This Easy Hot Cross Buns recipe is seriously the best! You will love how light, fluffy and perfectly spiced these Buns are, and they honesty are easy to make.
There really is nothing better than a Homemade Hot Cross Bun (especially enjoyed warm and with a whole heap of butter), and this recipe have you enjoying delicious light and fluffy buns in no time at all.
Hot Cross Bun Ingredients:
Please don’t be put off by the number of ingredients needed to make this recipe, most of these ingredients you may already have in our pantry!
- Plain Flour
- Yeast
- Caster Sugar
- Milk
- Bread Improver, this is optional but I do recommend it.
- Mixed Spice
- Cinnamon
- Butter
- Egg
- Raisins
- Currants
Ingredients for the White Icing ‘Crosses’
- Plain Flour
- Water
Glaze Ingredients:
To make the glaze, you will need:
- Apricot Jam – you can use white sugar in place of jam if you wish. You will need to cook the mixture down until the sugar dissolves.
- Water
How to Make Hot Cross Buns:
- Combine all of your dough ingredients and knead the dough.
- Let the dough rest until it doubles in size.
- Divide the dough into 12 even sized balls and place onto a baking tray to let them rise again.
- Make the paste for the ‘crosses’ and pipe.
- Brush the Buns while still warm with the Apricot Glaze and let them cool before enjoying.
My Recipe Tips:
- The time it takes for your dough to rise will be impacted by the temperature of the room. In cooler climates, it will take longer for your dough to rise.
- You can use other dried fruit for this recipe – eg sultanas, dried apricots etc. Alternatively you could also try this Fruitless Hot Cross Bun recipe.
- These buns are best enjoyed within 2 – 3 days of baking.
- This recipe is freezer friendly.
More Easter Recipes:
- Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Bun Recipe
- Easter Chocolate Ripple Cake
- Cranberry and White Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Bun
- Easy Fruitless Bun Recipe
- Chocolate Brioche Bun Pudding
Easy Hot Cross Buns
This Easy Hot Cross Bun Recipe will become your new go to Easter recipe! Both regular and Thermomix instructions included.
Equipment
- Baking Tray
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- ½ cup caster sugar 115g
- 1 & ½ cups lukewarm milk 375g
- 4 & ¼ cups plain flour 640g
- 2 tbsp bread improver
- 2 tsp mixed spice
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 50 grams butter melted
- 1 egg
- 1 cup raisins 150g
- ½ cup currants 50g
For the Crosses
- ½ cup plain flour
- ⅓ cup water
Apricot Glaze
- 2 tbsp apricot jam
- 2 tbsp water
Instructions
- Lightly oil a large bowl and set aside until needed.
- Line a large baking tray with baking paper and set aside until needed.
- Place the yeast, 2 teaspoons of the sugar and all of the milk into a small bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes. After this time the mixture should have started to foam which is a sign the yeast is active.
- In a large bowl, add the flour, bread improver, mixed spice and cinnamon, egg, butter, raisins and currants, remaining sugar and activated yeast mixture. Use a butter knife to mix and combine the ingredients until a dough forms – don't worry, it will be sticky.
- Turn the dough onto a floured bench and knead for approximately 8 minutes or until the dough begins to feel elastic.
- Place the dough into the prepared oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and sit in a warm place for around an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and divide into 12 equal pieces before rolling into balls.
- Place the dough balls into the prepared cake tin, cover with a tea towel and place the tin in a warm spot for another 30 minutes to allow the dough to again rise.
- While the dough is rising, preheat your oven to 200 degrees celsius (fan-forced).
- In a small bowl, combine the extra plain flour and water until smooth and place into a piping bag.
- Once the buns have again risen, pipe crosses onto them before placing the tray into the oven to bake for 20 minutes, or until the buns are golden brown and spring back when touched.
- To prepare your glaze, place the apricot jam and water into a small bowl and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds before mixing to combine.
- Brush the glaze over the still hot Hot Cross Buns before carefully transferring the buns to a wire rack to cool.
Thermomix Instructions
- Place the yeast, 2 teaspoons of the sugar and all of the milk into your Thermomix bowl and cook for 2 minutes on 37 degrees, speed 1. Leave yeast mixture in bowl whilst you move onto the next steps.
- Lightly oil a large bowl and set aside until needed.
- Line a large baking tray with baking paper and also set aside until needed.
