I’ve mentioned before that we are HUGE fans of Hot Cross Buns in our house and if I let them, my boys would happily eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. To help save some money, I’ve been making my own, however the problem with that is the smell of freshly baked Hot Cross Buns is just too irresistible and they seem to go faster than our bought ones!
To mix things up a little, I’ve been experimenting with some different ingredients and just quietly I think these Mars Bar Hot Cross Buns may be a winner.
There really isn’t a lot to this recipe, it’s just a regular Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Bun recipe, just with a piece of delicious Mars Bar hidden in the centre – sometimes it really is the simple things which taste the best!
Mars Bar Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon of active dry yeast
- ½ cup of caster sugar 115g
- 11/2 cups of lukewarm milk 375g
- 41/4 cups of plain flour 640g
- 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
- 50 g of melted butter
- 1 egg
- 200 g of chocolate chips
- 2 Mars Bars
- 2 tablespoons of apricot jam
- 2 tablespoons of water
- 100 g of milk chocolate - extra
Instructions
- Lightly oil a large bowl and set aside until needed.
- Line a 23cm cake tin 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, cinnamon, egg, butter, chocolate chips, 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 and the chocolate chips will have melted a little through the dough.
- 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.
- Chop the Mars Bars into 12 even pieces and remove the dough from the bowl. Divide the dough into 12 even pieces and place a piece of Mars Bar into the centre 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.
- Once the buns have again risen, place the tray into the oven to bake for 20 minutes, or until the buns 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.
- When the Hot Cross Buns have completely cooled, melt the extra milk chocolate and place it into a piping bag to pipe the crosses onto the buns.
Nutrition
Mars Bar Hot Cross Buns Thermomix Instructions
1. 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.
2. Lightly oil a large bowl and set aside until needed.
3. Line a 23cm cake tin with baking paper and also set aside until needed.
4. Add the flour, cinnamon, egg, butter, and remaining sugar into the Thermomix bowl. Mix for 15 seconds on speed 7 or until all ingredients have combined.
5. Add the chocolate chips to the bowl and combine for 3 minutes using the kneading function.
Follow instructions as above from step 6.
These actually disappeared quicker than our regular Hot Cross Buns (no surprises there) and I must admit it was the adults who needed to held back from eating these instead of the kids for once!
These really are a special treat, and for the sake of my waistline, I don’t think I should make these again until Easter!
Do you love Hot Cross Buns too? Have you made any yet this year?
Jo @ You had us at hello
These take hot cross bun joy to a whole new level! Must give these a whirl, thanks Lauren xx
Nicole- Champagne and Chips
Insane. But I really want to try them 🙂
Sonia Life Love Hiccups
I thought maybe I had overdosed on hot cross buns this week, but now having seen yours – I think I have room for more 😉 xx
Lucy @ Bake Play Smile
Have I told you how awesome you are for making Mars Bar Hot Cross Buns?? If not, I’m telling you now! AMAZING!!!
Malinda @mybrownpaperpackages
I wonder if I made these if I could manage to hide them from the kids … YUM!!
Jessica @ Sweet Menu
This is not just a simple recipe Lauren, its a spectacular one! Mars bars IN a hot cross bun? It’s something my dreams are made of!
laurenm83
You are too kind Jessica!
Sammie @ The Annoyed Thyroid
Mars-vellous! These look sooooo good!
laurenm83
Thanks 🙂
Vicki @ Boiled Eggs & Soldiers
Wow! I haven’t made any yet but those ones look so good. Mars Bars in the middle – genius!
laurenm83
I hope this has given you some inspiration to get started 🙂