Of course the first time I made hot cross buns, I made them Desi. Obviously I had to mix in some Chai. These are my Dark Chocolate and Chai Hot Cross Buns.
You know me too well.
Dark chocolate. Chai. Rose. These three together come together in this recipe and create possibly the most epic hot cross bun combination ever.
Could we call this a Hot Cross Bun x Chai x Chocolate x Rose collaboration?
What I have created here is an incredibly dense bread bun, with lots of chocolate chip goodness, and the intense flavour of Chai. You can say that the bun is kind of laced with the Chai and rose flavours, hitting you at the end of each bite. The result is a Hot Cross Bun that I love serving up to everyone that doesn’t want something overly sweet but is still ultra rich and decadent.
What is a Hot Cross Bun?
A hot cross bun is a simple bread using laced with spiced and dried fruit, marked with a cross on top. The bread is eaten traditionally on Good Friday marking the end of Lent, but if you live in Australia like me, then you know that these delicious buns make an appearance as early as January. Crazy right?
The bun itself is a beautiful brioche-y bread made with yeast, egg, and butter (nomnom). Traditionally the spices are quite simple, using ground cinnamon and all spice (and sometimes some orange zest too) which are paired with juicy sultanas. You have to remember that this is not cake – hot cross buns are not meant to be light and spongy. They are by design and purpose ultra dense and a little bit heavy.
How do you make a Hot Cross Bun?
There are a few key components to my recipe (mostly the same with a standard Hot Cross Bun recipe!)
Flour – plain flour works well or even bread flour. Bread flour is basically higher in protein and the result is a denser, deeper flavour.
Yeast – You can use instant yeast/rapid rise yeast which is what I prefer to use. Even though I use instant yeast and I could technically use it directly in the dough, I still go through the process of dissolving it in a warm liquid. Alternatively use active/dry yeast which absolutely must be dissolved in warm liquid and a sugar (or sweetener). Finally there is a fresh yeast which can be used too but this comes in block form – I’ve actually never used this kind.
Sugar – this goes without saying because ultimately this is a sweet bread bun, but it actually is incredibly important in ANY bread recipe. The sugar is what reacts with the yeast and allows the dough to beautifully rise. Of course you can substitute sugar with a sweetener or maple syrup even, but be wary that this will alter the flavour quite a lot!
All spice and Cinnamon – the two spices uses in a traditional Hot Cross Bun are crucial here too. It is the lovely all spice that gives the buns that truly distinct flavour. You could substitute all spice with mixed spice if you cannot find it.
Dutch Cocoa Powder – okay I suppose you could use regular cocoa powder, but the Dutch cocoa powder just transforms this recipe. The Dutch Cocoa makes everything even richer than you could otherwise imagine. I highly recommend going the extra mile and investing in some Dutch Cocoa for this recipe.
Dark Chocolate – The first time I made these, I used really rich 80% dark chocolate adding to the richness of the buns. I recommend anything 60-70% for this recipe. If you want something not as intense, and maybe a bit sweeter, I suggest using milk chocolate instead of dark, and NOT altering the sugar quantities – changing those ratios will mean changing up the amount of flour too.
Syrup – The beautiful shiny sheen over the buns comes from a delicious syrup to brush them. You have a couple of options here. I use either Rose Syrup or some Rose Water mixed with Honey to brush the buns HOT out of the oven. The smell of the syrup hitting the hot buns is so delicious. It’ll be hard to resist the buns.
Dark Chocolate & Chai Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients
- 520 g plain flour
- 65 g butter at room temperature
- 300 ml warm milk
- 100 g white sugar
- 35 g Dutch Cocoa powder
- 1½ tsp ground coffee
- 2¼ tsp instant yeast
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1½ tsp ground ginger
- 2½ tsp ground cardamom
- ¼ tsp all spice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- pinch of salt
- 200 g dark chocolate chopped finely
- 2 tbsp plain flour add water to the flour to make paste to draw the cross
- 2 tbsp rose syrup or honey
I absolutely love this hot cross bun recipe, and I love making these for my family and friends. I don’t think there is anything more special that preparing hot cross buns for Easter for my loved ones.
As always, leave a comment below and tell me how you went with the recipe. Share your photos with me on Instagram @theminiaturelife and be sure to DM me!
