Chocolate Hot-Cross Buns

Today you will get chocolate hot-cross buns! Never heard of this? It is tradition, I believe originating in the UK. Lent is broken on Good Friday with these buns, hence the cross on them. I thought this was such a special ritual and since Easter is approaching, I felt like introducing the recipe here. You may not celebrate as big as you would normally, but hey, I will definitely make something special event even if it is only the two of us celebrating Easter this time.

Normally traditional hot-cross buns are served with raisins and some spices. At least the recipe of BBC and Mary Berry indicated this. However, I was inspired by the German blogger Zimt, Zucker und Liebe who also went with a chocolate version. Since I am a huge chocolate lover and even have one category called “Everything chocolate“, I decided to try another recipe and make it all chocolate. Hence the hot-cross buns, but as the chocolate version.

If you are scared of yeast, don’t be, this is really simple. First you will make the starter the day before. Every time I make a starter with a teeny tiny amount of yeast (in this instance 1 gram), I am astonished when I wake up the next morning to see how very active yeast is. I have learned to use less yeast, you don’t need more than a maximum three grams for this recipe, that’s half an envelope, you could do with even less. Most of the time all what bread needs is one thing: time. You will need to wait before you can bite into super fluffy buns with chocolate flavor. But if my husband, who bakes all our bread and who is a seasoned bread baker, takes the first bun fresh out of the oven and polishes it off in one second, this really means something. These hot-cross buns must be good.

Credit: Kochtopf (in German)

Print Recipe

Chocolate Hot-Cross Buns

Serves: Between 8-9 buns

These chocolate hot-cross buns are prepared with a starter and are super easy to make. Fluffy and soft with a chocolate flavor.

Ingredients

• Starter
• 75 grams of bread flour
• 2 grams of active-dry yeast
• 50 grams of water
• 
  
• Main Dough
• 110 grams of milk
• 40 grams of butter
• 260 grams of bread flour
• 30 grams of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 grams of active-dry yeast
• 50 grams of chocolate chips
• 
  
• For the crosses
• 40 grams of bread flour or all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon of regular sugar
• 50 grams of water

Instructions

1

For the starter mix all ingredients with a spoon in a jar or small container with a lid and leave at room temperature overnight.

2

The next day (for me this was during lunch time) slightly heat milk and butter, just get them warm, not to hot to touch. Mix the starter and all remaining ingredients except for the chocolate chips in a large kneading bowl. Knead for five minutes on low, then for four minutes on second lowest. At the end knead in the chocolate chips with your hands. Form into a ball and let rise covered at a warm place for about 90 minutes to two hours. Cut dough into eight to nine equally sized buns and place them into a casserole dish. Cover them with a kitchen towel for 1 1/2 hours. Heat oven to 210 degrees Celsius. Slightly before baking mix the ingredients in a small bowl and pipe a cross onto each with this mix. Bake fore about 15-18 minutes. If you want, you can brush the warm buns with some heated apricot jam or honey. I left mine plain.

Interested in further Easter recipe? How about:

Pavlova with lemon curd and blueberries

Cute sheep cupcakes

Simple sour cream cookies as rabbits

American carrot cake with cream cheese filling