- Add the flour, bread improver, mixed spice, cinnamon, egg, butter and remaining sugar into the Thermomix bowl. Mix for 15 seconds on speed 7 or until all ingredients have combined.
- Add the raisins and currants to the bowl and combine for 3 minutes using the kneading function.
- Place the dough into the prepared oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and sit in a warm place for around an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and divide into 12 equal pieces before rolling into balls.
- Place the dough balls into the prepared cake tin, cover with a tea towel and place the tin in a warm spot for another 30 minutes to allow the dough to again rise.
- While the dough is rising, preheat your oven to 200 degrees celsius (fan-forced).
- In a small bowl, combine the extra plain flour and water until smooth and place into a piping bag.
- Once the buns have again risen, pipe crosses onto them before placing the tray into the oven to bake for 20 minutes, or until the buns are golden brown and spring back when touched.
- To prepare your glaze, place the apricot jam and water into a small bowl and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds before mixing to combine.
- Brush the glaze over the still hot Hot Cross Buns before carefully transferring the buns to a wire rack to cool.
Notes
- These Hot Cross Buns are freezer friendly.
- You can use other dried fruits for this recipe.
- Please note in cooler climates, the time it takes for your Hot Cross Buns to rise will be longer.
Nutrition
Calories: 303kcalCarbohydrates: 64gProtein: 7gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 30mgPotassium: 267mgFiber: 3gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 89IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 64mgIron: 3mg
Tried this recipe? Please leave a rating and tag me on Instagram! Mention @createbakemake or tag #createbakemake!
Enjoy!!
If you get egg-cited for Easter you need all my favourite Easter recipes in the one place! Grab my Easter Recipe Ebook for 29 simple and delicious recipes to keep all the chocoholics in your life happy.
Gayle Chavez
I live in the U.S.A. you cannot find Hot Cross Buns at the grocery store, I found this recipe and figured it was easy enough….the only thing is I can’t find mixed spice or currants, so I substituted Pumpkin Pie Spice and golden raisins and they turned out great. Thank you for the recipe, I have a new Easter Tradition for my house.
Lauren Matheson
Oh thanks so much Gayle for your feedback, I’m thrilled you enjoy them 🙂
Sara @ Life's Little Sweets
I love hot cross buns, I am so glad to find a great & easy recipe to make them, pinning for later! Thank you for sharing this!
Danielle L
I’m not very good friends with yeast, hopefully this recipe will turn our relationship in a better direction!
Kim @landofzonkt
I’m so excited about these. I’ve never made a hot cross bun ever! So you have me all energised.
I’m also really glad I’m not the only one that gets a little freaked out when using yeast. Lol
Great job Hun these look so so good! x
laurenm83
Thanks Kim, this is a great recipe to start with. I can’t wait to see your buns!!!
Malinda @mybrownpaperpackages
Every year I tell myself I will make my own hot cross buns and then every year I don’t get around to it. This year!
laurenm83
You will have to do it this year Malinda, I’m going to check 😉
Georgia
Baking any sort of bread product has always been a struggle for me (yet I can whip up biscuits, cakes, macarons, everything non-bread blind! Weird, huh?), so I’ve gotten into the habit of asking my coworker (who makes fabulous hot cross buns) to make some for my birthday each year… (lucky it falls near Easter!)
This recipe looks like one I could take on alone though… Maybe…
brb I’m off to hover around my coworkers desk until he bakes for me.
laurenm83
I like your thinking Georgia! Baking with yeast also scares me too, and I’ve certainly had quite a few failures with it over the years. So far this recipe has served me well though.
Kat - The Organised Housewife
Oh yum! I really need to make some hot cross buns this year!
laurenm83
You sure do, there is nothing better than one of these straight from the oven 🙂
Bec @ The Plumbette
I have never baked hot cross buns before. I love your blog because you make things that i think are difficult and into the too hard basket easy.
laurenm83
Thank you Bec, that really means a lot to me xx You should definitely try these, the girl will love them.
Nicole- Champagne and Chips
I really must make some this year. I adore fruit buns but always just buy them. I made them one year and it was fabulous but I think I just ate buns all day, they smelt so good. These look fabulous.
laurenm83
Thanks Nicole. We love fruit buns too and it’s a little bit dangerous making your own as they are VERY hard to resist when warm.