Vegan Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Buns (With Caramel Sauce)
Follow this step-by-step recipe to make homemade Vegan Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Buns that are beautifully soft and satisfyingly squishy. Sprinkled throughout with chocolate chunks, brushed in a sweet and sticky glaze and served with an easy vegan salted caramel dipping sauce.
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Serves: 12
Calories: 356kcal
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 300 ml dairy free milk (warm (40°C))
- 2.25 tsp dried yeast (7g)
- 1 tsp sugar (4g)
- 500 g plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 50 g sugar (caster or granulated)
- 1 tsp salt
- 100 g dairy free margarine (melted and cooled to room temperature)
- 150 g vegan milk chocolate chips
For the white cross:
- 75 g flour (any white flour)
- 75 g water
For the glaze:
- 2 tbsp maple syrup (or a sugar glaze made from 2 tbsp sugar mixed with 2 tbsp hot water)
For the salted caramel dipping sauce:
- 120 ml dairy free cream (soya cream works well)
- 30 g soft light brown sugar (substitute: coconut sugar)
- a pinch of salt
Instructions
To make the buns:
- In a jug, stir together 1 tsp of sugar, the warm milk and yeast. Set the jug aside and allow the yeast to froth up (approximately 5-10 minutes).300 ml dairy free milk, 1 tsp sugar, 2.25 tsp dried yeast
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of your stand mixer (flour, salt and 50g sugar) and stir to combine.500 g plain flour, 1 tsp salt, 50 g sugar
- Make a well in the flour and add the wet ingredients (frothy yeast/milk mixture and melted butter/margarine).100 g dairy free margarine
- Turn the mixer on low, with the dough hook attached. Once the ingredients have combined, turn the mixer up to medium speed for 6 minutes. The resulting dough will be wet and sticky but should slide off of the dough hook quite easily.
- 1ST RISE. Cover the mixer bowl with eco-cling film or a damp tea towel and allow the dough to rise in a warm spot until double in size (approx 1 hour).
- Once doubled in size, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Sprinkle a little flour on top and shape it into a log. Cut the log into 12 pieces (roughly the same size).Note: The dough will be wet and sticky. Add more flour as needed to make the dough workable but try to keep this to a minimum - the softer and sticker the dough, the lighter and moister your buns will be. For reference, we use around 2 tbsp of extra flour during this and the next step.
- Flatten one piece of dough and sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top (around 1 tbsp of chocolate chips per piece of dough). Fold the dough in on itself to contain the chocolate chips inside and shape it into a ball. Place it, fold side down, in a lightly greased baking dish. Repeat with the remaining 11 pieces of dough.Note: We use either a baking dish 35cm x 22cm for all 12 hot cross buns, or two dishes 26cm x 16cm with 6 buns in each. Sizes don’t need to be exact, just somewhere in this region.Note: At this point, if you prefer, you can put your buns in the fridge in their baking dish (covered in cling film) and bake them the next day. The 2nd rise (next step) will likely take around 2 hours from the point at which you take the buns out of the fridge, rather than the usual 30-45 minutes.150 g vegan milk chocolate chips
- 2ND RISE. Cover your shaped buns with eco cling film and set them aside to rise again for a second time, for 30-45 minutes until roughly doubled in size.
To finish and cook the buns:
- Turn on your oven to preheat to 180°C fan (200°C conventional / 400°F / gas mark 6).
- Mix together flour and water to make a white paste and pipe this paste into crosses on top of the hot cross buns. If you don’t have a piping bag and small round nozzle then add the paste to a sandwich bag and snip the corner off to create a small hole.75 g flour, 75 g water
- Bake the buns in the preheated oven for around 18 minutes until golden brown on top.
- As soon as they are out of the oven, brush them in maple syrup or a sugar glaze (2 tbsp sugar mixed with 2 tbsp hot water).2 tbsp maple syrup
To make the caramel sauce:
- Add the brown sugar to a saucepan with a dash of cream (just enough to stir into the sugar to make a paste). Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes.30 g soft light brown sugar, 120 ml dairy free cream
- Add the rest of the cream, stir and boil until thickened (around 15 minutes).
- Allow to cool and add a pinch of salt to taste.a pinch of salt
Notes
Vegan / Dairy Free / Egg Free
Recipe inspired by: UK
Please check the allergens on the ingredients you purchase before use. The allergen information provided in this recipe is intended as a guide only and is based on the specific ingredients and brands used at the time of creating the recipe, therefore we cannot guarantee that the same will apply to the ingredients you use. Nutritional values are estimated and exclude any optional extras.
We highly recommend you use the metric and 1x options on this recipe card for the best results. Please note that this recipe has not been tested using US measurements or increasing ingredient quantities to 2x or 3x, therefore results may vary.
We highly recommend you use the metric and 1x options on this recipe card for the best results. Please note that this recipe has not been tested using US measurements or increasing ingredient quantities to 2x or 3x, therefore results may vary.
Nutrition
Calories: 356kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 287mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 15g | Net Carbohydrates: 52g
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