Chocolate orange hot cross buns
Bake our sticky, marmalade-glazed buns studded with fruit and chocolate for the perfect Easter treat. Serve with a cup of tea
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Prep:35 mins
Cook:30 mins
plus rising - More effort
Nutrition per serving
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kcal 380
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fat 10g
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saturates 6g
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carbs 61g
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sugars 18g
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fibre 4g
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protein 9g
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salt 0.7g
Ingredients
- 225ml semi-skimmed milk
- 50g butter, chopped, plus extra for greasing
- 5 tbsp orange shred marmalade
- 450g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
- 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 100g raisins
- 50g candied mixed peel
- 100g dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 100g plain flour
Method
Heat the milk in a pan until steaming. Remove from the heat, add the butter and 3 tbsp marmalade, and stir until dissolved.
Mix the bread flour, yeast, cinnamon, raisins, candied peel, chocolate and 1 tsp salt in a large bowl. Add the egg to the milk mixture, tip into the flour and stir to make a soft dough. Flour the work surface and your hands, then knead the dough for 10 mins until smooth and elastic. If any fruit or chocolate pieces escape, keep kneading them back in.
Grease then line a large baking sheet with baking parchment. Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces. Shape them into buns by kneading each and then rolling under one hand on the work surface until smooth. Put the buns on the baking sheet, leaving room for rising, then slightly press them down to flatten a little. Cover loosely with cling film and prove in a warm place for 2 hrs or until the buns are well risen and doubled in size. Be patient, as it will make all the difference to the texture.
Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Gradualy stir 90-105ml water into the plain flour to make a smooth, thick paste. Pour the mixture into a food bag and snip off a corner to make a hole about 5mm wide, then use it to pipe the crosses onto the buns. Bake for 20-25 mins until the buns are risen and golden brown, and sound hollow when tapped underneath.
For the glaze, melt the remaining marmalade in the microwave or a small pan and brush over the buns while they're hot, then leave to cool. Eat on the day of baking, or toast the next day.
