Spiced Apricot Hot Cross Buns
Soft, fluffy raisin-free Hot Cross Buns made with Earl Grey soaked dried apricots and glazed with almond syrup.
Soft, fluffy Hot Cross Buns made with sweet dried apricots soaked in Earl Grey tea and glazed with almond syrup. Perfect on their own or slathered with honey butter for Good Friday or Easter brunch!
Why you’ll love these hot cross buns
- Perfectly spiced. Sweet spiced buns with a warming blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.
- Soft + fluffy. These buns use the same enriched yeasted dough as my cinnamon buns, making them super light, soft, and fluffy.
- No raisins. Dried apricots soaked in Earl Grey tea replace raisins in this recipe. Raisin-haters rejoice!
What you’ll need to make hot cross buns
- Bread flour: Delivers big fluffy buns.
- Brown sugar: Helps activate the yeast and adds sweetness to the dough.
- Yeast: This recipe uses Active Dry Yeast, but you could use Instant Yeast for a quicker rise time.
- Milk: Warm milk, between 110-115°F helps activate the yeast. Use any dairy milk (1%, 2%, or whole milk) or unsweetened soy milk.
- Butter: Unsalted butter enriches the dough with buttery goodness without adding extra salt.
- Egg yolks: Two egg yolks add further richness to the dough.
- Dried apricots: Chopped into ¼ inch pieces.
- Earl Grey tea: Steeped, for soaking the apricots. You could also use hot water.
- Vanilla + almond extract: For both the dough and the glaze. If you don’t have almond extract, replace the amounts called for with pure vanilla extract.
- Spices: A warming blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.
- Salt: Enhances the flavour of the dough
How to make hot cross buns
Step 1: Soak the apricots. In a medium bowl, soak chopped apricots (or other dried fruit) in steeped tea for 30 minutes. Drain well and pat dry.
Step 2: Activate the yeast. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add the milk, brown sugar, and yeast. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes to activate the yeast. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together flour, spices, and salt.
Step 3: Make the dough. Once the yeast is bubbly and foamy, add the melted butter, egg yolks, vanilla and almond extract. Mix until well combined. Add the flour mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough begins to come together. Knead on low speed for 10-15 minutes, until the dough passes the windowpane test. The dough should be tacky and clear the sides of the bowl. If the dough is sticky and wet, add 1 tablespoon flour at a time until the dough reaches the desired consistency.
Step 4: Add the apricots. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll the dough out to flatten it. Sprinkle the soaked fruit over top. Fold the dough letter-style into thirds. Turn the dough over seam-side down and knead by hand to fully incorporate the fruit, 3-5 minutes.
Step 5: Let the dough rise. Grease a large bowl with butter. Place the dough in the bowl. Cover and let rise for 1-2 hours, until doubled in size.
Step 6: Shape the dough. Turn the dough out onto a clean surface. Divide into 9 equal pieces and shape each into a ball. Arrange the pieces in a 9- or 10-inch square pan greased with butter and lined with parchment (for easy removal). Cover and let rise for 1 hour, until risen and puffy.
Step 7: Preheat the oven. Preheat oven to 350°F and make the flour paste for the crosses.
How to make the flour crosses
In a small bowl, stir together ½ cup water and ½ cup flour until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag or icing squeeze bottle with a #4 pastry tip. Just before baking, pipe the flour paste in straight lines across the middle of each row of buns to form crosses.
Step 8: Bake the buns. Pipe the flour crosses over top. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until evenly deep golden brown and the internal temperature reads 190°F. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, water, and extract for the glaze.
Step 9: Glaze the buns. Remove the buns from the oven and immediately brush with glaze. Allow the buns to cool slightly before serving.
Variations
- Traditional. For traditional hot cross buns, omit the apricots and soak ¾ cup raisins, currants, or sultanas in hot water or steeped tea. Also, replace the almond extract with pure vanilla extract.
- Chocolate chip. For kid-friendly chocolate chip hot cross buns, replace the soaked apricots with 1 cup chocolate chips and replace the almond extract with pure vanilla extract.
- Apple pie. For apple pie hot cross buns, replace the soaked apricots with 1 large apple (peeled and diced) tossed with 1 tablespoon brown sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Also, replace the almond extract with pure vanilla extract.
Like this recipe? Pin it for later!
Looking for more Easter brunch recipes? Try this everything bagel smoked salmon tart. Or, these soft and fluffy cinnamon buns.
Spiced Apricot Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients
- ¾ cup milk, 110-115°F (187g)
- ¼ cup brown sugar, (45g)
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 egg yolks
- ¼ cup butter, melted (58g)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 3 cups bread flour, (360g)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
For the apricots
- ¾ cup dried apricots, chopped
- 1½ cups steeped Earl Grey tea, (or hot water)
For the crosses
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup water
For the glaze
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- ⅛ teaspoon almond extract, optional
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, soak chopped apricots (or other dried fruit) in steeped tea for 30 minutes. Drain well and pat dry.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add the milk, brown sugar, and yeast. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes to activate the yeast.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together flour, spices, and salt.
- Once the yeast is bubbly and foamy, add the melted butter, egg yolks, vanilla and almond extract. Mix until well combined. Add the flour mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough begins to come together.
- Knead on low speed for 10-15 minutes, until the dough passes the windowpane test. The dough should be tacky and clear the sides of the bowl. If the dough is sticky and wet, add 1 tablespoon flour at a time until the dough reaches the desired consistency.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll the dough out to flatten it. Sprinkle the soaked fruit over top. Fold the dough letter-style into thirds. Turn the dough over seam-side down and knead by hand to fully incorporate the fruit, 3-5 minutes.
- Grease a large bowl with butter. Place the dough in the bowl. Cover and let rise for 1-2 hours, until doubled in size.
- Turn the dough out onto a clean surface. Divide into 9 equal pieces and shape each into a ball. Arrange the pieces in a 9- or 10-inch square pan greased with butter and lined with parchment (for easy removal). Cover and let rise for 1 hour, until risen and puffy.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, stir together the flour and water for the crosses. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag or icing squeeze bottle with a #4 pastry tip. In a separate bowl, stir together the sugar, water, and extract for the glaze.
- Just before baking, pipe the flour paste in straight lines across the middle of each row of buns to form crosses. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until evenly deep golden brown and the internal temperature reads 190°F. Remove the buns from the oven and immediately brush with glaze. Allow the buns to cool slightly before serving.
