Decadent Chocolate & Cherry Hot Cross Buns

After seeing lots of new variations of the traditional hot cross bun hit the market this year, The Postal Pantry Co. thought they’d have a go creating their own flavour combination. A rich cocoa bun with a melt in the middle centre, sweet glacé cherry chunks and raisins, glazed with honey and spread with a little salty butter. Heaven. You will need a 25cm x 35cm baking tray lined with parchment paper. In total the time to make these is 3 hours, including all the proving time. This recipe makes 9 generous size buns. All ingredients (apart from Semi-Skimmed Milk) can be found on their website.

Serves 9

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Ingredients
  • 50 g Salted Butter
  • 50 g Golden Caster Sugar
  • 2 tsp Mixed Spice
  • 200 ml Semi-Skimmed Milk
  • 1 large Free Range Egg
  • 400 g Strong White Bread Flour
  • 50 g Cocoa Powder
  • 7 g sachet of Dried Yeast
  • 150 g Dark Cooking Chocolate
  • 80 g Raisins
  • 75 g Glacé Cherries
  • 3 tbsp Runny Honey
Instructions
  1. Place the butter, sugar and mixed spice in a pan over a low heat and warm gently until melted, stirring occasionally.
  2. Remove from the heat, pour in the milk. Crack in the egg and whisk to combine.
  3. Sprinkle the yeast over the wet ingredients and leave to sit for 5 minutes.
  4. Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle, then gradually pour in the milk mixture, stirring until a rough dough forms.
  5. Knead on a flour-dusted surface until smooth and springy (about 5-7 minutes). Transfer to a flour-dusted bowl, cover with a clean damp tea towel and prove until doubled in size. In a warm place this should take approximately 1 hour 30 minutes.
  6. Chop half the chocolate into 9 equal-sized pieces and put aside, then finely chop the remaining chocolate into tiny chips.
  7. When the dough is ready, transfer to a clean surface and use your fist to knock out the air. Roughly stretch and flatten out the dough, sprinkle over the chocolate chips, cherry chunks and raisins, then knead for a few minutes until smooth again, pushing any chocolate or fruit that escapes back into the dough.
  8. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
  9. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Flatten one piece slightly, push a piece of chocolate into the middle. Fold the dough back over the chocolate to trap it inside, then shape the dough into a neat ball and place on the prepared tray. Repeat with the remaining dough, leaving a small gap between each bun. Cover and leave to prove in a warm place for around 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
  10. Mix 2 tablespoons of flour with enough water to give you a thick batter consistency, then transfer to a reusable piping bag. Pipe thin crosses across the top of the buns.
  11. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden, then transfer to a cooling rack. Whilst the buns are still warm brush the honey over the buns to glaze.
  12. Serve straight out of the oven with a layer of salted butter, or toasted the next day.