Cranberry, Cardamom, Chocolate & Orange Hot Cross Buns

Makes 12 buns

Time: roughly 3 hours

Buns

1 tablespoon (9g) instant yeast

½ cup (110g) sugar

1 ½ cups (375ml) regular or plant based milk, warmed

4 ¼ cups (640g) all purpose flour, plus more kneading

1 ½ teaspoon all spice

5 cardamom pods, shell removed and seeds ground, or ½ teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon salt

¾ cup (210g) dried cranberries

½ cup (75g) semi sweet or dark chocolate chips (dairy free if desired)

2 oranges, zested

3 ½ tablespoons (50g) unsalted regular or plant based butter, melted

1 egg

Crosses

½ cup (75g)

5 tablespoons orange juice

Glaze

¼ cup honey

2 tablespoons water

Add sugar and yeast to warm milk and bloom the yeast. Add egg, orange zest, and egg to the milk mixture. 

In a large bowl, combine flour, spices, and salt. Add the wet ingredients, cranberries, and chocolate chips then mix until just combined. Turn the dough onto a well floured counter and knead until the dough is smooth and bounces back when poked. Add more flour to the dough as needed to keep from sticking to the counter, though the dough should be slightly wet. 

Place dough back into the mixing bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 - 1½ hours until doubled in size. Cut the dough into 12 equal portions. Roll them into balls and place them on a 9x13 baking tray lined with parchment paper. Cover and let rise another 30-45 minutes until slightly puffed but not doubled in size. The last 15 minutes of proofing, preheat your oven to 350F.

In a bowl, whisk together the orange juice and flour to make the cross paste. Adjust with more orange juice or flour until the consistency is thick and pipeable. 

Uncover the buns and pipe the crosses. Bake uncovered for 22 - 30 minutes until deeply golden brown. 

 Combine honey and water, brush the warm buns with the glaze and let cool before serving.