Chocolate Chip & Orange Hot Cross Buns Recipe (Soft, Fluffy & Bakery‑Style Easter Bake)
Soft, fluffy and bakery‑style, these Chocolate Chip & Orange Hot Cross Buns are a homemade Easter treat bursting with warm spice, citrus zest and gooey chocolate. Made completely from scratch with a pillowy dough and a classic hot cross bun cross, they bake up tall, golden and irresistibly soft — the perfect British Easter bake for families.
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Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 500 grams bread flour
- 70 grams caster sugar
- 8 grams salt
- 100 grams Chocolate chips
- 5 orange zest
- 2 teaspoon mixed spice
- 200 ml Whole milk
- 2 eggs
- 45 grams butter
- 13 grams active dry yeast
- 2tbsp apricot jam
- 80 grams plain flour
- 100 ml water
- 50 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
Instructions
- Combine the dry ingredients - Add the bread flour, sugar, salt, mixed spice, and orange zest to a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
- Prepare the yeast mixture - Gently warm the milk and orange juice until it is lukewarm - not hot, or it will kill the yeast. Stir in the yeast until dissolved and activated.
- Add the wet ingredients - Melt the butter. Add the beaten eggs, melted butter and the warm milk‑yeast mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients. Add the chocolate chips and use a fork to bring everything together into a shaggy dough.
- Knead the dough - Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead for around 10 minutes, adding flour to your hands and the surface as needed, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.
- First prove - Place the dough into a clean, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
- Knock back & second prove - Turn the dough out onto the work surface and knead again for 2–3 minutes. Return it to the bowl, cover and leave to prove for another 1 hour, or until doubled.
- Shape the buns - Oil and flour a baking tray. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, shape each into a ball and arrange them on the tray with space between each one. Cover with cling film and leave to prove for 40 minutes
- Add the cross - Mix the plain flour with the water to make a smooth paste, using a piping bag or snipping the end off a sandwich bag, pipe the cross onto the buns. I piped a "N" onto mine as this is the first letter of my sons name - he said the chocolate hot cross buns were his!
- Bake - Preheat the oven to 200°C. Bake the buns for 15 minutes, or until lightly golden on top.
- Glaze - Warm the apricot jam (microwave works well). Brush the hot buns with the warm jam to give them a glossy finish
- Cool & serve - Allow the buns to cool in the tray before lifting them out. Serve with plenty of butter - absolutely delicious.
Notes
• Chocolate chips - Use baking‑stable chips so they don’t melt into the dough.
• Shaping - Lightly oil your hands to make shaping the buns easier and prevent sticking.
• The cross - A simple flour‑and‑water paste pipes cleanly and holds its shape during baking.
• Glaze - Brush with warm apricot jam or sugar syrup straight from the oven for that classic glossy bakery finish
• Dough texture: This is a soft, enriched dough - slightly sticky is normal. Avoid adding too much extra flour or the buns won’t stay fluffy.
• Proving: A warm, draft‑free spot helps the dough rise properly. If your kitchen is cool, the first rise may take longer