Chocolate Hot Cross Buns

Key Ingredients

Just like any sweet bread recipe, we’ll need a couple of key pantry staple ingredients to create these delicious soft and fluffy chocolate hot cross buns.

Note all ingredients and their quantities are laid out in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

• Yeast – dry yeast will make your dough light and fluffy, give it rise and give it that bready taste and texture.
• Sugar – feeds the yeast which makes it be able give the bread rise keeping it soft and light without being overly sweet.
• Dairy free milk – I’ve used both oat milk and almond milk in this recipe, but you can use any dairy free milk you prefer. It’s main purpose is to active the yeast and bind everything together.
• Plain flour – also known as all purpose flour in the US.
• Spices – to add that characteristic hot cross bun flavour I like to use a combination of cinnamon and allspice but you can use all cinnamon if you prefer.
• Dairy free butter – adds richness and flavour. I recommend using a quality dairy-free butter substitute here for the best flavour. I love and always use Nuttelex Buttery which is an Australian product. In the US, the closest alternative is Earth Balance which I understand to be very similar.
• Egg – for even more richness and softness to your end result.
• Chocolate – for this twist on a classic I use both cocoa powder and chopped up dark chocolate, but you could also use dairy free chocolate chips.

Step-By-Step Instructions

There are a few steps involved here, but just make sure you read through them all before starting to make sure you know what to expect next.

The first step is to ‘bloom’ the yeast by whisking it together with the sugar and warm milk. Let this mixture sit for 10 minutes until it becomes frothy. This step helps ensure your yeast is alive meaning your buns are going to rise correctly.

Make the dough by gradually mixing all the ingredients into the yeast mixture using a dough hook attachment on a stand mixer. If you don’t have a stand mixer, then you are going to need a wooden spoon and some strong arms, motivation and persistence.

Once the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl it is ready for it’s first rise. The dough should be quite soft and sticky, so use a spatula to scrape the dough from the bowl and turn onto a floured surface to shape into a ball carefully with floured hands.

Place the dough back into the bowl, cover with a tea towel or some plastic wrap and sit aside in a warm place for 1 hour.

Once the dough has risen, punch down the dough, and turn onto a floured surface. Gently shape into a ball. Divide the dough into 12 pieces and shape each into ball. Place the dough balls evenly into a baking pan and cover and set aside again for 20-30 minutes for the second rise.

While the dough is on it’s second rise, make the paste for the crosses, and preheat the oven.

Pipe the chocolate paste over the uncooked buns in a cross pattern and place the buns in the oven to bake for 30 minutes.

While baking, make the sugar glaze. The buns are cooked, use a pastry brush to brush the glaze over the baked buns. Serve while warm with some extra dairy free butter – they are so good!

🤓 Hot cross buns are made with a sweet, rich dough. A rich dough is characterised by the amount of fat present. In this case it is the addition of milk, butter and eggs to create a super soft end product which is different to a lean dough that is used to make my sandwich bread and focaccia which tends to not be as soft and has a crusty exterior.

My Top Tips for making hot cross buns!

• The milk needs to be warm but not hot otherwise this will kill the yeast. If you can hold your finger in the liquid without it feeling uncomfortable, then that’s about perfect.
• The dough will be quite sticky but you want to avoid adding in too much extra flour as this will alter the texture of the buns. Gently shape the dough using floured hands on a floured surface and sprinkle the dough with a little extra flour when handling it gets a bit too sticky.
• The dough needs to rise in a warm, dry spot in order to rise correctly. During the warmer months here in Brisbane, I usually just put my bowl outside under the veranda in the shade as the air temp is warm enough (or just on the counter if my air con is not on). In winter when this isn’t an option I like to preheat the oven to 100°C and then when ready for the rise turn it off and sit the bowl on the bottom shelf with the door open.
• You know the buns are done when you tap the top of them and they sound hollow. This trick works for all bread recipes.

Recipe FAQs

If you do make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below! And tag any of your creations on Instagram with @eightforestlane as I would love to see.

More Easter favourites:

Vegan Carrot Cake
Easter Sugar Cookies
Easter Bunny Cupcakes
Carrot Cake Pancakes

Chocolate Hot Cross Buns

A family favourite version of the classic Easter treat, these chocolate hot cross buns are the perfect dairy free recipe to make over the long weekend to enjoy for Easter brunch. With step-by-step photos, let me show you just how easy it is to make these at home!

5 from 7 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Snack

Cuisine: Australian

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 buns

Author: Sally

Equipment

• stand mixer
• pastry brush

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• 1 x 7 gram packet of yeast
• ¼ cup white sugar/granulated sugar
• 1 ½ cups dairy free milk warmed
• 4 cups plain flour/all purpose flour
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• ¼ cup (60 grams) dairy free butter
• 1 egg room temperature
• 100 grams dark chocolate chopped

For the crosses

• 3 tablespoons plain flour/all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 3-4 tablespoons water

For the glaze

• ½ cup water
• ½ cup sugar

Instructions

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the yeast, sugar, and warmed milk. Cover with a clean, damp kitchen towel and let sit for 10 minutes, until the mixture is frothy.
• Add 2 cups of flour and mix on low using the dough hook attachment. Add the remaining 2 cups of flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, allspice, dairy free butter, and egg. Mix on medium speed until the dough begins to come together. Add in the chopped chocolate and mix gently to incorporate.
• Once the dough is smooth and slightly elastic, shape it into a ball using well floured hands. Place it back into the bowl, cover with a damp towel, and let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
• Punch down the dough to release the air. Turn it out onto a floured surface and gently shape back into a ball.
• Shape the dough into 12 even pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Place the dough balls in a 9×13-inch tray lined with baking paper, leaving space between each. Cover with a damp towel and let rise for 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). In a small bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, and water to make a thick paste for the crosses. Transfer the paste to a zip-lock bag, snip off the corner, and pipe crosses onto the buns.
• Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until the buns are golden brown and make a hollow sound when tapped.
• While the buns are baking, make the glaze. In a small pot, heat the water and sugar over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.
• Remove the buns from the oven and immediately brush them with the glaze. Let the buns cool slightly before serving.

Video

Notes

If this is the first time you are making these, be sure to read through all the tips in the blog post before beginning.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bun | Calories: 316kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 56mg | Potassium: 191mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 140IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 4mg

Nutritional information is provided as a guide only and is calculated using automated online tools, therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe.

Have you made this recipe?Leave a comment and a rating below and tag your creations with #eightforestlane on Instagram!

Not from Australia? Check out my US Conversion Guide

This recipe was originally published on April 11, 2020 and has been updated in 2025 with new photos and more helpful content. The recipe remains the same!