These Thermomix Hot Cross Buns are way better than store bought - and they are super easy to make. Give them a go this Easter!

It's not Easter without them and having the Thermomix make it so easy to make your own homemade hot cross buns.

I love the tradition of Easter Hot Cross Buns. They have such a distinctive warm spicy flavour that you immediately associate with this time of year. And when you make your own, the smell of baking hot cross buns coming out of the oven is amazing.

Seriously, give this recipe a go and you're guaranteed to agree with me - the best hot cross buns are homemade!

Ingredients for Traditional Hot Cross Buns

This easy Hot Cross Bun recipe uses the following ingredients:

• Orange Zest - personally I am not a fan of candied orange peel you get in some recipes for hot cross buns. It is one reason I never ate them as a child. So instead I use fresh orange zest in my hot cross bun recipe. It gives a wonderful flavour to them without being overpowering.
• Plain flour
• Butter
• Milk
• Eggs
• Caster sugar - you can also replace with brown sugar for a richer flavour, but I like them just fine with caster sugar.
• Yeast - note that the recipe specifies instant yeast. This does not need activating and so you can just add it in with the flour. If you use yeast that needs activating, you will need to do this first.
• Mixed spice - the spices in hot cross buns are what give them their distinct flavour. If you are a big cinnamon fan, you could also add half a teaspoon of cinnamon to the mixture.
• Currants - you can substitute with sultanas or mixed dried fruit.

How to make Hot Cross Buns

Making hot cross buns becomes a whole lot easier when you have a Thermomix that does the kneading for you! Much like making pizza dough or pita bread, the Thermomix takes away all the hard work.

First things first, you need to get the orange zest ready. I use my Microplane zester to do this. It is quick and easy and efficient and produces a lovely fine zest.

(I also use this for grating parmesan, ginger, garlic, nutmeg... it's one of my favourite kitchen accessories!)

If you don't have one of these, you can use the small side of a box grater or alternatively you can use a vegetable peeler, and whizz up the peel in the Thermomix for a few seconds at speed 10.

Once you have the zest, put it into the Thermomix with 100g of the flour and whizz it all up for 10 seconds to mix it in well. The smell will be wonderful when you take the lid off!

Then all you need to do is add in all the ingredients, except the currants and mix for 5 seconds. Then add the currants and use the Dough function to knead the mixture for 2 minutes.

Now you need to allow the dough to prove. To do this, transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave it in a warm place for at least an hour (probably longer unless your kitchen is particularly warm) or until it has doubled in size.

NOTE: the dough is very sticky, not like pizza or bread dough... this is where the Pre-clean function on the TM6 really comes into its own!

Once it has risen, turn it out onto a well floured surface, knock the air out of it and knead it by hand for a few seconds until it is smooth.

Next, divide the dough into 15 even portions and shape each portion into a ball. Place the balls on a baking tray lined with baking paper. You should get three rows of five buns, with around a 1cm gap between each bun.

Now you need to allow the rolls to prove for a second time. My favourite way to do this is to pop them on a high shelf of a cold oven with the door closed and a bowl of boiling water in the bottom of the oven.

This creates a warm humid environment and means you don't need to cover the buns or worry about them drying out.

They should double in size, which should take around 30 minutes. You can then remove them while you pre-heat the oven and make the crosses while you wait for the oven to heat up.

How to make the Cross on Hot Cross Buns

While the buns are doing their second prove, make the flour paste for the crosses.

This is just a mixture of flour and water, which takes 30 seconds to mix up in the Thermomix.

Put the mixture into a piping bag (a plastic freezer bag will work too) and cut the tip off.

Once the buns haven risen and while the oven is heating up, you can pipe the crosses on top of the buns.

Glaze for Hot Cross Buns

Once the buns come out of the oven, you should glaze them while they are still warm.

As soon as you take them out of the oven, mix together a tablespoon of caster sugar and a tablespoon of water until the sugar is dissolved.

Use a pastry brush to glaze the buns and then transfer them to a cooling rack. (If you have lined the baking tray with paper then you can just lift the whole tray of buns and transfer to a cooling rack).

How to eat Hot Cross Buns

In my mind, nothing beats a toasted hot cross bun smothered in melting butter.

However, because these are so light and fluffy (not like store bought ones), they are equally good when they are not toasted. Butter would still be my topping of choice.

You could also go crazy and add jam or honey... or vegemite or nutella. But honestly... butter is best 🙂

Looking for more Easter recipes? You may also like our Chocolate Cornflake Easter Nests - they are perfect for making with kids!

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