Spices, candied orange peel and a decadent ball of chocolate ganache make these marmalade chocolate hot cross buns outstanding.
My sister always hated raisins. She thought they looked too much like chocolate chips so it was deceptive to use them.
I’ve never shared my sister’s dislike for raisins but I do love chocolate and orange. So I made a new twist on hot cross buns.
Traditional hot cross buns have a buttery dough with raisins topped by a cross. These hot cross buns start with that buttery dough spiced with ginger, allspice, mace, nutmeg, cinnamon, marmalade and orange zest.
I’ve replaced the raisins with candied citrus peel and wrapped the dough around balls of chilled chocolate ganache. Brush the tops of the warm buns with warmed marmalade for a chocolate orange treat.
They were a hit with my friends who said the chocolate centers were “the bomb.”
Marmalade Chocolate Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients
Bread dough
- 5 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter cut into small pieces (75 g)
- 4 cups bread flour (500 g)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons yeast (one 7 g packet)
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon mace
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- zest of 2 oranges
- 1 ¾ cups dried citrus peel cut into raisin sized pieces (217 grams)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cup + 2 ½ tablespoons whole milk (275 ml)
- 1 tablespoon marmalade
Ganache
- 1 bar of fine semi-sweet chocolate (100 g)
- ⅓ cup heavy cream (75 ml)
Toppings
- ⅓ cup flour
- 4 - 5 tablespoons water
Glaze
- 3 tablespoons marmalade
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
Dough
- Rub butter into flour with fingers until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.
- Mix in remaining dry ingredients except the candied citrus peel.
- Mix together milk and marmalade and add to dry ingredients. Mix together until dough comes together. Then knead for 10 minutes until dough is no longer sticky.
- Cover bowl with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let rise until double (about 1 hour).
- Remove the dough from the bowl and flatten into a rectangle. Sprinkle candied citrus peel over the top. Fold over and sprinkle candied peel over the top. Keep folding and sprinkling until all the peel is kneaded into the dough.
Filling
- Put cream in a microwaveable bowl and heat for 1 minute (until scalding hot).
- Add chopped chocolate and let sit 1 minute.
- Stir until smooth. Refrigerate for 30 minutes
Assembly
- Roll the chocolate into 12 equal balls and chill until dough is fully risen.
- Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces.
- Flatten out each piece and place a chocolate ball in the center of the dough. Pinch the dough together to encase the chocolate and then place seam side down in the baking pan. Do this with all the rolls and arrange them so there is about 1/2 inch space between them.
- Cover with a damp towel and let rise again for about 45 minutes.
Crosses
- Mix flour and just enough water to form a thick paste the is pipeable (like frosting). Place in a piping bag with round tip (5mm)
- Start on one side of your pan and pipe a line across the entire row of buns without stopping. Repeat on each row so that the buns all have crosses.
- Bake in a preheated 400° F (200°C) oven for 25 minutes until deep golden brown.
- Transfer the buns to a wire rack to cool while you make the glaze.
Glaze
- Mix water and marmalade together and heat in a microwave until very hot. (1 minute).
- Strain the mixture and brush over hot buns.