January 10, 2013

Vegan Easter Chocolate Hot Cross Buns


I know that Christmas has just passed, but there isn't long until Easter is here! And what a nice way to celebrate Jesus' resurrection than with some delicious VEGAN chocolate hot cross buns? I absolutely love hot cross buns... especially the chocolate ones! These are so tasty and fluffy with that genuine hot cross bunny taste from the mixed spice. I guarantee that you will love these! I have been working on an Easter page over the last week or so that I will keep adding to and I will publish it before Easter so that you have some fun and easy vegan Easter ideas. Do you celebrate Easter? If so, what do you do? I am going to have a look for some really cute edible Easter gifts that you can make at home that are cruelty-free too! :) 

Note: This recipe requires 1 hour and 20 minutes of rising.

makes 8


Bun Dough:
   3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons Soy Milky Lite, luke warm
   2 tablespoons sugar + 2 more tablespoons
   7g 
(2 teaspoons) dried yeast 
   ¼ cup melted vegan margarine
   2 ¾ cups plain flour 
(Plus more for kneading)
   1 teaspoon mixed spice
   pinch salt
   90g dark chocolate (70% cocoa or more), roughly chopped
   spray oil
 
Cross Mixture:
   2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon plain flour
   1 tablespoon sugar
   2 tablespoons water

Glaze:
   1 tablespoon sugar
   1 1/2 tablespoons boiling water



1)     In a small bowl, add 2 tablespoons of sugar, the yeast and the soymilk and set aside for 5 minutes or so until the yeast is activated and frothy. (The soymilk should be warm but cool enough for you to touch... soymilk that is too hot will kill the yeast)

2)    Add the melted margarine and whisk until combined. Set aside.

3)    In a large bowl, add the flour, the mixed spice, dark chocolate, salt and the last 2 tablespoons of sugar. Stir until combined.

4)    Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the yeast and soymilk mixture. Stir with a metal spoon until it firms a sticky dough.

5)    Lightly flour a clean surface with about 2 tablespoons of flour. Use your hands to knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it is no longer sticky and will not leave any dough on your hands when kneaded. At the point where it is no longer sticky it is ready to rise.

6)    Spray oil a large bowl.

7)    Roll the dough into a ball and place it in the spray-oiled bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm place for about an hour until it has doubled in size.

Dough BEFORE it has risen.

8)    Once the dough has doubled in size, punch the air out with your fist and knead for a couple of minutes on a NON-floured surface until it has decreased in size and is elastic and smooth. (If after this it is still sticky, you can add a tiny bit of flour but you shouldn't need to)

Dough AFTER it has risen

9)    Divide the dough into 8 even sections and roll them into small balls.

10)    Preheat the oven to 190 degrees celcius.

11)    Spray oil a baking pan (approx. 22cm long x 13cm wide x 7cm deep) and place the individual dough balls in it right next to each other. Push them down slightly to fit them nicely against each other.

12)    Cover the baking pan with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm place and sit for 20 minutes until they have increased in height by 1 centimetre or so.

Individual dough balls BEFORE rising.
Individual dough balls AFTER rising.

13)    Make your cross mixture by adding all the cross ingredients to a small bowl and whisking until smooth. Set aside.

14)    Fill a piping bag (or a freezer bag with the corner snipped) with the cross mixture and pipe a continuous long line over the length and width of the buns. (Don't worry too much if it isn't neat)
Pipe the cross mixture over the buns in a continuous line.
15)    Make the glaze by adding all glaze ingredients to bowl and stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside.
16)    Bake the buns at 190 degrees celsius for 25 minutes until the tops are hard. When tapped they might sound a little bit hollow.

The buns will be ready when the tops are hard.
17)    Carefully take them out of the oven. Using a pastry brush, glaze the tops of the buns with just enough glaze to cover. (If you have some leftover that is OK. You don't want too much to drip down the sides of the buns or else they may get soggy.)
Use a pastry brush to glaze over the buns. 
18)    Allow the glaze to cool and harden for about 5 minutes.

19)    Serve immediately with vegan margarine. Enjoy!


