Chocolate Hot Cross Buns
Deliciously soft and chocolatey hot cross buns
Ingredients
Chocolate Bun Dough
- 100 ml warm milk
- 1 pkt instant yeast
- 1½ tsp granulated sugar
- 80 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- ½ tsp vanilla essence
- 80 ml buttermilk
- ½ cup castor sugar
- 3½ cups cake flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 150 g dark chocolate chips
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp water
Floured Cross
- ½ cup cake flour
- 5 tbsp water
Glaze
- 2 tbsp apricot jam
- 2 tsp water
Instructions
- Add the milk, granulated sugar and yeast to a mixing bowl - give it a stir and let the mixture sit for 10 -15 minutes until the yeast blooms.
- Add the dough hook attachment to your stand mixer. (If you don't have a stand mixer then use a mixing bowl and a spatula to mix the ingredients).
- To the yeast mixture, add the butter, eggs, vanilla essence and castor sugar and mix.
- Then add the flour, salt, cinnamon, cocoa powder and mix until the ingredients are mostly incorporated and then add the buttermilk.
- Lastly add the chocolate chips and mix for 2 minutes - kneading in the bowl.
- Transfer the dough to a floured surface and continue to knead by hand for 5 minutes.
- Place the dough in a lightly oil greased bowl, cover with clingwrap and a kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm area for 1½ hours.
- Grease and line a 33x22cm baking pan or baking sheet.
- Shape the dough into 12 even sized balls - use a kitchen scale to weight each ball (weighing about 90-95g each). Place on the baking pan/sheet, leaving enough space in between.
- Cover with clingwrap and a kitchen towel and let it rise for a second time for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Crack the egg and mix with water to prepare the egg wash and brush each bun with it.
- Mix the flour and water for the cross toping. Place in a piping bag/ziploc bag and snip a small piece off. Pipe a line through the centre of each bun and then pipe another line in the opposite direction to form the cross.
- Bake for 25 minutes - remove from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes.
- For the glaze - add the apricot jam and water to a small bowl and microwave for 20 seconds.
- Brush the glaze over the warm chocolate buns. Serve and enjoy!