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If you're looking for fluffy, spiced sweet rolls to start the Easter holidays off right then there's no better recipe to bookmark than these Hot Cross Buns!
These holiday buns are loaded with spice, juicy sweet raisins, and decorated with a cross, so they are perfect for celebrating Easter.
These hot cross buns come out of the oven light and fluffy, ready for you to add a simple sugar glaze to the tops before serving them with butter, jam, and sweet spreads of your choice.
Traditionally served on Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, or on Easter Day, along with Peach Glazed Spiral Ham, Scalloped Potatoes, Apple Walnut Cranberry Salad, and Asiago Bruschetta Roasted Asparagus, these Hot Cross Buns are certain to become an annual tradition to make when you make your Easter Recipes.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- A holiday favorite: There's something about hot cross buns that gets everyone excited for the Easter holidays. While the ingredients are similar to any other sweet bun, these hot cross buns offer comforting warm spices with chunks of juicy sweet golden raisins!
- Reasonable time to make: Apart from the rising time where you can literally go get on with other daily tasks, these hot cross buns only require 45 minutes of your dedicated time. That's a pretty sweet deal considering how scrumptious they are and how rewarding it is to have made your very own hot cross buns for Easter.
- Make ahead: Like most buns and breads, these hot cross buns can be made ahead of time and either stored at room temperature or in the freezer. Ideal for when you are planning and preparing for the busy holiday season ahead!
- Versatile: You can't go wrong with serving freshly baked hot cross buns to friends and family. And if you don't enjoy raisins or certain spices in this traditional recipe, simply omit them or swap them out. You could even add in some chocolate chips for a little decadence!
Why This Recipe Works
- Tried and True. This is a tried and tested recipe that I love making every year to celebrate the Easter holidays. As such, I will guide you through simple and clear recipe instructions within this post with corresponding in-process images so that there's zero guesswork on your part and you can wow your friends and family!
- Low Maintenance. Most of the recipe time is dedicated to leaving the dough to rise, which means that you can get on with other things in between the recipe steps.
- Tips and Tricks. Useful tips and frequently asked questions are added in this recipe post for further clarification, making the recipe a breeze to understand and follow.
- Adaptations. I've included a few ways that you could adapt these hot cross buns with simple recipe substitutions and suggestions.
What You’ll Need To Make Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients
Below, I discuss the ingredients and possible substitutions if you don't have a specific ingredient. However, if you are looking for the specific measurements of each ingredient, scroll down to the bottom of this article, just above the comments, for the printable recipe card, which includes all the ingredients and the specific amounts of each one.
- Rum. You can use apple juice instead of rum if you don't want to bake with alcohol.
- Golden raisins. These are also known as sultana raisins and are typically smaller, sweeter, and juicier than regular raisins or currents. You can certainly use dark raisins instead if you don't have golden raisins.
- Instant yeast. Always check the instant yeast bought is fresh otherwise this will affect how the hot cross buns rise.
- Sugar. Brown sugar is a must-use for the hot cross buns as it adds richer flavor and moisture to the dough although white granulated sugar can be used instead if you're in a pinch. Use white granulated sugar for making the white crosses.
- Butter. Make sure that the butter is at room temperature so that it incorporates easily and well with the rest of the hot cross bun dough ingredients. I usually always use unsalted butter when baking but if you only have salted butter on hand, simply omit the salt listed.
- Eggs. It's best to bring the eggs to room temperature when baking.
- Egg yolk. Only one egg yolk is required. Keep the egg white aside for the egg wash.
- Flour. I've used all-purpose flour as it's a sturdy flour for baked goods. You could also use bread flour for these hot cross buns instead.
- Cinnamon. Don’t skip these spices as they are what separates these buns from the rest.
- Allspice.
- Cloves.
- Nutmeg. I prefer freshly grated nutmeg but you can also use ground nutmeg instead.
- Salt. Omit the salt if you've used salted butter.
- Orange zest. This adds to the delicious zing in these hot cross buns.
- Egg white. Use the egg white set aside when separating the one egg yolk from the egg white. This will be used for the egg wash.
- Milk. Use a full cream milk or low fat milk in this recipe. When using milk for the hot cross buns, I prefer using full cream as it provides greater moisture and flavor. It's also important that the milk is warm for proper yeast activation. You can use water instead of milk for the egg wash.
