Hot cross buns

A recipe created in collaboration with The Horse

A bun inspired by the flavours of a classic hot cross bun, golden and dressed up like a cinnamon bun. Cloud-like soft dough, rich with spices and juicy, plump soaked raisins, wrapped around a creamy, spiced, brown sugar crème pâtissière, with an orange juice syrup soak and topped with moorish brown butter cream cheese frosting.

The dough is made with a tangzhong–a simple and quick step which ensures the dough is incredibly soft, and stays that way for far longer than a dough made without one

.The ingredient list may look long, but don’t let it intimidate you. It is a recipe with a few different stages, but is broken up across a couple of days. A perfect weekend project, with a delicious end reward. I recommend making the crème pâtissière the day before baking the buns, and also soaking the raisins overnight. This ensures that both elements are ready to use when the times comes, and also helps to to break up the workload. I also recommend making the brown butter the day before or on the morning of the day of baking, before you begin making the dough. This ensures that it will be set when the time comes to make the frosting. If making the day before, keep it at room temperature.

Makes 8

For the soaked raisins
raisins 100g
black tea 1 tea bag
orange peel from 1 medium-sized orange
hot water enough to cover the raisins

For the dough
tangzhong
bread flour 20g
water 30g
milk 60g

water 20g
milk 130g
instant yeast 10g
bread flour 410g
ground cinnamon 1 tsp
ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp
ground allspice 1/2 tsp
caster sugar 50g
sea salt 4g
egg 1, large
butter 45g, soft
double cream 2 tbsp–optional, to pour onto the buns before baking to make them extra soft

For the crème pâtissière
milk 225ml
vanilla extract 1 tsp, or seeds from 1/2 vanilla pod
egg yolks 3, from large eggs
light brown sugar 50g
corn starch 15g
sea salt a pinch
ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp
ground allspice 1/2 tsp
orange zest from 1 medium-sized orange
butter 40g, soft and cubed

For the soak
orange juice 50ml, from 1 medium-sized orange

For the frosting
butter 90g, to make 75g brown butter
cream cheese 130g at room temperature
powdered sugar 160g
vanilla extract 1 tsp
orange zest from 1 medium-sized orange
sea salt a pinch


For the soaked raisins
Place the raisins into a bowl with the tea bag and orange peel, then pour over the hot water and allow to soak until ready to use.
raisins 100g, black tea 1 tea bag, orange peel from 1 medium-sized orange, hot water enough to cover the raisins

For the crème pâtissière
Add the milk and vanilla to a small pot and place over low-medium heat, stirring occasionally.
milk 225ml, vanilla extract 1 tsp, or seeds from 1/2 vanilla pod

To a medium-sized bowl, add the egg yolks, brown sugar, corn starch, salt, spices and orange zest and whisk until lighter in colour and smooth, about 1 minute.
egg yolks 3, from large eggs, light brown sugar 50g, corn starch 15g, sea salt a pinch, ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp, ground allspice 1/2 tsp, orange zest from 1 medium-sized orange

Once the milk begins to steam and very gently simmer, remove it from the heat and pour a couple of tbsp into the egg yolk mixture and whisk thoroughly to combine. Continue to add small amounts of the warm milk to the egg yolks, whisking well after each addition, until all of the milk has been added. Pour the mixture back into the pot, then place over medium heat, whisking the whole time, until the mixture has thickened, 5-7 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the butter, whisking gently to allow it to melt and combine. Once the butter is incorporated, pour the mixture into a bowl and cover with cling film, ensuring it touches the entire surface of the mixture to prevent it forming a skin. Allow to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then transfer to the fridge to set completely.
butter 40g, soft and cubed

For the brown butter (for the icing)
Add the butter to a pot and set over medium heat. Allow to melt, then continue to cook until it foams, stirring often. When the butter smells roasted and has turned a rich golden hue, remove it from the heat and pour it into a bowl, ensuring you scrape out all of the browned bits. Allow to cool and set completely at room temperature.
butter 90g, to make 75g brown butter

For the dough
To a pot, add the flour, water and milk and whisk to combine. Place over a medium heat, whisking gently the entire time. Once the mixture has thickened to paste, continue to heat and whisk for 30 seconds then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
bread flour 20g, water 30g, milk 60g

To the bowl of a stand mixer, add the water, milk and instant yeast and set aside.
water 20g, milk 130g, instant yeast 10g


bread flour 410g, ground cinnamon 1 tsp, ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp , ground allspice 1/2 tsp, caster sugar 50g, sea salt 4g

With the dough hook attachment fitted, mix on medium speed for a minute or so to combine, then add the egg and mix to a shaggy dough.
egg 1, large

Reduce the speed to low-medium and add the butter 1 tbsp at a time. Once all has been added, increase the mixer speed to medium and mix for 8-10 minutes, until smooth and the dough doesn’t stick to your finger when pressed. Drain the raisins, discarding the tea bag and orange peel, and add to the dough and mix for a further 30-40 seconds, until the raisins are well distributed. Shape the dough into a ball, place back into the stand mixer bowl, cover with cling film and allow to rise in a warm place for 1.5-2 hours, until doubled in size–I usually place it in the oven with the light on.
butter 45g, soft, soaked raisins 100g

Shaping the buns
Grease the bottom and sides of a 9x9 inch deep baking dish and line the bottom with baking paper.

Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down to release some of the air then remove it from the bowl and place it onto a floured work surface. Push the dough down gently and shape it into a loose rectangle, then dust it with flour and roll it out to measure 48x30cm. Be sure to check often that the dough isn’t sticking to the work surface during the rolling process–if it is, just put a little bit more flour onto the work surface. Once rolled out to size, remove the crème pâtissière from the fridge and mix it vigorously with a spoon or spatula until smooth. Spread the crème pâtissière across the entire surface of the dough, right to the edges. Cut 8x strips of dough 6cm wide then roll each strip up into a swirl and place into your prepared baking dish, swirl side up, a couple of cm apart. Cover with cling film and allow to rise until doubled in size in a warm place, 1-1.5 hours. Towards the end of the rise, preheat the oven to 160C fan.

Once the buns have doubled in size, remove the cling film and drizzle over the double cream if using. Place in the middle of the oven and bake for 32-35 minutes, until all of the buns are a rich golden brown. While baking, prepare the orange juice syrup by putting the orange juice into a pot and placing over medium heat. Allow to cook until halved in volume, then remove from the heat.
double cream 2 tbsp, orange juice 50ml, from 1 medium-sized orange

Once the buns have finished baking, remove from the oven and immediately brush the orange juice syrup over the buns with a pastry brush. Allow to cool for 20-30 minutes in the baking tin, then when cool enough to handle, remove from the tin and allow to cool on a cooling rack.

While the buns are cooling, prepare the icing. To a large bowl, add the cream cheese and mix well with a spoon or spatula until softened and very smooth. Add the set brown butter and mix well until fully combined. Sift the powdered sugar into the bowl and add the vanilla extract, orange zest and salt and whisk the mixture for 3-4 minutes, until fully combined and slightly fluffy. Once the buns are only slightly warm to touch, place generous dollops of the icing onto each bun and serve.
cream cheese 130g at room temperature, brown butter 75g, powdered sugar 160g, vanilla extract 1 tsp, orange zest from 1 medium-sized orange, sea salt a pinch


The buns keep well for up to 3 days, covered in the fridge. Allow to come to room temperature for 1-2 hours before eating.