and mix on low-medium until incorporated. Then increase speed to medium and knead for about 5 minutes, or until the dough slips the edges and bottom of the bowl, it looks smooth and doesn't stick to the fingers anymore.
- Add the zest, candied orange peel and dark chocolate and mix on medium-low for a couple of minutes until the add-ins are well distributed throughout the dough. Cover and let sit in a warm place for about 2h, or until double in size.
- Use a dough scraper to transfer the dough on your clean working surface. The dough is nice to work with, no need for oil or extra flour. Divide and weigh 15 portions of dough, 70-72g each. Roll into buns and place on your baking tray lined with baking paper. Cover with a tea towel and let rise for about an hour, or until the buns have visibly risen and got closer to each other.
- Meanwhile prepare the batter for the cross decoration. In small bowl add the flour, icing sugar and water, and stir until no clumps remain. Let sit on the counter until ready to decorate.
- When the buns are almost ready, preheat oven to 200C. Lightly beat one egg and 1tbsp milx (or water) and brush the buns with the mixture. Pour the crosses batter in a small piping bag (or a parchment paper cone made at home) and pipe the crosses. Bake in the preheated oven with NO fan for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown on top and the crosses are still white.
- Remove from oven and brush while hot with the orange syrup. Let cool in the tray for the first 15 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Enjoy warm or toasted the next day, with butter. Remember to share with family and friends!
