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Fill your home with the divine aromas of fruity, lightly spiced Hot Cross Buns this Easter. This easy homemade recipe gets you impressive and delicious buns, every time.
Years ago I published my Chocolate Orange Hot Cross Buns recipe – I thought it was time I share my traditional Hot Cross Buns version, as this is really my favourite kind to make during spring, filled with sultanas, candied fruit and spices, with a sticky glaze and unmistakable white cross on top.
I am sure the fact we only tend to eat these British classics in spring and Easter are what make them so special. I know I associate them with everything that goes with this time of year… family, food, daffodils and sunshine.
If you’re intimidated about making your own Hot Cross Buns from scratch, please don’t be!
I’ll be honest, they’re not the quickest bake in the world, but this step-by-step recipe with tips and tricks will see you through – it’ll be worth it, I promise!
Why you’ll love this Hot Cross Bun recipe
⭐️ Homemade, super fresh beauties are far superior to shop bought
⭐️ Perfect for Easter breakfast or spring snacks
⭐️ Smell and taste glorious
Sarah’s Notes
After plenty of trial and error to get the right balance of quality and simplicity for traditional Hot Cross Buns, there are a few things to note before starting this recipe:
✅ Leave time for the rise: I find a 3 hour rise in total for the dough is about right, so don’t forget to leave time for this in your day. However, the bake time is only about 20 minutes and I reckon about 30 minutes of prep beforehand is all that’s needed.
✅ Use fast action yeast: I always use this instead of any other kind because it makes the whole process easier as you can simply add it to your dry ingredients without any prior dissolving. Just make sure yours is in date. Last year my buns failed to rise properly and when I checked the date on the packet, I realised it had expired – disappointing!
✅ You will need to knead: There aren’t many recipes when I will add kneading if I can avoid it (even my bread recipe doesn’t involve kneading), however I have tried this recipe with and without, and I do think it needs this step to get the rise and fluffiness we want. Five minutes will do, just until it’s springy.
How to knead:
Lightly flour the worktop and your hands (don’t use too much flour as it will transfer into the dough), turn the dough out and push it away from you with the heel of your hand, then fold it back over itself, turn and repeat.
Don’t be too rough with it, this can be done lightly with your body weight behind you. It should be smooth and elastic-like (see the process images below for a guide.)
✅ Shaping the buns: Once the dough has risen and doubled in size, portion it off into 12 pieces equal using a knife or a dough scraper if you have one. Form the pieces into buns by stretching the edges of the dough down and under itself with the edge of your hand. They should look like neat, tight balls before you place them onto an oiled baking tray, with some space between them.
Hot Cross Buns Ingredients
- Milk – Use whatever you have at home, but whole or semi-skimmed is best. You’ll need a little for the milk wash and cross topping before baking too.
- Butter – I use unsalted but add a little salt in later for flavour. You can use salted if you prefer though.
- Strong white bread flour – You’ll need this type rather than regular flour because it’s processed for making bread and will give us more light and fluffy buns.
- Fine salt – Just a teaspoon for flavour. They will be a little bland without it.
- Fast action yeast – It’s sometimes called ‘instant yeast’ or ‘quick rise yeast’. It’s usually sold in sachets and we need one 7g sachet.
- Spices – Mixed spice and cinnamon.
- Caster sugar – This is finer than granulated sugar, and if you’re outside of the UK may be called superfine sugar.
- Fruit – I use candied peel and sultanas in my buns because I think they’re the best combination of juiciness and tanginess.
- Egg – Make sure you beat this before adding it to the mixture.
- For the cross – Milk and plain flour.
- For the glaze after baking – A little apricot jam.
