Traditionally studded with candied fruit and marked with a cross on top, these sweet yeasted English cakes are usually baked on Good Friday.
Ingredients
Makes 12 Servings
1
2
1
½
2
1
¼
1
2
2
2
1
½
3½
1½
1
½
¾
Preparation
Step 1
Whisk yeast, honey, and 1 cup milk in the large bowl of a stand mixer. Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, butter a large mixing bowl and a 13x9" baking dish; set aside.
Step 2
Whisk 1 egg, egg yolk, brown sugar, oil, zests, and vanilla into yeast mixture. Add cinnamon, cardamom, and 3½ cups flour and beat with dough hook on low speed until mixture starts to form a shaggy dough. Add salt and beat on medium until dough forms a ball around the hook, 1–2 minutes. Continue beating until dough is smooth and slightly tacky, about 5 minutes more. Add ½ cup butter, 1 Tbsp. at a time, allowing dough to absorb each piece before adding the next, then beat until dough is supple, shiny, and elastic, about 5 minutes.
Step 3
Turn out dough onto a clean work surface and knead with your hands, incorporating remaining 2 Tbsp. flour, until dough is very supple and tacky but not sticky, about 5 minutes. Transfer to prepared bowl and cover with plastic. Let dough sit in a warm place until doubled in size, 40–50 minutes.
Step 4
Turn dough out onto a clean work surface and pat down to ½" thick (the shape doesn’t matter). Scatter dried fruit over surface of dough and roll up into a log, starting at the end nearest you. Divide log into 12 equal pieces (if you’re using a scale, each piece should be a little less than 3½ oz.). Roll each piece into a smooth ball and arrange in prepared baking dish, spacing equally in a 4x3 grid. Cover dish tightly with plastic and let sit in a warm place until balls have nearly doubled in size and are touching, 30–40 minutes.
Step 5
Preheat oven to 350°. Beat remaining egg with 1 tsp. water and brush over tops of buns. Bake buns until tops and bottoms are deep golden brown, 25–35 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan. Brush jam onto warm buns, then let cool until jam is set.
Step 6
Whisk powdered sugar and remaining 4 tsp. milk in a small bowl until smooth. Transfer to a pastry bag or resealable plastic bag. Cut a small opening in 1 corner, then pipe crosses over each bun. Let sit until icing is set, at least 15 minutes.
Step 7
Do Ahead: Dough, without fruit, can be made 1 day ahead. Let rise at room temperature, then cover and chill.
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Reviews (8)
Back to TopHot cross buns (at least in the UK) don't have frosting to mark the cross, they're made with a high hydration flour & water paste (e.g. 50g flour to 75g water). You mark the crosses before baking, and they brown because there's a high water content and no sugar in the paste. Those not having much luck with the frosting and want a more traditional bun might want to try that technique instead.
Anonymous
London
4/11/2020
As always, this recipe is clear and easy to follow. I don’t like the method of adding the fruit in a layer before creating the rolls. I find that the buns come out more like cinnamon buns (with raisins) than cross buns. Next time I will try putting the fruit in while mixing the dough, before the addition of the butter. While this may affect the rising of the dough, I think it’s worth a try.
Anonymous
New York, NY
4/4/2020
As always, top notch!
Anonymous
Adelaide
4/22/2019
Up until the frosting, these make nice buns. Stop after the apricot jam wash. The frosting is a runny, one-note mess that has the effect of ruining the buns. It didn’t set into a cross, it just ran down the sides, so it didn’t even improve the look of the buns. It was hard to control in the make-shift pastry bag, because it is a runny mess. I know these are supposed to have crosses, but don’t use this frosting. It was infuriating to follow the whole recipe though the first time, get nice buns, then basically wreck it with the frosting.
kcroni
Athens, Ga
3/27/2019