Warm fluffy sweet rolls made with dried cranberries and raisins. Serve this Brioche Hot Cross Buns recipe toasted with salted butter for an Easter morning treat!
If you like this brioche recipe, you should try our delicious brioche bread and brioche burger buns, too.
Table Of Contents
What are Hot Cross Buns?
Hot Cross Buns are a type of spiced bread usually containing some sort of dried fruit or raisins. Although they can be enjoyed any time of the year, they are typically eaten during Easter time. They are always iced with a cross pattern over each bun to represent the cross of Jesus Christ. This Hot Cross Buns recipe uses a little extra butter to give them their light and fluffy texture. This brioche version is really scrumptious and will be a great addition to your brunch or holiday menu.
What you’ll need
- Wet ingredients- Milk, Sugar, Eggs, Vanilla, and Butter
- Dry ingredients- Yeast, All-purpose flour, and Salt
- Dried fruit- Raisins and Dried cranberries
- Icing ingredients- Powdered sugar and Milk
How to make Brioche Hot Cross Buns
- Combine the dough ingredients. First, combine the flour, salt, and sugar into the bowl of your stand mixer. Next, pour in the yeast mixture, eggs, and vanilla extract.
- Add in the butter. Now, mix the dough on high speed and add the softened butter. Keep mixing the dough for about 10 minutes to really incorporate all that butter throughout the dough. You’ll want to use the hook attachment for this step.
- Let it rise. Now, place the dough into a large greased bowl and let it rise (covered) for about one hour.
- Divide, rise, and bake. Next, separate the hot cross bun dough into 12 brioche buns and place them in a baking pan to rise and bake for 25 minutes.
- Ice each bun. After the hot cross buns have cooled, pipe out the icing on top.
Tips for the best Brioche Hot Cross Buns
- Submerge the dried fruit in water- To really get the intense flavor and sweetness from the raisins and cranberries, submerge them in boiling hot water for about 15-20 minutes. This will make them plump and juicy again.
- Be patient as you work in the butter- Your dough may seem very sticky at first, but be patient as it mixes and combines. Use a spatula to scrape the sides of the mixing bowl to make sure everything is incorporated.
- Don’t forget the egg wash– The egg wash that is brushed on before baking is what gives these hot cross buns their shiny golden tops that are moist and delicious.
- Add more milk if your icing is too thick. If your icing seems too thick, add some milk (a little at a time) until it reaches the smooth consistency you want for piping – not thick, but not too runny either. Then pipe it on when the buns are cool.
How to Serve Hot Cross Buns
Typically, hot cross buns, especially this brioche version, are best served warm (toasted) and sliced with salted butter on top. But you can also enjoy them with jam or preserves, such as this 3 Ingredient homemade Strawberry Jam (no pectin), spread on them. You can also serve them alongside other breakfast items, like this Danish Recipe with Almonds and Cream Cheese, Eggs Benedict, or Bacon and Hash Brown Quiche.
Looking for more Easter recipes? Give these a try!
- Roasted leg of lamb– Perfect main dish dinner idea!
- Couscous and arugula salad– Light, spring flavor.
- Carrot cake– loaded with carrots, pineapple, and cream cheese frosting.
- Easter egg blondies– soft baked bars with pastel-colored m&ms
How to Store them
Allow them to cool, then place these hot cross buns in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. They don’t need to be refrigerated. You can warm them for a few minutes in the oven, microwave, or toasted oven, or just eat them as is.
More fluffy bread recipes!
- Brioche bread loaf– Buttery, fluffy, melt in your mouth goodness.
- Nutella Brioche– Warm yeast dough with swirls of melted Nutella in between.
- Brioche Buns– Great for burgers or slow-cooked meats.
- The Best Brioche Donuts– Light, airy, and perfectly sweet.
- Brioche French Toast– The most delicious French toast you’ve ever tasted!
Watch the VIDEO recipe here
Full Recipe Instructions
Brioche Hot Cross Buns (VIDEO)
Warm fluffy sweet rolls made with dried cranberries and raisins. Serve these brioche hot cross buns toasted with salted butter for an Easter morning treat!
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Servings: 12 Buns
Calories: 234kcal
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raisin
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp yeast
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour add more if needed
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- Pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup butter softened
- 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 4 tsp milk
Instructions
- Add Half a cup of golden raisins and half a cup of dried cranberries into a bowl. Now fill the bowl with boiling water and let the submerged raisins sit for about 15-20 minutes.
