
Hot Cross Buns Recipe- A time to slow down
With Easter around the corner, it is time for new beginnings and baking Hot Cross Buns! While there are many recipes on the net, these hot cross buns will take your breath away. A recipe that will help you rediscover the joys and stillness of slow living, to pause and take a break and to focus on moments that truly matter. The slow rising time required to make these sweet sticky buns celebrate the flavours and textures, perfumed with a hint of spices and citrus.The only investment required is your time and love! After all, that’s the recipe for all good things in life!
Because it’s not a fast track recipe, I promise you it will win your heart as you take a bite of the delicious toasted bun with lashings of butter. And the best part is, it would be a product of your love. You will want to bake these throughout the year besides Eater and share them with family and friends. These Hot cross buns will resurrect the joy and magic in your life and bring you smiles. ๐
So let’s play some music, light some candles, put on the kettle, make a cup of rosy lee and bake some Hot cross buns. But, wait!? Wouldn’t you like to read a little about my story and how the Hot Cross Buns came into my life? Food brings memories and connects the past and the present. Perhaps, you will be inspired to create your own story after reading my story. So please don’t jump straight to the recipe, let the story come to you.
My Hygge childhood with the Hot Cross Buns
As a child, I remember celebrating Easter in my grandparent’s garden with family. My aunt played the role of the family Easter Bunny. She would hide the painted eggs in the garden and on Easter morning, we would go looking for them. Followed by a cosy breakfast spread in the garden, with all kinds of treats from the local bakery, including hot cross buns, bunny-shaped chocolates and pastries. My mom would whip the eggs into waffles for all to share. Eating together is a celebration of life, a shared experience and stays with you for years.
Warm memories from my childhood envelope me into a big hug from the Easter Bunny every time I bake these buns in my kitchen, as I reminisce of the lovly days gone by. Food has that power, to bring back memories, emotions and settings of experiences from the past. You can read more about this in my article Food is Life
Hot cross buns recipe to my rescue
The last few days I have been feeling mentally and emotionally drained out and lost. Especially since I failed to meet my expectations of all the goals and targets I had set for myself. This really affected my creative flow and energy. Even if I tried, I couldn’t muster a single idea in my head. I felt like I had hit a wall. So, I decided to switch off completely from everything, give myself time to slow down.
I decided to focus on things that really mattered, to engage with myself. A big part of it was to get back to my place of love, my kitchen where I could slow down and bake. And, that’s when the recipe for these Hot Cross Buns came to my rescue. Perfect timing! With Easter approaching, it feels the time for renewal and new beginnings. I can happily confirm that I feel more centred, connected and relaxed after the process of just letting go and embracing the present moments. After all, here I am writing away this article after a big creative block has been lifted.
Perhaps you can relate? What do you do to channelize yourself when lost?
Feeling overwhelmed? Slow down and bake
Are you are feeling overwhelmed right now? Did my story inspire you to slow down and focus on yourself? Switch off from everything, take a break, you owe it to yourself. If you are feeling stuck, you won’t find solutions by obsessing about them. They might come if you give yourself some time. Food has that power, probably you are not fond of cooking or baking. But hey, its Easter! New beginnings and all, right?! So let’s try something new. Try baking these lovely little English buns. The slow process of rising and baking is meditative and relaxing. Make yourself a cup of tea while you wait for the buns to rise. You will feel your mood resurrect right away, calmer and recentered.
Here’s a little tip to maximise the pleasures of this bun if you can: Pack yourself a little picnic basket and go for a little walk in the woods. If possible, build yourself a little campfire to toast these buns and enjoy them with lashings of butter. If you have kids, they will love it and cherish the memories forever.
Surrounding yourself with nurturing elements that bring you joy, whether it’s the woods, the hot cross buns, baking or anything else that you love, is the most precious gift we can give ourselves. To rediscover who we are, to remember to live the little moments, to be the true versions of ourselves is what keeps us going and makes our lives meaningful. It will be these experiences that will stay with you
Breaking Hot cross buns together
As, I always say, eating together is a powerful experience that harnesses the magic of love and new beginnings. So bake these buns and share them with your neighbours, friends and even strangers. They won’t feel so strange anymore once you share these delightful buns with them and you might gain a new friend. According to the old English folklore, these buns are known to solidify friendships. The Irish central shares n old rhyme to capture this lore “Half for you and half for me, between us two, good luck shall be.” https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/food-drink/irish-hot-cross-buns-recipe-easter. So go ahead and break some Hot Cross Buns together with others
The folklore of the hot cross buns
Here’s a story shared by food Author, Regula Ysewijn that you might find interesting and shows how food truly connects the past and the present.
In Londonโs East End you can find a pub called The Widows Son, named after a widow who lived in a cottage at the site in the 1820s. The widow baked hot cross buns for her sailor son who was supposed to come home from the sea on Good Friday. He must have died at sea as he never returned home, but the widow refused to give up hope for his return and continued to bake a hot cross bun for him every year, hanging it in her kitchen with the buns from previous years.
When the widow died, the buns were found hanging from a beam in the cottage and the story has been kept alive by the pub landlords ever since a pub was built on the site in 1848.
Time to bake some buns
Surely, you must have heard this famous English nursery rhyme, so
One haโpenny, Two
Hot cross buns!
Hot cross buns!
One a penny, two a penny,
Hot cross buns!
If your daughters do not like them
Give them to your sons;
But if you haven’t any of these pretty little elves
You cannot do better than eat them yourselves.
