These yummy banana and chocolate chip hot cross buns are a fun twist on the traditional hot cross buns recipe!
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Fancy trying a different flavour hot cross bun this year? This yummy banana choc chip hot cross buns recipe could be just what you are looking for!
One of the best things about this time of year has got to be the abundance of hot cross buns in the shops, and though there's nothing quite like homemade, there have been some amazing variations and flavours available in the shops in recent years.
Waitrose has some particularly interesting flavours in store this year, including a toffee hot cross bun and a cherry bakewell hot cross bun created by chef Heston Blumenthal!
To celebrate their new hot cross bun range, Waitrose challenged me to create my own new flavoured hot cross bun.
I had a good think and decided to try making a banana chocolate chip hot cross bun, which thankfully turned out to be rather delicious! You'll find my recipe below, it's a fun twist on traditional hot cross buns and it went down particularly well with my boys.
Banana Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients:
- 200g strong white bread flour
- 200g plain white flour
- 1 tsp (7g) quick yeast
- 50g soft light brown sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 250ml milk (Or dairy free alternative - I used soya)
- 50g butter (or dairy free spread)
- 1 medium egg
Part 2:
- 40g dried banana chips
- 1 small banana
- 60g dark chocolate chunks
- 50g plain flour
- 2 tbs honey
Method:
In a large bowl, mix the flours, yeast, sugar, salt and cinnamon.
Gently heat the milk for 30-45 seconds in the microwave, melt the butter or spread in a small microwave safe bowl for 20-30 seconds and beat the egg.
Make a well in the dry mixture and pour in the warm milk, melted butter and beaten egg.
Mix everything together until combined, then tip out onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until smooth and springy. The dough will probably be very sticky, but persevere with it and feel free to add a little more flour as you go along if necessary, it will become less sticky when you've been kneading it for a while.
Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a plate or clingfilm and leave in a warm place to rise until doubled in size. This will usually take around an hour, depending on how warm your room is.
Whilst the dough is rising, pop the banana chips into a plastic freezer bag, seal and bash with a rolling pin until they crushed to large bread crumb size.
Once the dough has risen, grease a large baking sheet and put it aside. Tip the dough out onto a floured surface, knead a couple of times and then pull out into a rough flat rectangle.
Mash the banana and spread it over the dough, then top with the crushed banana chips and chocolate chunks. Fold the dough over the enclose the fillings, then knead a few more times until combined.
Split the dough into 8 equal portions, roll each one into a smooth ball and place on the baking tray in two rows of four, leaving a little space between each for rising. Cover the tray with a clean plastic carrier bag or clean damp tea-towel and leave in warm place for around 20 minutes until doubled in size again.
Whilst the buns are rising, preheat the oven to 200°C (Gas mark 6/390°F). Mix 50g plain flour with 4-5 Tbs water to make a paste.
Once the buns are risen and ready to bake, spoon the flour paste into a piping bag and pipe it across the buns to form the crosses. If you don't have a piping bag to hand then a small freezer bag will also work - just fill and cut off the tip.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until risen and golden.
As soon as you take the buns from the oven, brush them with a light layer of honey to glaze, then break the buns apart and cool on a wire rack.
NOTES: I made this hot cross bun recipe dairy free by using soya milk, Pure dairy free spread and Waitrose dark chocolate chunks, which are dairy free too, but if you don't need to avoid dairy then the recipe will also work well with normal milk, butter and whatever chocolate chunks or chips you prefer.
If you're unsure about how to knead the dough, this video tutorial might be helpful.
If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also like these Easter treats too:
For more delicious and fun food ideas for Easter, check out the Fun Easter Food section here on the Eats Amazing blog or pop over and follow my Easter Pinterest boards for lots more fun ideas from around the web; Fun Easter Food for Kids, Healthy Easter Food and Easter Fun.
Grace
Disclosure: This blog post was commissioned by Waitrose as a part of the #WaitroseHotCrossBun campaign. I was compensated for my time and cost of ingredients, however all opinions expressed in this post are my own.
Banana Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients
- 200 g strong white bread flour
- 200 g plain white flour
- 1 tsp (7g) quick yeast
- 50 g soft light brown sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 250 ml milk (I used soya)
- 50 g butter or dairy free spread
- 1 medium egg
- Part 2:
- 40 g dried banana chips
- 1 small banana
- 60 g dark chocolate chunks
- 50 g plain flour
- 2 tbs honey
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the flours, yeast, sugar, salt and cinnamon.
- Gently heat the milk for 30-45 seconds in the microwave, melt the butter or spread in a small microwave safe bowl for 20-30 seconds and beat the egg.
- Make a well in the dry mixture and pour in the warm milk, melted butter and beaten egg.
- Mix everything together until combined, then tip out onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until smooth and springy. The dough will probably be very sticky, but persevere with it and feel free to add a little more flour as you go along if necessary, it will become less sticky when you've been kneading it for a while.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a plate or clingfilm and leave in a warm place to rise until doubled in size. This will usually take around an hour, depending on how warm your room is.
- Whilst the dough is rising, pop the banana chips into a plastic freezer bag, seal and bash with a rolling pin until they crushed to large bread crumb size.
- Once the dough has risen, grease a large baking sheet and put it aside. Tip the dough out onto a floured surface, knead a couple of times and then pull out into a rough flat rectangle.
- Mash the banana and spread it over the dough, then top with the crushed banana chips and chocolate chunks. Fold the dough over the enclose the fillings, then knead a few more times until combined.
- Split the dough into 8 equal portions, roll each one into a smooth ball and place on the baking tray in two rows of four, leaving a little space between each for rising. Cover the tray with a clean plastic carrier bag or clean damp tea-towel and leave in warm place for around 20 minutes until doubled in size again.
- Whilst the buns are rising, preheat the oven to 200°C (Gas mark 6/390°F). Mix 50g plain flour with 4-5 Tbs water to make a paste.
- Once the buns are risen and ready to bake, spoon the flour paste into a piping bag and pipe it across the buns to form the crosses. If you don't have a piping bag to hand then a small freezer bag will also work - just fill and cut off the tip.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until risen and golden.
- As soon as you take the buns from the oven, brush them with a light layer of honey to glaze, then break the buns apart and cool on a wire rack.
Notes
Love this recipe idea? Why not save it to Pinterest so you can easily find it again!
Charlie @ The Kitchen Shed says
These look gorgeous! There is nothing better than home made hot cross buns!
Grace says
Thank you, they really were yummy, we were fighting over the last one!