- Now warm 3/4 cup milk to 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Then add 1 tbsp sugar and 1 1/2 tsp of dry active yeast.
- Give it a quick stir and set it aside for about 15 minutes or until it becomes frothy.
- Meanwhile, add 3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour into the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Then add in 1/2 cup of granulated sugar into the bowl. make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the yeast mixture.
- Lastly, you’ll add in 3 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract and I almost forgot the salt. You’ll need about a pinch of salt.
- Now using the hook attachment start off by mixing all the ingredients on low speed until the flour begins to incorporate into the wet ingredients. Now pick them Speed up to high and mix until no more patches of flour appear.
- Now you’ll add 3/4 cup unsalted softened butter to the dough and continue mixing on high speed for about 10 minutes. Depending on the size of your eggs you might need to add another 1/4 cup of flour.
- The dough may seem too sticky at first but be patient, continue beating and it will begin to take shape.
- During this process, you may need to scrape down the sides of the beater bowl with a spatula to pull away any butter that may have stuck to the side of the bowl.
- Now drain the soaked raisins and dried cranberries and add it to the dough. You’ll want to mix these in for about a minute or so pretty much until they’re well incorporated.
- Now you can remove your dough from the mixer bowl and begin working it into a ball. The Dough should still be sticky but firm enough to work with. That sticky texture is from all the Incorporated butter. Which will soon be fluffy layers of bread.
- Place the dough into a large greased bowl and cover it for about one hour or until doubled in size.
- Now shape the dough into a log and divide it into 12 equal pieces. Take each piece of dough and shape it into a ball with your hands.
- Then place the shaped buns into a deep baking dish coated in non-stick spray. Now cover the buns with a kitchen towel and let them proof for about 1 hour.
- Once the buns are done rising brush them with egg wash and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile make the icing by combining 1 1/4 cup of powdered sugar with 3-4 tsp of milk. You want the icing to be slightly runny yet thick enough to pipe out and not spread out.
- Once the buns are baked and cooled, pipe out the icing In a cross pattern over each bun.
Notes
RECIPE TIPS
- Submerge the dried fruit in water- To really get the intense flavor and sweetness from the raisins and cranberries, submerge them in boiling hot water for about 15-20 minutes. This will make them plump and juicy again.
- Be patient as you work in the butter- Your dough may seem very sticky at first, but be patient as it mixes and combines. Use a spatula to scrape the sides of the mixing bowl to make sure everything is incorporated.
- Don’t forget the egg wash– The egg wash that is brushed on before baking is what gives these hot cross buns their shiny golden tops that are moist and delicious.
- Add more milk if your icing is too thick. If your icing seems too thick, add some milk (a little at a time) until it reaches the smooth consistency you want for piping – not thick, but not too runny either. Then pipe it on when the buns are cool.
Nutrition
Calories: 234kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 126mg | Potassium: 101mg | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 445IU | Vitamin C: 1.3mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 0.4mg
Did you make this recipe? Snap a photo of it and tag me on Instagram @simplyhomecooked or use the hashtag #simplyhomecooked so I can see it and feature it!
This post was originally published on April 11, 2019. It has been updated since.
Hi, I’m Dina, so glad you stopped by! I believe life is too short for bad coffee and boring meals. With my easy to follow step-by-step recipes, you’ll be surprised at how quickly a wholesome and delicious meal can come together. I hope you find something you enjoy!
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Sherry Leonard says
Was so soft and fluffy.
Dina says
Thank you!
Lynn says
I use this recipe a lot for brioche rolls.
For the hot cross buns – I grew up with some spices in the recipe, so I adapted this by adding a total of one teaspoon of nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, and allspice. If you have a version to one of the spices leave it out or increase one that you prefer just so it’s a total of 1 teaspoon for 12 rolls are usually double the recipe!
Dina says
Thank you for the tip Lynn! 🙂
Shishma says
Great recipe added a cup of almond flour and did a cream cheese glaze and it was so yummy and moist 😍
Dina says
Wow that sounds delicious! 🙂
Dorothy says
I love the simplicity of this recipe and often use it as a simple fruit bun. I often replace cranberries with mixed peel and add some cinnamon and all spice to the flour.
Dina says
Hi Dorothy 🙂 Awesome to hear you love this recipe and make it work with different variations! That sounds delicious! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave your feedback! 🙂
Isabel says
If someone is not too keen on raisins can I just add more cranberries
Dina says
Hi Isabel, yes you can add extra cranberries! Enjoy!