Let’s face it, it’s just not Easter unless you gorge yourself on chocolate right? Well, that’s what everyone else seems to be doing, and it can be pretty hard to join in on the festivities when you can’t eat gluten & dairy.
I love Hot-Cross Buns. I used to be one of those people that would buy them when they first come out in that week in January while everyone else is still recovering from Christmas! Unfortunately I’ve yet to find gluten, dairy & soy-free ones anywhere.
And, of my course kids being kids, they love the chocolate ones the best. So as we all know, necessity is the mother of invention, so I tasked myself off to the kitchen to come up with a recipe so we could still indulge.
Admittedly, I usually only make the traditional fruit & spice ones (you can get the recipe here), but this year, the girls really wanted chocolate ones, so I decided to give them a go yesterday and recorded it as I went so you could try them too. You can watch the video below. ↓↓↓
They were yummy, but admittedly, even to my bitter palate, they did need just a tad more sweetness, so I would add a bit of honey to the mix. I’ve added it in the recipe below, but you won’t see me using it in the video. I didn’t realise just how much the fruit and spices sweeten the buns, compared to the bitterness of the cacao nibs and cacao powder in this recipe.
Even with the lack of sweetness, half of the batch has gone, and my youngest did ask if she could have one for breakfast this morning!!
I hope you have a Happy and Indulgent gluten & dairy-free Easter, and put yourself into too much of a food coma on Sunday!
Best wishes,
Cindy xo
Chocolate Hot-Cross Buns
Ingredients
Yeast Mixture
- 1 tbsp dried yeast (4 tsp)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 375 ml coconut milk warmed to body temperature
Dough
- 1/3 cup ghee melted
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp honey
- 4 cups gluten-free flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp cacao powder
- 1 cup cacao nibs
Glaze
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp gelatin
- 1 tbsp water
Chocolate for Crosses
- 35 g Cacao butter
- 3 tbsp Rice Malt Syrup
- 2 tbsp cacao powder
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Yeast Mixture
- Combine the yeast, sugar and milk in a small bowl and mix until there are no lumps.
- Cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 10 minutes until foamy.
Dough
- Sift together the flour and 1 1/2 Tbsp cacao powder in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the cacao nibs and stir well to coat with the flour.
- Add the ghee, egg, honey and yeast mixture and mix well to a soft dough.
- Cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Turn the dough out onto a clean surface dusted with extra flour and shape into a long sausage.
- Cut the sausage into 12-16 pieces.
- Shape each piece into a bun and place on a lined baking tray.
- Cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 15-20 minutes.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 220oC for 25-30 minutes until golden.
Glaze
- As soon as the buns are ready, combine the glaze ingredients in a small pot and gently heat until the sugar and gelatin melt.
- Brush the hot glaze onto the hot buns.
- Cool the buns on a wire rack.
Chocolate for Crosses
- Place the cacao butter and rice malt syrup into a small pot and melt over very low heat.
- Whisk in the cacao powder, vanilla and salt until smooth.
- Place into a piping bag (or use a plastic sandwich bag with one corner cut off) and pipe crosses onto the buns. Be careful as it is hot. If it is too hot, allow it to cool for a few minutes until you can hold it without burning yourself.
- Notes:
- If it is a cold day, and you don’t have anywhere warm to sit the yeast and the dough, place them on the top shelf of a cold oven, with a bowl of boiling water in the bottom of the oven and close the oven door. This will provide a warm, but not hot environment to activate the yeast.
