Chocolate Hot Cross Buns with Ginger + Cranberry
 
 
Author:
Serves: 10 buns.
Ingredients
For the tangzhong:
  • 6 tbsp (90ml) water
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
For the buns:
  • 2 + ¼ cups (335g) plain flour
  • ⅓ cup (30g) cocoa powder (good quality)
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ cup (50g) sugar
  • 1 + ½ tsp dry active yeast
  • ½ cup (125ml) milk
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ stick (55g) butter, soft
  • 4 oz (100g) dark chocolate, chopped
  • ½ cup dried cranberries
  • ¼ cup crystallized ginger, chopped
  • ¼ cup hazelnuts, chopped
To decorate:
  • 3 tbsp flour
  • 2 tbsp sugar
Instructions
  1. First, make the tang zhong. Place the flour and water into a small saucepan and place over a medium heat, whisking, until the mixture is cooked into a claggy gel. Set aside to cool.
  2. To make the buns, place the four, cocoa, salt, sugar and yeast into the bowl of a stand mixer.
  3. Whisk together the tang zhong and milk. Pour that into the dry ingredients, and crack in the eggs. Using the dough hook, work the mixture on a low speed, just until it begins to come together in a dough.
  4. Slowly add the butter, about a teaspoon at a time, working well in between each, and mix until all the butter has been incorporated. You should have a sticky, dark brown dough. Scrape down the bowl, cover with plastic, and set aside in a warm place until doubled in size (anything from 1-2.5 hours).
  5. When the dough has risen, add in the chocolate, cranberries, ginger and hazelnuts, and mix until everything is incorporated. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide into 10 even pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place on a paper-lined baking sheet. Cover lightly with plastic and set aside to rise again for about 40 minutes.
  6. Preheat the oven to 160C/325F. When the buns are risen, make the crosses on top. Mix the flour with about 3 tbsp water to form a thick paste. Transfer to a piping bag with a small round tip, and pipe crosses across the top of the buns.
  7. Bake the buns for 20 minutes, or until they are risen, are a dark matte brown, feel springy and spongey to the touch, and sound hollow when tapped.
  8. Mix the sugar with a splash of boiling water, just to dissolve the sugar and form a syrup. Brush the syrup over the hot buns and then set aside to cool. Serve warm.
Recipe by The Sugar Hit at http://www.thesugarhit.com/2016/03/chocolate-hot-cross-buns-with-ginger-cranberry.html