Happy Easter – Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Bun

Happy Easter!!!

I do not celebrate this occasion but I have been seeing a number of recipes on Hot Cross Bun that I decided to join the bandwagon to bake some today.

I saw Happy Home Baking’s post on Chocolate Chips Hot Cross Buns and I am instantly sold.

Anything with chocolate will be well received by the family….

Baked a batch of 16 buns this morning…

I must say that these are one of the best Hot Cross Buns I have baked. The buns came out soft and fluffy. The aroma of the chocolate with a tinge of cinnamon and mixed spices filled the whole house with such a heavenly scent.

To my delight, these buns (all 16 of them) were gone before the end of the day. It must have been so good or perhaps the family must have been real hungry today???? hahaha..

Anyway, for those who wish to try it out, here’s the recipe.

Chocolate Chips Hot Cross Buns (adapted from Happy Home Baking)
Ingredients
(makes 15 ~ 16 buns)
300g plain flour
30g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
40g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
5g Instant yeast
30g egg, lightly beaten
125 ml milk
40ml warm water
150g chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate chips)

Flour paste for crosses:1 tablespoon plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of caster sugar
1 tablespoon cold water
Glaze:2 tablespoons of caster sugar
2 tablespoons of water

Method
* Place flour, caster sugar, cinnamon, mixed spice (if using) and salt into a mixing bowl. Stir with a whisk to combine. Rub in the butter. Add instant yeast, stir to combine. Make a well in the centre, add in eggs, water, mix to form a soft dough.
* Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes (or knead with bread machine or stand mixer for about 5 minutes) until the dough is smooth and elastic. Knead in the chocolate chips. Smooth dough into a round ball, place in a greased mixing bowl, cover with a damp cloth or cling wrap and leave to rise for about one hour or until dough has doubled in size.
* Divide the dough into 16 portions and roll each portion into a ball. Place the balls, almost touching, on a greased rectangular pan Cover with damp cloth or cling wrap and leave to rise for about 30~45 minutes or until dough has doubled in size. Preheat oven to 200 deg C.
* To make flour paste crosses:
Sift flour, cocoa powder into a small bowl, stir in the sugar. Add in water and keep stirring with a spoon to make a smooth thick paste. Place the flour paste into a plastic bag and snip off the corner (Note: snip off a very tiny bit will do so that the hole will not be too big). When the dough doubled in size, pipe a continuous line down the centre of each row of buns, length wise and width wise, to form crosses.

The buns before going into the oven.

* Bake:
Bake buns at 200 deg C for about 15~16 minutes or until golden brown.
* To make glaze:
While the buns are baking, place sugar and water in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Transfer the baked buns to a wire rack, brush the tops with glaze. Serve warm.
Note: The dough can be made the day before up to the shaping stage, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate over night. The next day bring to room temperature leave to rise till double in size, pipe on the crosses and bake.

Happy Baking!!!