Easter Hot Cross Bun Cupcakes (+Video!)

These simple hot cross bun cupcakes are so much easier to make than traditional hot cross buns and kids will just love them. The perfect Easter tea time treat for all the family to enjoy.

What’s to love about this recipe

• This is taking the traditional flavours of the great British hot cross bun and turning it into an easy-to-make cupcake
• Quick and easy these little cupcakes are perfect for the kids to make and are ready in just over half an hour
• This is all about store-cupboard ingredients

Hot Cross Buns

These doughy fruit filled bakes date back centuries are are traditionally eaten on Good Friday. The cross on top of course signifying Christ. But eating cross marked cakes and breads dates right back to ancient Greece. There are all sorts of traditions related to the hot cross bun from warding off evil spirits to cementing friendships.

Tesco alone sells over 70 million of these buns on the run-up to Easter.

Ingredients for hot cross bun cupcakes

• Sultanas/currants or raisins – just use whatever you have to hand here
• An orange as you will want both the juice from it and the grated zest. Use an unwaxed orange or see notes below.
• Self-raising flour and some baking powder
• Sugar – I’ve used mostly white caster sugar but added in some soft dark brown sugar for it’s lovely caramel-like taste and colour too
• The spices – oh yes, you have to have spices in a hot cross bun. I’ve used a mixture of cinnamon and mixed spice
• Butter and eggs, milk and some runny honey

Pro tip

How to remove the wax from citrus fruit – simply wash the orange under hot water with soap and a nail brush. Then rinse under cold water and pat dry. This removes the wax preservative.

How to make hot cross bun cupcakes

First you want to soak the dried fruit in the juice of the orange. This will plump up the fruit and make it taste delicious.

When it comes to making these simple cupcakes just put all your ingredients into a stand mixer and let it run for about 1 minute to blend everything together.

Spoon the cake batter into cup cake cases and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and batter-free.

Allow to cool completey while you whisk up some icing sugar with milk and then pipe on a cross on each cupcake.

Pro tip

Don’t have an icing bag? No problem. Just scoop the icing into a plastic sandwich bag and snip off the corner. Now carefully hold this at one edge of the cupcake and move across squeezing the bag as you go. Lift up at end, turn the cupcake and make another line creating that all-important hot cross bun cross design.

How many cupcakes does this make

I made 12 hot cross bun cupcakes from this recipe. If you want to make more then just double the recipe.

Storage

Your hot cross bun cupcakes will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight tin.

Serving ideas

Just serve these little Easter cupcakes as they are with a cup of tea.

You can make an Easter dessert by serving these hot cross bun cupcakes with a dollop of ice-cream

Looking for more super Easter ideas? Then check these out before you go;

Traditional Simnel cake recipe

Heston inspired chocolate Scotch egg for Easter

Simnel cake cookies

Koulourakia – Greek Easter biscuits

Marbled eggs for Easter

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.