Hot cross buns are synonymous with Easter and this cranberry white chocolate hot cross buns recipe is a great twist on a classic that you definitely should try. They’re soft, fluffy and beautifully spiced with golden tops.
They’re perfect for Easter brunch, lovely warm from the oven and just as good toasted later, with a generous slather of butter. Each bun is dotted with tart dried cranberries and creamy chocolate chips giving you a sweet tangy balance in every bite. They still have all the cosy cinnamon-and-nutmeg comfort of traditional hot cross buns, just with a brighter, more indulgent twist.
If you’d like to try another twist on the classic, these chocolate hot cross buns are indulgent and delicious too and both are a great addition to a breakfast charcuterie board.
❤️ Why use this recipe?
- Perfectly soft and fluffy with that warm spice flavour
- Tart cranberries + sweet white chocolate chips = perfect balance
- Easy to make – even if you’re new to making bread dough
- Perfect for Easter brunch or freeze for later!
- Flexible and forgiving – with easy swaps for the fruit and chocolate
This recipe was first published here on April 16th, 2019 and has been updated with clearer step by step images.
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What are Hot Cross Buns?
Authentic hot cross buns are a sweetened, spiced bun that includes dried fruit like currants, sultanas, raisins and fruit peel. With a cross made of flour and water across the top, hot cross buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday and mark the end of Lent. You can see more about the history of hot cross buns here.
While you could absolutely substitute the cranberries and white chocolate in this recipe with the traditional dried fruit and have the perfect hot cross bun recipe, I do love to give things a twist. Dried cranberries and white chocolate are an absolutely winning combo if ever there was one. Tart cranberries and sweet, creamy chocolate = total BFF’s.
And, yes, you heard right. The cross, just like the originals, is just a mix of flour and water, not icing. Although, there’s no judgement here – if you want them iced, go ahead and ice them.
Ingredients you’ll need
These Easter fruit buns are made of a combination of simple everyday ingredients, spices and dried fruit – you may have what you need right now in your pantry. Most of those ingredients are self-explanatory but I’ve elaborated on just a few.
- Yeast: I use instant yeast, aka instant dry yeast, but you can use active dry yeast too.
- Spices: Classic hot cross bun spices are cinnamon, all spice and nutmeg. You can substitute as you like here.
- Sugar: Hot cross buns are not super sweet, there is just enough white granulated sugar to make them in the desserts / treats realm. You can also use light brown sugar.
- Milk: Use whole / full fat milk for best flavour but other types of milk will still work.
- Dried fruit: I use cranberries here but classic ingredients include sultanas, currants and orange peel.
How to make Hot Cross Buns
⬇️ Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
1. Combine the ingredients
Combine the ingredients for the hot cross buns in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer – your choice will depend on if you want to mix and knead by hand or in a stand mixer.
2. Knead the dough
Knead the dough for 7-8 minutes in a mixer or by hand for 10-12 minutes.
3. The add-ins
Once it’s looking quite smooth and very elastic – make an indent with your finger and the dough should slowly bounce back – add the choc chips and cranberries.
4. First rise
Now place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover and leave it for around 1 ½ hours to rise.
5. Portion the dough
Once it’s doubled in size, place the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut into 12 portions.
6. Second rise and add the cross
Gently roll each portion into a ball and place them on a lined baking tray. Leave them to rise for another ½ an hour then use a piping bag to pipe crosses over them.
7. Bake
Give the rolls a little egg wash then bake for around 25 minutes until golden and cooked through.
Variations
- Traditional hot cross buns: Swap the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries for a mixture of currants, raisins and fruit peel.
- Raspberry hot cross buns: Swap the dried cranberries for frozen raspberries. Keep the raspberries frozen right up to the point you add them and try to knead the dough as little as possible to keep them intact. It’s easiest to take the dough out of the bowl and spread it out with your hands. Add the frozen raspberries then fold and roll it up again.
- Apple and cinnamon hot cross buns: Leave out the nutmeg, cranberries and white chocolate. Add 1 extra teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 1 cup of very small cubes of apple.
Storage
Store the white chocolate hot cross buns at room temperature for 3-4 days. They can be frozen too for up to 3 months, in an airtight container.
You can reheat your Easter buns in the ovne at 180C/350F for 6-7 minutes to get them warm and fluffy again or cut them in half and place them in the toaster for a toast surface and soft warm inside.
FAQs
Yes, absolutely. You can knead the dough by hand – the more you knead the less it will stick so try to resist adding too much flour or you’ll dry the dough out. A bench scraper / dough scraper is really handy when kneading by hand.
Yes, you can but you’ll need to activate it first. Once you’ve heated the milk and added the cold milk to it, mix in the yeast and let it sit for 10 minutes. It should start to puff up. Now you can just add everything to your mixing bowl and proceed as per the recipe.
Yes, you can. Once you’ve shaped the buns and placed them into the pan, cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill overnight. Take them out of the fridge 30 minutes prior to topping with the cross and baking.
Yes, you can. Keep them in an airtight container or ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
This recipe is a favourite in our house and I’ve made them at Easter every year for the last 3 years. It’s such an easy recipe. I know you’ll love them too.
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Ingredients
FOR THE DOUGH
- 520 g plain flour (all-purpose flour) (1.2lb)
- 100 g white granulated sugar (½ cup / 3.5oz)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast (or active dry yeast) (1 sachet / 7g)
- 3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon all spice
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 300 ml whole milk (or full cream milk) (10 floz)
- 57 g unsalted butter (2oz / ½ stick)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup white chocolate chips (150g / 5.5oz)
- ¾ cup dried cranberries
FOR THE TOP
- 1 egg yolk
- Dash of water
- 75 g plain flour (all-purpose flour) (2.5oz)
- ⅓ cup water
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- A 9×13 inch baking tray
- A disposable piping bag
- A stand mixer is helpful
Instructions
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand-mixer, stir together the flour, sugar, yeast, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and salt.