  • Obviously there will be room for error with measurements when using cup measurements to measure liquids and dry ingredients. This recipe ALWAYS works out for me, but feel free to add a little bit more flour to the surface if it is too wet still etc...
  • Floured surfaces change the consistency of the dough... so only use enough flour for the surface as needed.
  • These taste the best when eaten within the first 2 to 3 days. 


The nutrition information above is an approximate guideline. 

39 comments :

  1. Madison these were DELICIOUS!! I made these last night just after you posted this. Luckily I had all the ingredients. it was so much easier than I thought it would be. Thanks for the recipe,. they were so yummy. my hubby really liked them. They taste exactly like the ones from the supermarket but even better! THANK YOU!!!

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    1. Hello Emily!
      Thanks for the feedback... I am so glad that you enjoyed them :D

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  2. I don't really celebrate Easter, but I did try to make hot cross buns once. They turned out more like cookies, but they still tasted good :)

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    1. Hi Natasha! Heheh they turned out like cookies?? You should try this recipe... it is a lot easier than it looks :) They are so so delicious <3

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  3. What a georgous & special recreation! I love your version way better! :)

    MMMMMMMMMMM!

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  4. I love hot cross buns!! (That's how I found your blog~ looking for a vegan hot cross bun recipe!)

    For Easter, have you heard about https://www.eggnots.com/Products/EggNots/

    We used them last year for our kiddo and she had a blast!

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    1. Hi Anne :) No I haven't heard of those... what a good idea!!

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  5. These were awesome and so tasty

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  6. I've never had hot cross buns before, but I think that needs to be corrected! And I've got most of the ingredients too - will definitely have to pin this for later! :)

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    1. Hello Allysia!! You should definitely make them... especially because you have never tried them before :) Tell me how it goes!!

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  7. These look delicious! I can't wait to try them. I have a quick question is plain flour white flour or all-purpose flour?

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  8. These look delicious! I can't wait to try them. I have a quick question is plain flour white flour or all-purpose flour?

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  9. These look delish! Do you think you can substitute the chocolate for raisins for a more traditional hot cross bun?

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    1. I don't really see why not?? Try it and tell me how it goes!! :)

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  10. Hi :-) I just made your hot cross buns and they were DELICIOUS! Thanks for sharing your recipe! xxx Katelijne

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    1. Hello! Thanks so much for telling me. I am so glad that you loved them :)

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  11. I made these and they were awesome. SO tasty. My whole family enjoyed them and we ate them in one sitting. Thanks for the recipe., I have been looking for a good vegan hot cross bun recipe for a while now.

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  12. Madison I try not to use margarine too much, would cold pressed coconut oil work?

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    1. Hi Char,
      I am not sure as margarine has a creamy consistency. Have a try and tell me how it goes :)

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  13. these are sooo amazing and soft!! but i think 1 hour and 20 mins was a bit long for me in proofing...it had that faint yeast taste. but still good! might experiment with shorter proofing times!

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    1. I Shasha! Thanks so much... I am glad that you enjoyed it. Definitely try with shorter time. I actually love that yeasty taste hehe :)

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  14. Hi! I made these today and included some homemade vegan chocolate and served hot with banana!! Delicious! Thanks for the recipe, I've been raving about them :) x

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    1. Hello! Thanks so much for the comment! I really love these too. I am so glad that you liked them :)

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  15. What a great recipe! I love it! I've seen other recipes for vegan hot cross buns and they do. not. look. like. that, so well done. Robyn xx

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  16. This is an amazing recipe!! It really is super easy and the results are delicious. The only bad thing about it is trying to stop at eating just one...thanks Madison :)

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    1. Hehe thanks Erin! I know... they are way too delicious :)

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  17. quick question; can I use coconut oil instead of vegan margarine? and will buckwheat flour still work instead of plain flour?

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    1. I haven't tried your substitutions but you could have a go and see if it works!

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  18. could i use cold pressed coconut oil instead of the vegan margarine? and would buckwheat flour or coconut flour be an okay substitute for the plain flour? or even wholewheat flour? thanks!

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    1. I haven't tried but have a go and see if it works :)

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  19. Just letting you know I made these today using coconut oil instead of vegan margarine and they worked perfectly. Super delicious. Thought I would share as lots of people have asked about this sub in the comments. Thanks for the recipe Madison!

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