Chocolate Orange Hot Cross Buns

For my Galleon Easter recipe I did chocolate orange hot cross buns, so I thought I’d make some for my family over Easter. This recipe I’ve done is slightly different to the one I wrote in the article- but hey ho they’re all tasty. There was a bit of a debate about whether these should be eaten with butter, nutella, or marmalade. I have come to the conclusion that all of these spreads are advisable. Easter is the time to encourage diabetes after all.

Ingredients

325g strong white bread flour

100g wholemeal bread flour

25g cocoa powder

50g caster sugar

1tsp salt

2tsps ground mixed spice

½tsp ground nutmeg

1 x 7g sachet of dried yeast

50g unsalted butter, diced

75g mixed dried fruit and peel

Zest of an orange

200ml lukewarm milk

3 eggs, lightly beaten

75g milk chocolate, drops or chopped

For the cross and glaze

4tbsps strong white bread flour

2tbsps cold water

4 tbsps of fresh orange juice

2tbsps caster sugar

Add both flours, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, mixed spice, nutmeg and yeast into a large bowl and mix.

Add the diced butter and rub into the flour mixture using your fingertips to form fine crumbs.

Stir in the dried fruit and orange zest.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the beaten eggs and lukewarm water.

Use your hands to draw all the ingredients together, making sure to pick up all of the flour.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. You might need to add a bit more flour to the surface if the dough is very wet, but be careful not to add too much.

Plop the ball of dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with clingfilm. Leave in a warm place for an hour until the dough has doubled in size.

Remove the risen dough from the bowl and knead lightly to deflate. Add the chocolate (I used a mixture of whatever I found in the cupboard basically) and knead gently into the dough.

Divide the dough equally into 12 balls. Roll them into neat balls and place onto two baking trays covered in baking parchment, allowing room for them to grow.

Pop the trays into large plastic bags and leave them for another 45 minutes in a warm place, or until about doubled in size.

Near the end of the second rising time, heat the oven to 200°C. To make the crosses you need to mix the bread flour and water to create a paste. It might need more water to make it pipe-able but only add a little at a time. Pipe a cross onto each bun.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until they make a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom.

5 minutes before the buns are done, heat the caster sugar and orange juice in a pan to make the glaze. Mines red because we only had blood oranges in the fridge, but I don’t mind because I think it looks pretty funky.

When the buns are baked, brush them all over with the hot glaze and then leave to cool on a wire rack.

Happy Easter!