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.

Every year, once Christmas festivities are over, nearly immediately, hot cross buns are on the supermarket shelves. And every year, I have to stop myself from buying a pack until the last moment. Why? Because I don’t want it to just become an all-year thing.

There is something so lovely about keeping food traditions and hot cross buns are made more special, to me, knowing that they are something just for Easter.

If you’d like to try a 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.

12 hot cross buns thathave just been baked.

Table of contents

What are Hot Cross Buns?

Traditionally they 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 tradition surrounding them 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 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.

A plate filled with hot cross buns.

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.

Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.

  • Flour: just regular plain flour / all purpose flour.
  • Yeast: I use instant yeast but you can use active dry yeast too.
  • Spices: Classic hot cross bun spices are cinnamon, all spice and nutmeg.
  • Sugar: Just 1/2 cup sugar in the whole recipe so these have a light sweetness but not too much.
  • Milk: Use whole / full fat milk for best flavour but other types of milk will still work.
  • Butter: Use unsalted butter, so you can control the salt level.
  • Egg: Use a large egg.
  • Dried fruit: I use cranberries here but classic ingredients include sultanas, currants and orange peel.

How to make Hot Cross Buns

A collage of 4 images showing how to make the hot cross bun dough.

Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.

  1. You’ll start by mixing dry ingredients in one bowl then wet ingredients in another – a little like making muffins. Simple right!
  2. Next, combine the 2 (photo 1) and give them a good mix. At this point, you can add them to the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment (photo 2) or continue to mix and knead by hand. In a stand mixer, the dough will knead for about 7-8 minutes or by hand, it will take around 10 minutes.
  3. 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 (photo 3).
  4. Now place the dough into an oiled bowl (photo 4), cover and leave it for around 1 ½ hours to rise.
A collage of 3 images showing how to shape the hot cross buns.
  1. Once it’s doubled in size, place the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut into 12 portions (photo 5).
  2. 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 (photos 6&7).
  3. Give the rolls a little egg wash then bake for around 25 minutes until golden and cooked through.

Substitutions

Want a more traditional easter buns recipe? Swap the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries for a mixture of currants, raisins and fruit peel.

If you love these, you should definitely try my chocolate hot cross buns.

A stack of 3 hot cross buns.

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.

More recipes you’ll love

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Top down view of a batch of 12 just-baked hot cross buns.

Cranberry White Chocolate Hot Cross Buns

Yield: 12 buns
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Rising time: 2 hours
Total Time: 45 minutes
5 from 11 ratings
Surely nothing says Easter quite like Hot Cross Buns and they’re easier than you might think. This easy Hot Cross Buns recipe, filled with white chocolate chips and dried cranberries is the perfect thing for Easter brunch.
This recipe has rising time – plan ahead.
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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

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 / 395F / 180C fan forced. 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 1/2 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

  1. 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).
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
MORE EASTER RECIPES!
Calories: 404kcal
Author: Marie Roffey
Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert, Snack, Sweets
Cuisine: British, Easter
Have you tried this recipe?Don’t forget to leave a rating and comment below and let me know how it was! I love hearing from you. Nutrition information is approximate and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use may cause variations.
Nutrition Facts
Cranberry White Chocolate Hot Cross Buns
Amount Per Serving (118 g)
Calories 404 Calories from Fat 99
% Daily Value*
Fat 11g17%
Saturated Fat 6g38%
Trans Fat 0.2g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 3g
Cholesterol 47mg16%
Sodium 130mg6%
Potassium 161mg5%
Carbohydrates 69g23%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 29g32%
Protein 8g16%
Vitamin A 208IU4%
Vitamin C 0.1mg0%
Calcium 80mg8%
Iron 3mg17%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.