What more could you want for Easter than this healthy chocolate chip hot cross bun pudding? Homemade refined sugar free hot cross buns swimming in a creamy egg custard and dotted with dark chocolate chunks – it’s the perfect and indulgent healthy treat to enjoy this Easter! 

Easter is a time for gorging and spending time with loved ones. How are you planning on spending yours? I’m going to keep it low key and try to relax. Who am I kidding? I’m hosting Easter lunch for my husbands family so mine will be a frenzy of cooking and preparing.  I’m planning on theming it around a Moroccan banquet. I have this gorgeous melamine plateware I bought for myself last year and thought i’d take advantage of the last days of warmth and serve lunch outdoors.

Even though it’s Moroccan themed, I will definitely be serving this hot cross bun pudding because, well, why not? It’s my delicious and healthy take on this favourite Easter treat. This week was the first time I’ve made hot cross buns from scratch and I was smitten with how they turned out. I am even more excited they were a healthified version to boot. I made them twice as I didn’t knead them enough the first time so they weren’t as fluffy as I’d have liked.

The hot cross buns are not difficult to make but they do have steps you can’t miss (see method below). Baking is not something you want to rush or free measure, quantities should be exact and method followed exactly. I haven’t scared you off yet have you?

Good because you’re going to love this recipe.

I made this recipe twice, making the custard with normal whole milk and also a version with almond milk. Both worked beautifully so if you’re dairy intolerant this is a great recipe for you. A tip for making the custard: Be sure to mix the eggs with the milk very slowly and use the very lowest hob to cook the custard, otherwise the eggs will curdle.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and have a lovely and relaxing Easter.

Don’t forget to hashtag #cookwiththemacadames when making my recipes. I love to see how you went and get a peek at your kitchen table.

Recipe adapted from here and here.

What you need:

• Approx 18cm x 30cm tin (Lamington tin would work)
• Small mixing bowl
• Large baking dish, enough to fit approx 12 hot cross buns
• Medium saucepan
• Large roasting pan

Ingredients:

For the hot cross buns (makes 15 buns):

• 1 tablespoon dried instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon rice malt syrup
• 4 cups + 1 tablespoon white spelt flour
• 1 & 1/4 cup full fat milk of choice (I used organic whole milk but also tried with almond milk and it worked fine), lukewarm (not hot, otherwise it will kill the yeast).
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
• 1 teaspoon all spice
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup sugar free dark chocolate, chopped finely or sugar free dark chocolate chips 
• For the criss cross: 1/2 cup white spelt flour + 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons water
• For the glaze: 2 teaspoons rice malt syrup + 1 tablespoon boiling water

For the pudding (serves 8):

• 8 chocolate hot cross buns (or however many you need to fill your dish)
• 1/2 cup sugar free dark chocolate, chopped finely or sugar free dark chocolate chips 
• 2 1/2 cups milk of your choice (I used organic whole milk but also tried with almond milk and it worked fine)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
• Zest of 1 orange zest
• 1 teaspoon stevia
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup rice malt syrup
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 3 free range eggs
• 1 & 1/2 tablespoons cornflour

Method:

1. To make the hot cross buns: Add yeast, 1 tablespoon spelt flour, warm milk and 1 teaspoon of rice malt syrup into the small bowl. Mix well. Cover your bowl and allow to stand in a warm place for 15 minutes until mixture is frothy.

2. Meanwhile, sift 4 cups of spelt flour, salt, stevia and spices into a large bowl and toss to combine. Add in the coconut oil and maple syrup and rub into flour mixture with your fingers until combined.

3. Once the yeast mixture is frothy, add into the flour mix with the whisked egg. Either use a stand mixer with dough hook or use a knife to combine. Add in the chocolate chips then fold through. Cover the bowl again and allow to stand in a warm place for 40 minutes or until dough has almost doubled in size.

4. Preheat oven to 200°C and lightly grease a 18cm x 30cm tin.

5. Now comes the kneading part. You have 2 choices, you can either knead using a stand mixer (easier) or by hand. If using the stand mixer, pop your dough ball in the bowl and set on a low-medium speed for 5 minutes. If using your hands, punch dough down onto a floured surface, and knead well until dough is smooth and elastic. This will take around 8-10 minutes. After the kneading so done, cut the dough into 3 equal pieces then cut each piece into 5. Roll each into a round shape.

6. Place buns into the prepared tin in rows. Don’t worry if they don’t touch, they will expand in the oven. Cover and again allow to stand for 10-15 minutes in a warm place or until the buns have expanded.

7. To make the crosses: sift ½ cup of spelt flour into a bowl and add 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons of water, mix to form a paste. Using a piping tube (or fill a small ziplock bag and then cut a hole across the corner) pipe crosses onto the top of each bun.

8. Place buns into the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Turn the oven down to 170°C.

9. Meanwhile, combine the rice malt syrup with boiling water. Once hot cross buns have cooked, remove from the oven and immediately brush with glaze.

10. To make the pudding: heat milk in a saucepan with vanilla, orange zest, stevia, cinnamon and maple syrup and bring to almost boiling point, then remove from the heat.

11. Mix the cornflour in a bit of water to make a slurry (don’t skip this step) then beat with the eggs in a stainless steel mixing bowl until combined.

12. Pour the hot milk over the eggs very slowly (I did 1/2 cup a minute) and whisk in well. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and cook over a gentle heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until it thickens and coats the back of the spoon. You should be very careful not to boil it or it will curdle the eggs. Use a small gas/electric hob to help prevent heating the mixture too quickly (I made this mistake). Please note you want the custard to be quite runny so it soaks into the hot cross buns. It will thicken once cooked. When the custard is ready, remove from the heat immediately and pour back into the  mixing bowl. Whisk well to cool a little and smooth it out.

13. Meanwhile, split the hot cross buns. Lay the bases in your baking dish, sprinkle with the chopped dark chocolate (chips or chunks), then place the bun tops on the bases.

14. Pour the custard evenly over the buns and set the pudding aside for 30 minutes for the buns to soak up some of the custard. (The pudding can be prepared to this stage several hours in advance and refrigerated – just bring to room temperature before baking – perfect for dinner parties!).

15. Place the pudding dish in a large roasting pan and pour enough boiling water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the pudding dish. Place in the oven for about 45 minutes or until the custard is set.

Storage: in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Bon appétit!

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For another chocolate recipe for Easter, try my mini vegan chocolates.

And you can’t go past this chocolate mousse and raspberry layer cup for a decadent and healthy dessert to counter your Easter lunch gorge!

Anisa – The Macadames. xx