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12 mini egg chocolate hot cross buns in a lined oven tray with more mini eggs on the side.

Mini Egg Chocolate Hot Cross Buns


  • Author: Kate Alexandra
  • Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
  • Yield: 12 buns 1x
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Description

These super soft, fluffy hot cross buns are studded with chocolate mini eggs for the ultimate Easter treat. Fragrant with cinnamon and topped with a creamy vanilla custard cross, you won’t be able to stop at just one.


Ingredients

Units Scale

For the hot cross buns –

  • 425g white bread flour
  • 7g instant yeast
  • 30g brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 250g milk, lukewarm
  • 50g unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 160g mini eggs (2 small packets)
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 2 tablespoons caster sugar

For the regular flour cross –

  • 50g plain white flour
  • 4 tablespoons water
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the vanilla custard cross –

  • 1 tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch)
  • 45g caster sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 200g milk
  • 20g unsalted butter, at room temperature

Instructions

  1. Make the dough. Add 425g bread flour, 7g instant yeast, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon cinnamon and 30g brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix to combine with a spatula or wooden spoon, then add 250ml lukewarm milk (I find popping it into the microwave for 30 – 45 seconds does the trick here), 50g melted butter and the egg. Fit your mixer with the kneading hook and knead the dough until smooth and supple. This will take about 10 minutes – stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl about 3 times just to make sure everything is being properly mixed together. Once the dough is smooth (it will still feel a little sticky), and pulling away from the sides of the bowl, cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave it in a warm place to rise, until it’s doubled in size. PRO TIP: The time your dough takes to rise is going to depend on the temperature and humidity in your kitchen. Take a photo of the dough as you cover it so you can easily compare it to see how it’s doing. It could take an hour, or it could take 40 minutes. Watch the dough, rather than the clock.
  2. Make your cross. You have two options here. For the flour cross, mix 50g of plain flour, 4 tablespoons of water and 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract with a fork or a small whisk in a bowl. You want it to resemble a smooth, thick paste. Add a little more flour if you think it’s too runny, or add more water to thin it out. Transfer the mixture into a piping bag, or use a ziplock sandwich bag, and set aside. For the vanilla custard cross, whisk 1 tablespoon of cornflour, 45g of caster sugar, the egg and 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract in a bowl. Heat the milk until it’s ALMOST simmering in a small pot over medium heat, then slowly drizzle half into the bowl with the flour and sugar, whisking as you go. Transfer everything back into the pot over medium heat and cook, whisking continuously until the custard has thickened. Add the 20g of butter and whisk to combine. It should be smooth and thick at this point. Transfer the custard to a piping bag or ziplock sandwich bag and pop it into the fridge.
  3. Add the mini eggs. Either with your mini eggs still in their packet, or in a ziplock bag, give them a few whacks with a rolling pin to lightly crush them. Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface and stretch it into a rectangle, roughly 12″/30cm by 18″45cm. Sprinkle the crushed mini eggs evenly over the dough, press them lightly into the dough, then fold one-third of the dough on top of itself, and then fold the other third on top. Press to seal the dough together, then turn the dough so the short side is facing you. Roll it up into a cylinder, tuck the ends in and form it into a rough ball. Divide the dough into 12 roughly equal pieces (about 80g each if you’re using a scale). 
  4. Form the buns. Gently flatten each piece of dough out, then bring the edges up together, pinch to seal and flip over so the sealed part is on the bench. Gently rotate the dough and shape it into a tight ball. Place onto a baking paper lined oven tray, leaving a little space in between each ball to leave space for rising. I like to do 4 rows of 3 buns. Cover the buns lightly with clingfilm and let them rise again until they spring back slowly when pressed and have increased about 50% in size. This will take around 30 minutes but again, take a photo so you can easily compare to see how they’re going. While they’re rising, heat your oven to 360F/180C fan.
  5. Bake the buns. If you’re using the flour/water cross mixture, pipe them on before the buns go into the oven. I like to do this quite slowly so that the mixture can properly stick to the surface of the buns. Put the buns in the oven to bake for 30 minutes. If you’re using the vanilla custard cross mixture, pop the buns into the oven for 15 minutes, then remove them and pipe on your crosses. Put them back in the oven for a further 15 minutes.
  6. Brush with the glaze. Heat your sugar and water mixture in the microwave for 15 seconds. Remove the buns from the oven – they should look lovely and golden all over. Brush the sugar syrup all over the buns while they’re still hot. Let the buns cool for about 15 minutes, then dig in while the chocolate is still gorgeously gooey and oozy.

Notes

I really recommend you use a scale for this recipe, rather than trying to convert it to cups. Baking is about precision, and using a scale guarantees this and guarantees the best result. You can buy digital scales fairly cheaply, I use this one from Amazon.

It can get a little messy shaping the buns. If the mini eggs escape the dough, just pop them back in. Don’t worry if they’re not perfect!

INGREDIENT NOTES: Make sure you’re using instant yeast for this recipe. If you only have active yeast and you try to follow the instructions as written, you’ll end up with little yeast granules in your dough and the dough just won’t rise properly. If you want to use active yeast, sprinkle it onto the lukewarm milk and let it sit for 10 minutes to dissolve and activate, then continue with the recipe. 

SUBSTITUTIONS: If you can’t find mini eggs, use another mini chocolate Easter egg, a regular block of milk chocolate or chocolate chips. Bread flour will give you a softer, fluffier bun, but regular all-purpose flour will work fine if that’s all you have. Low-fat milk works just as well as whole if that’s all you have. 

STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: The buns are best (and softest) the day they’re baked but will keep for 3 days, stored at room temperature. On the second day, you can either freshen them up in the microwave for 15 seconds or slice them and pop them in the toaster. They also freeze really well. Either freeze them whole in zip lock bags, then reheat them in the oven, covered, for 10 minutes at 320F/160C fan OR slice them, pop them into zip lock bags and defrost directly in the toaster.  

  • Prep Time: 10
  • Rising Time: 90
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Category: baking
  • Method: oven
  • Cuisine: british

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 bun
  • Calories: 317
  • Sugar: 17.3g
  • Sodium: 418.3mg
  • Fat: 10.1g
  • Saturated Fat: 5.7g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 2.3g
  • Trans Fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 48.3g
  • Fiber: 2.5g
  • Protein: 8.3g
  • Cholesterol: 44.3mg

Keywords: hot cross buns, chocolate hot cross buns