Hot Cross Buns
A hot cross bun is a sweet bun with spices and currants added to enhance the flavours. Once baked, it is glazed with sugar syrup and embellished with a white cross.
Starter
- 228 g Milk
- 2 g honey
- 180 g Flour
- 11 g Instant yeast
Dough
- 1 each Large Egg
- 70 g Butter
- 15 g Honey
- 270 g Flour
- 70 g Sugar
- 10 g Salt
- 1 t Cinnamon
- .25 t Nutmeg
- 1 t All spice
- 1 t Ginger powder
- 1 t Orange zest
- 125 g Dried Currants
Eggwash
- 1 ea Egg
- 1 T Milk
- 1 Pinch salt
Sugar Syrup
- 60 g Sugar
- 50 g Water
Paste for topping the Buns
- 45 g Butter
- 35 g Sugar
- 35 g Milk
- 75 g Flour
- 1 t Vanilla Extract
- 1 t Orange Zest
Starter
1. Mix all the ingredients together in your kitchen aid bowl for about 2 minutes on low speed.
2. Cover and let it sit for 30 minutes to develop
Dough
1. Mix all but currants on low speed for 5 minutes
2. Mix for another 5 minutes on medium speed to develop the gluten in the dough
3. Add the currants and mix for 1 minute on low speed
4. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and let it rise for 45 minutes till double in a slightly warm place.
5. Take out the dough on a lightly floured surface and gently deflate the air.
6. Divide the dough with your knife into 16 portions. Each portion should weigh around 60g
7. Let these balls rise for 15 minutes on the bench but make sure to cover them with a clean kitchen towel to prevent them from drying out
8. Shape these balls after 15minutes rest into a tighter ball by rolling against the kitchen counter surface, to make it smooth and then lightly flatten with the palm of your hand. But be extra gentle, handle the dough like a baby ๐
9. Egg wash: Lightly brush the top of these buns with egg mix
10. Cover and let the buns rise for another 45 minutes in a slightly warm place. While the buns are resting you can turn on the oven to preheat at 375F/190C
11. Egg wash again once the buns have risen and let it dry for 5 minutes.
12. Pipe a cross with the paste filling on top of the buns or you can create anything else that you fancy. Once my husband and I piped an OM on the bun. Get creative!
13. Bake the buns in the preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes.
14. Glaze the buns as soon as they come out of the oven with hot sugar syrup
15. Cool and slice in half, toast and enjoy with lashings of butter
Eggwash
Mix all ingredients together
Sugar Syrup
Bring the sugar and water to boil
Paste for topping the buns
Melt butter and add all the rest of the ingredients gently
This recipe is easier to make then it looks, so don’t be scared of the long steps and the list of ingredients. Ask me anything if you need further clarifications. Happy Baking!


22 Comments
Jen @ Jenron Designs
I love Hot Cross Buns they take me back to my childhood, I can’t wait to try your recipe!
Nomadskitchen
That’s wonderful to hear. I would love to hear from you once you try the recipe and if they seem familiar to the taste of your childhood. ๐
Janay
Omg Iโm so happy I read this! Iโve been looking for new recipes and things to bake. I love baking and this looks so yummy ๐
Nomadskitchen
I am so happy to hear that! My purpose is to spread happiness through my posts and please let me know when you bake these buns. If
you like baking, then maybe you would like to subscribe to receive my recipes and tips in your inbox. ๐
Safa
Easy to follow instructions. I like that you posted video in the end, itโs helpful to see how it turns out, they look yummy! Canโt wait to try this recipe โบ๏ธ
Nomadskitchen
I am so happy to hear that. I do hope you will find time to bake these before Easter and let me know how they turned out ๐
Malory
This sounds like something even my three year old might enjoy! Thanks for the recipe.
Nomadskitchen
Oh wow, please let me know if your daughter enjoyed making them and i would love to see pictures. You can share them on my site or my instagram on #Hyggewithfoodies.
Adebusola
This looks yummy. Would definitely give it a try
Nomadskitchen
Thank you, do share your experience. I would love to know how they went for you ๐
Fiorella
They look so delicious and I would really like to try them! I know my family would love the : D
Nomadskitchen
Thank you, they’re great for sharing with family.please do let me know if your family enjoyed them. I know mine does. ๐
Sarah Conley
I love the whole mentality behind this post! I feel like this could be a new tradition to do with your family, and I especially love that you’re preparing them over a fire outside. They look delicious!
Sarah from https://happylittletadpole.com/
Nomadskitchen
That means a lot to me Sarah, thank you so much. It’s what I have grown up with. Eating together, focus on fresh cooking and in this fast paced life trying to share that and hope to inspire others too. ๐ cooking outdoors makes it all extra special and taste delicious
Mama Writes Reviews
I have a friend who makes us hot cross buns every year for Easter so I’ve never had to make them!
Nomadskitchen
Maybe you can surprise her with your own. Let me know how they turned out in case you do:)
Jenn โณ onehoppymomma.com
These are new to me and look easy to make. Canโt wait to try out the recipe.
Nomadskitchen
They are my favourite pancake recipe as They are easy to whip up and you can make them in advance without having to slave over the stove. They last well for a couple of days especially great for a walk in the woods ๐
Ashley
I have always wanted to try making these!
Nomadskitchen
Nice! Let me know when you do and how they turned out for you ๐
Danielle Rice
Looks delicious. Will have to try the recipe out.
Nomadskitchen
It does make a delicious no fuss breakfast ๐