Easter wouldn’t be Easter without that special smell of hot cross buns permeating the air.  To make this year’s batch extra special we enlisted the supreme skills of Elisa at Happy Skin Kitchen to create a hot cross bun recipe with a MIA twist. 

We can guarantee that these little vegan dazzlers are totally scrumptious, immensely moreish and an easy way to impress the family, friends and guests this Bank Holiday weekend.  The full recipe for the Double Chocolate Hot Cross Buns is below so get your bake on! 

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
60g 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 tablespoons of maple syrup
60g of MIA 100% dark chocolate melted

Method

• Place the dried yeast, 1 teaspoon of sugar and the water into a large mixing bowl.
• Mix them together and let them sit for 5-10 minutes until the yeast starts 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, feels soft, elastic and bouncy.
• Place back in the bowl. Cover it with 2 or three tea towels and place it in the warmest spot of the house
• Leave it to rise for 2 hours to double in size.
• Knead it again to make sure there 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 again with some tea towels and place back into the warm spot for 1 hour. 
• 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 hot 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 chocolate. Blend until super smooth and creamy. If your blender 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 attachments. Draw the cross on the buns. 

For more info on Happy Skin Kitchen visit – www.happyskinkitchen.com