- Water
- Confectioners sugar. Make sure to measure your sugar as too much can cause an overly sweet glaze.
- Vanilla extract. I recommend using a high quality vanilla extract in this recipe and all your sweet treats for best flavor.
How To Make Hot Cross Buns
- Combine the rum and raisins together in a bowl and heat in the microwave until very hot. Allow to sit for 15 minutes.
- In a bowl, combine the yeast, brown sugar, granulated sugar and the warm milk. Stir well and let sit till frothy. (If it doesn't get frothy, your yeast is dead and you will need to begin again with new yeast.) If your yeast is fresh, you can skip this step altogether and move to step 3.
- Add the yeast, brown sugar, white sugar, flour, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, salt and orange zest to the bowl of a stand mixer
- Slowly mix all ingredients to combine. Then add the liquid ingredients, milk, butter and eggs to the mixer and mix with the paddle until combined.
- Add the raisins and rum and combine.
- Using the dough hook attachment, knead the dough for about 5 minutes on 2 speed. The dough is ready when it is stretchy and smooth.
- Gather the dough in your hand and form a ball, then place back in the bowl. Cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap. Place in a warm place and let it rise till doubled in size, about an hour.
- Spray a baking pan with cooking spray. Remove the dough and divide into two equal pieces, divide each piece into 6 equal pieces, or 12 total. (You can make smaller rolls and make 18 rolls.)
- Take each piece of dough and roll it into a ball, then place in the pan.
- Combine the egg yolk and milk and brush over the tops of the rolls. Cover with a tea towel and let rise until doubled.
- Mix the flour, sugar, water and vanilla together in a small bowl. Place in a piping bag with a small circle piping tip, or use a ziplock bag instead. Then clip off the very end of the bag to create a very small hole.
- Starting near the bottom of one side of a roll, slowly pipe a small line across the roll to the bottom of the other side. Turn the roll to make a cross and pipe another line across the roll making the X in the middle. Repeat piping over each roll.
- Place the pan in the 350 degree preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes until the rolls are golden.
- Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes, then spoon the glaze over the rolls.
- In a small bowl, combine the confectioners sugar, milk and vanilla.
Pro Recipe Tips
- You can make these hot cross buns gluten-free by using a gluten-free flour instead of all-purpose flour or bread flour.
- You can enjoy your hot cross buns at room temperature or fresh out of the oven. Slicing leftover hot cross buns in halves and toasting them in a toaster or the oven is another delicious way to serve these up together with some butter, jams, and jellies.
- It's really important to measure the flour accurately for the hot cross buns dough. To do so, I usually spoon the flour in the measuring cup so that it isn't packed. It's best to start with a little less flour and then add little amounts as needed – this will ensure that the dough stays soft.
- I highly recommend using a stand mixer for making the dough as it's much easier than kneading by hand. Nevertheless, you can knead by hand if you wish – it's likely to take about 10 minutes of hand kneading.
- You'll know that your dough is ready to rise when it has become smooth in appearance and elastic, stretching when pulled instead of breaking.
- To make the 'X' cross on the top of the raw buns, simply pipe the thick paste over the top of each bun from side to side and repeat this motion across the opposite way to create an X.
Variations
- Flour: I've only ever tested these hot cross buns with all-purpose flour or bread flour since it's my choice of sturdy flour when making dough and adding ingredients like raisins or nuts that need adequate suspension. From my experience of making gluten-free breads and buns, I believe that these hot cross buns would still turn out well when using gluten-free blends such as King Arthur or Bob's Red Mill.
- Rum: The addition of rum adds to the overall flavor of this warm and spicy hot cross buns. If you don't want any alcohol in your food, apple juice is a good alternative to use.
- Raisins: I've used golden raisins for these hot cross buns which are the classic choice for this baked treat. They are naturally smaller, sweeter, and juicier than regular raisins. You can certainly use regular dark raisins instead or even omit the raisins entirely and use chocolate chips instead for a decadent batch of chocolate chip hot cross buns!
What To Serve With Hot Cross Buns
These hot cross buns are so scrumptious when served fresh from the oven. Serve them with butter, sweet jams, sweet spreads, and whipped cream if you like!
Leftover hot cross buns can also be halved and then toasted with some softened butter spread across the crispy toasted tops – yummy!
