Blueberry & Orange Hot Cross Bun Muffins
Happy Easter my beautiful Herbivores! I hope you have a food fuelled long weekend ahead of you; since that’s what public holiday are for, right? Maybe some people are preparing for the religious celebrations … but I can only speak for the foodies. Perhaps it’s hypocritical of me to celebrate Easter when I am agnostic, but how could I possibly surpass the opportunity to make themed food, veganize classic recipes or to stuff my face with tasty stuff?
Easter is time for cake and sweets like my last recipe: Carrot Cake Truffles and of course, these Blueberry & Orange Hot Cross Bun Muffins. I’ve been making vegan hot cross buns ever since my first vegan Easter 4 years ago now. They are essential for my mental wellbeing during the start of spring, as they have consistently been present around Easter for my 21 years of existence. I’m not quite sure what would happen if I were to go through a Easter without the beloved hot cross bun. Is it just me, or do you have a serious connection to hot cross buns too?
For those crazy few who haven’t ever sunk your teeth into a hot cross bun before, they are a soft, slightly sweet bun filled with fruit and spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, laced with citrus and topped off with a glaze. That’s what they should be like anyway. Sound like your thing? Then you’re going to love this recipe. I know that making your own bread and buns can seem intimidating and time consuming, but I do try my hardest to make The Hungry Herbivores recipes as user friendly as possible. I firmly believe that despite looking a little too professional (ha ha – ok Rosie), that you have the ability to conquer the hot cross bun recipe and happily toast your muffin and spread some vegan spread on it with pride.
I don’t like to be conventional and traditional with my flavours, these buns translate that well. If you wanted to go for the regular stuff, go ahead and stick to the regular shape and raisin filling. However, if you want your hot cross buns to stand out, then fill them with fresh blueberries, ground almonds and pop them in a muffin tin to make giant ones! That’s the way we roll here.
If you wanted something delicious to go with these Easter treats, why not try these Lemon & Elderflower Tartlet Cakes or for something savoury, this spring time Grilled Asparagus Quinoa Risotto – make your food game strong!
If you do manage to prove your dough and rise these gorgeous muffins in time for the Easter weekend, let me know how they went in to comments or on social media! Good luck!
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- 3½ cups (500g) plain flour
- ½ cup ground almonds
- 7g fast action yeast
- 1 cup almond milk
- ⅓ cup fresh orange juice
- 2 tbsp raw cane sugar
- 2 tbsp rapeseed/canola oil
- ¾ tbsp ground cinnamon
- ¾ tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup fresh blueberries (you want them to be firm not squishy)
- zest of one orange
- 3 tbsp plain flour
- 2 tbsp water
- 4 tbsp fresh orange juice
- 4 tbsp raw cane sugar
- Heat the almond milk until it is lukewarm.
- Pour the yeast and sugar into the milk and stir together with a wooden spoon. Set aside to become foamy (about 5 mins).
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, almonds, spices and salt. Add the blueberries and orange zest and stir together.
- Add the oil and orange juice to the yeast/milk mixture and pour into the flour. Stir together with a wooden spoon.
- Once the dough has come together, use your hand to begin to knead and turn out onto a floured surface. Knead for about 5 minutes, being careful not to burst the blueberries too much.
- Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave in a warm place for 1 hour.
- Pre heat your oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
- Once proved and nearly double in size, divide into 100g balls, smooth out with your hand and place them in a 12 hole muffin pan.
- Cover again and rest for 25 minutes.
- In the meanwhile, whisk together the flour and water for the crosses and put into a piping bag with a small nozzle.
- Once rested, pipe crosses on top of each muffin and place in the oven for 30 minutes
- While the muffins are cooking, in a saucepan, whisk together the orange juice and sugar, bring to a boil and let reduce for 5 mins until a loose syrup like consistency.
- Brush the glaze on the muffins once out of the oven and set aside to cool. Keep in an airtight container once cooled and consume within 2 days.