After making these hot cross buns I really wish we don’t eat them just for Easter! Well I can honestly say that I will make them again and again throughout the year as they are so delicious!! They are pillow soft, with that perfect bread consistency which make them so comforting and decadent at the same time. I swapped the traditional raisin with chocolate chunks and I even added melted chocolate in the frosting! I mean, you can’t ever have too much chocolate right?
For this recipe I have used Mia 100% dark chocolate which is just every chocolate connoisseur dream! Super rich, intense and with a deep cacao flavours it works so well with the sweet dough.

What makes Mia different from all the other chocolate brands is that they entirely produce their chocolate bars in Madagascar where the cocoa grows. Most of all the other chocolate brands source their cocoa in Africa or south America and then manufacture their chocolate in Europe. MIA not only use locally sourced ingredients and materials, but by crafting the chocolate from bean to bar in Madagascar create more jobs on a continent where a single income can support an entire family.

Ingredients:

3 cups of white flour
1 sachet of dried yeast
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/3 cup of melted coconut oil
1/4 cup of coconut sugar
3/4 cup of lukewarm unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup of lukewarm water
60gr of Mia 100% dark chocolate chopped into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
A pinch of sea salt

For the glaze:

2 tablespoons of unsweetened almond milk
1 tablespoon of maple syrup

For the frosting:
3/4 cup of cashews soaked for 3 hours or overnight
2 tablespoon of maple syrup
60gr of Mia 100% dark chocolate melted

Place the dried yeast + 1 teaspoon of sugar + the water into a large mixing bowl. Mix them together and let them sit for 5-10 minutes until the yeast start to foam. Add in 1 cup of flour and mix again. Gradually add in the remaining flour, coconut sugar, almond milk, coconut oil, cinnamon and salt and keep mixing, first with a spoon then with your hands. At last fold in the chopped chocolate. Keep working the dough with your hands until it’s smooth, feel soft and it’s quite elastic and bouncy. Shape the dough Into a bowl and place it back in the bowl. Cover it with 2 or three tea towels and place it in the warmest spot of the house (I placed mine next to the radiator) Leave it to rise for 2 hours. After 2 hours the dough should have doubled in size. Knead it again to make sure they aren’t any air bubbles. Divide it into small round balls. You should have anything between 8-12 depending on the size. Place the balls directly onto a baking tray covered with some parchment paper. Cover it again with some tea towels and place it back into the hot spot for 1 hour. After 1 hour they have increase in size and be all nice and puffy.
In a small bowl mix together the almond milk and the maple syrup and brush the buns.
Preheat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius and bake the hit cross buns for 20 minutes until nice and golden.

While they are baking make the frosting: drain and rinse the cashews and place them in a blender with the other ingredients. Blend until super smooth and creamy. If your bender is struggling add a dash of almond milk.

Let the buns cool down completely before decorating them. Pour the frosting into a piping bag with one of the smallest attachment. Draw the cross on the buns and enjoy!
They are also super delicious toasted with some vegan butter or nut butter.