FAQs
WHAT ARE HOT CROSS BUNS? Hot cross buns are sweet and spiced buns that traditionally include raisins in the dough and are marked with a cross on the tops of each bun which symbolizes the cross of Christ's crucifixion. The spice added to the bun dough is said to represent the spices that were used to embalm Christ when he died.
As such, hot cross buns have become a traditional food for Christians around the globe every year over the duration of the Easter holidays in remembrance and thanksgiving to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
HOW SHOULD I STORE THESE HOT CROSS BUNS? These hot cross buns can be stored (once fully cooled) in the refrigerator in an airtight container or wrapped with plastic wrap for up to 5 days.
Leftover hot cross buns can also be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple of days. Just like bread rolls, these hot cross buns do run the risk of turning stale for extended storage (whether at room temperature or refrigerated).
CAN I MAKE THESE HOT CROSS BUNS AHEAD OF TIME? Yes, you can! While I love eating freshly baked hot cross buns straight from the oven, you can make a batch or two of these hot cross buns a day or 2 ahead of time and store them in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
If you plan on making your hot cross buns further in advance then I suggest that you freeze them.
In both cases, I recommend only adding the glaze to the tops of the buns just prior to serving. That way, you have the option of reheating the buns in the oven without the glaze melting off.
If you like this recipe, be sure to check out this Maritozzi recipe, which are Sweet Buns with whipped cream.
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Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup rum or apple juice
- 1 ½ cup golden or dark raisins
- 3 teaspoons Instant yeast
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 4 1/2 cups (540 g) all purpose flour or bread flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons orange zest
- 1 1/4 cups warm milk
- 6 Tablespoons butter room temperature
- 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk (save the white for the top)
Egg Wash:
- 1 egg white
- 1 tablespoon milk or water
For Crosses:
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon granulated white sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Glaze:
- 1/2 cup confectioners sugar sifted
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Combine the rum and raisins together in a bowl and heat in the microwave until very hot. Allow to sit for 15 minutes.
- In a bowl, combine the yeast, brown sugar, granulated sugar and the warm milk. Stir well and let sit till frothy. (If it doesn't get frothy, your yeast is dead and you will need to begin again with new yeast.) If your yeast is fresh, you can skip this step altogether and move to step 3.
- Add the yeast, brown sugar, white sugar, flour, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, salt and orange zest to the bowl of a stand mixer and combine.
- Add the liquid ingredients, milk, butter and eggs to the mixer and mix with the paddle until combined. Add the raisins and rum and combine.
- Using the dough hook attachment, knead the dough for about 5 minutes on 2 speed. The dough is ready when it is stretchy and smooth.
- Gather the dough in your hand and form a ball, then place back in the bowl. Cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap. Place in a warm place and let it rise till doubled in size, about an hour.
- Spray a baking pan with cooking spray. Remove the dough and divide into two equal pieces, divide each piece into 6 equal pieces, or 12 total. (You can make smaller rolls and make 18 rolls.)
- Take each piece of dough and roll it into a ball, then place in the pan.
- Combine the egg yolk and milk and brush over the tops of the rolls. Cover with a tea towel and let rise until doubled.
- Mix the flour, sugar, water and vanilla together in a small bowl. Place in a piping bag with a small circle piping tip, or use a ziplock bag instead. Then clip off the very end of the bag to create a very small hole.
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Starting near the bottom of one side of a roll, slowly pipe a small line across the roll to the bottom of the other side. Turn the roll to make a cross and pipe another line across the roll making the X in the middle. Repeat piping over each roll.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for 20 minutes until the rolls are golden.
- In a small bowl, combine the confectioners sugar, milk and vanilla.
- Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes, then spoon the glaze over the rolls.
Jenn says
So grateful for this super detailed post and recipe — I’ve wanted to make hot cross buns forever and I’m beyond excited to try it out! So perfect for Easter — Thank you!
Mirlene says
Love making my own buns instead of buying from the store. I’ll definitely use the apple juice intead of rum in case my kids get their hand on them!
Anjali says
These little buns were so delicious and made my kitchen smell amazing!! They were soft and fluffy and tasted great with our brunch spread!
Jill says
Your recipe was simple to follow and so delicious. Thank you!!
Sara Welch says
Hot cross buns are an Easter dinner staple in my home! Looking forward to giving this recipe a try; looks too good to pass up, indeed!