How to make Hot Cross Buns
1. Heat the milk then stir in the butter. Put aside to cool, as per the full recipe below.
2. Meanwhile, mix the flour, salt, yeast, mixed spice, cinnamon and sugar in a bowl.
3. Add the candid peel and sultanas and stir.
4. When the milk and butter mixture is tepid, pour it all into the flour mixture.
5. Mix a little and add in the beaten egg.
6. Bring the mixture together to form a dough, turn out and knead until springy.
7. Place in a clean, oiled bowl and cover with oiled cling film. Allow to rise in a warm place.
8. When doubled in size, portion it into 12 pieces.
9. Form the pieces into buns and place onto an oiled baking tray. Cover again and allow to rise.
10. Gently brush the buns with milk, then make the mixture for the crosses and pipe them onto each bun. Bake in a preheated oven, as per the recipe below, then brush with apricot jam immediately.
Storing
The buns are best eaten on the day they’re made but you can keep them in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
I like to eat them without toasting when they’re very fresh, and after the first day I toast them before eating. Always with lashings of butter, of course!
If they go a little stale, you could always turn them into Hot Cross Bun Bread & Butter Pudding for dessert!
Recipe Tip
Making the cross toppings
This is simple enough to do. Simply mix 50g of plain flour with about 2 tablespoons of milk until it makes a soft paste. You don’t want it too thick that it won’t easily pipe on, nor do you want it runny so it spills out.
Use a piping bag (or a sandwich bag with the end snipped off) to draw on your crosses before baking the buns.
For the shiny, sticky glaze
This gives a lovely flavour and texture to the buns. Simply brush on some apricot jam after they come out of the oven. Delicious!
More Easter Treats…
Easter Ideas
Mini Egg Cheesecake
Sweet Things
Chocolate Easter Bark {with Maltesers Bunnies}
Sweet Things
Perfect Creme Egg Brownies
Easter Ideas
Easter Egg Cheesecake
FAQs
They are savoury and sweet bread buns made with light spices and dried fruit that originate in Britain, and are traditionally made and eaten on Good Friday, or over Easter to mark the end of lent (although these days they’re around for most of spring.)
They are marked with a cross on top to commemorate Jesus’ crucifixion, although there are suggestions that they date back even further, with the cross representing the seasons within pagan origins.
A cup of tea and lashings of butter is my preference! But you could also try honey or jam, and some people love cheese on theirs too.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Hot Cross Buns Recipe
Ingredients
- 220 ml (1 cup) Milk
- 50 g (2 oz) Butter
- 450 g (3.75 cups) Strong white bread flour
- 1 tsp Fine salt
- 3 tsp Mixed spice
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
- 45 g (0.25 cup) Caster sugar
- 60 g (0.5 cup) Candied peel
- 80 g (0.5 cup) Sultanas
- 1 Egg, Beaten
For the milk wash:
- 2 tbsp Milk
For the cross:
- 2 tbsp Milk
- 50 g (0.5 cup) Plain flour
For the glaze:
- 2 tbsp Apricot jam
Instructions
- Heat the milk, either on the hob or in the microwave, until it is hot but not boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Put to one side and allow the butter to melt into the milk as the milk cools.
- Meanwhile, mix the flour, salt, yeast, mixed spice, cinnamon and sugar in a bowl.
- Add the candid peel and sultanas and stir.
- When the milk and butter mixture is tepid, pour it all into the flour mixture and add in the beaten egg.
- Bring the mixture together to form a dough and turn out and knead for 5 minutes until springy.
- Place in a clean, oiled bowl and cover with oiled cling film.
- Allow to rise in a warm place for about 2 hours.
- After this time, the dough should have doubled in size. Portion it into 12 pieces and form into buns by stretching the edges of each one down and under using the edge of your hand, until they make neat, tight balls. Place onto an oiled baking tray.
- Cover again with the oiled clingfilm and allow to rise for 45 minutes in a warm place.
- Heat your oven to 180°C fan/200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.
- Very gently brush the tops of the buns with the 2 tbsp milk, being very careful not to dent them. (This helps keep the tops of the buns soft.)
- For the crosses, mix the flour with enough water to make a soft paste. Use a piping bag (or sandwich bag with the end snipped off) to pipe crosses onto each bun.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until they are a lovely dark golden colour.
- As soon as the buns come out of the oven, brush over the apricot jam.
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Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutritional values are per portion unless otherwise stated.