- In a small saucepan over low-med heat, heat just half the milk and the butter until the butter melts. Take it off the heat and add the remaining milk (this will cool it enough not to kill the yeast).
- Add the milk mixture and vanilla to the dry ingredients and give a mix with a spatula to combine a little, then add the egg.
- Attach the dough hook to the stand mixer and knead the dough on low-medium speed for 6-7 minutes. When it's ready the dough will look fairly smooth and elastic but still sticky. (You can knead by hand but it may take around 10 minutes and resist the urge to add too much flour as it needs to remain a bit sticky).
- Add the cranberries and chocolate chips and knead them through too.
- Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and flip it over so it's covered in oil. Cover with plastic wrap then let it rise in a warm place for about 1 ½ hours or until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan forced) / 395F. Line a 9×13 inch baking tray or casserole dish with baking paper.
- Shape the dough into a disk and then cut it into 12 even wedges (notes). Roll each wedge into a smooth ball by first tucking the edges underneath until it's a circle shape, then roll to a ball.
- Sit the balls of dough in the baking pan, evenly spaced and cover with a clean tea towel. Let them rise another ½ hour until almost doubled in size again.
- Whisk together the egg yolk and the dash of water, then brush lightly over the buns.
- In a small bowl, mix together the remaining flour and water until you have a smooth pipeable paste. Pour it into a plastic sandwich bag and snip off a tiny bit of the corner. Pipe a cross over each of the buns.
- Place in the oven and cook for 25-27 minutes or until the top is nice and golden brown.
- Let them cool a little before serving but they can be served warm or at room temperature, or you can toast them. Spread with butter, jams, fruit curds or whatever you love.
- Please take a moment to rate this recipe. I really appreciate it and it helps me create more recipes.
Notes
- For best results, you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
- Cutting into wedges: Start with the dough in a large disk shape. Cut it evenly in half down the centre. Now cut across the other direction to make it 4 even quarters. Cut each quarter into 3 even wedges.
- You can add other dried fruits in place of the cranberries and / or the white chocolate chips. Sultanas, currants, raisins and orange peel are common. You could use finely chopped dried apricot, chopped dried figs, a little lemon zest or orange zest too.
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28 Comments on “Cranberry White Chocolate Hot Cross Buns”
These are delicious. I added lemon zest and used currants, sultanas and mixed peel. I think a little more salt is needed but perhaps it’s because I used course cooking salt and the half teaspoon volume was less by weight. Thanks for a great base recipe
I’m so happy you love them, L and truly appreciate you dropping back to leave a review.
I made these again and did the second prove in the fridge overnight and let them come to room temperature for an hour. They turned out great. Thanks Marie
I’m so happy to hear this, Kim.
Wonderful recipe!!
So happy you love it, Cheri.
Making these for the second time in two days – thanks for an easy to follow, great recipe, Maria. Best wishes from Lindsay in Germany.
This makes my day. So happy you love them Lindsay.
These are delicious. I used different types of fruit and they all turned out well. A crowd pleaser for the Easter get togethers. Thanks Marie
So happy you love them, Kim. Thanks so much for trying my recipe 🙂
Really easy recipe to follow and makes beautiful hot cross buns!
So happy you love them, Ash.
Hello! Could I do blueberries and cherries in lue of cranberries? What should the amounts be?
Hi Shelby. Do you mean dried or fresh? I haven’t tested these with fresh fruit though it should work fine. Keep the quantity the same as the cranberries.
Absolutely amazing. My kids are tucking in as they came out of the oven right as they got home from school. Other half said way better than any he has tried before. Thank u!!
So happy to hear this, Carli. I truly appreciate you trying my recipe.
Hi Marie these look great. Can the dough prove in the fridge overnight and come to room temperature and then be cooked the following morning.
I’m testing this right now, Kim and will get back to you tomorrow.
Hi again Kim. They do work though they take a little while to come to room temperature. Mine took about 1 1/2. They were lovely and soft once baked but didn’t puff up as much as normal.
Thanks for trying Marie I appreciate it. I will give them a try but I can’t see anything gained by doing them the night before so I will stick with doing it on the same day.
So easy but so delicious can’t wait to make them again
So happy you love the recipe, Sophie.
Dear Marie
I always try a lot of your recipes and I have to say it is always a success.
I have tried this one this Easter and I have say it is the best and lightest Hot Cross Buns I have ever made and it was so easy to make.
I have to say though, that I left the dough to rise for 2 1/2 hours and the second time round for 1 1/2 hours. It was perfect. Thank you for sharing.
If anyone wants to see a photo of the completed hot cross buns, then they can view it on my fb page
https://www.facebook.com/simplydecadent22/
Thanks
Risha
Thank you so much Risha, yes the rising time will depend on the ambient temperature at which the dough is left to rise. I sit mine near to a warm window but even under a rangehood lamp works well. If it takes a little longer, don’t worry, a slow rise only adds flavour.
These buns look so fluffy and soft, they sure are perfect for Easter!
Thanks Trang. Can’t have Easter without hot cross buns
Hi!
This recipe looks really delicious. I have one question though. Is it okay to use semi skimmed milk instead of the full fat one?
Thank you so much!
Freddy xx
Hi Freddy, and thank you. That should work fine in this recipe.