Choc Chunk Hot Cross Buns/ Hot Cross "Scones"

So, I did a thing. An Easter thing.

Besides Christmas, Easter is my favourite holiday. Why? Because a) it teaches us so much, be us Christian or not, about suffering and about sacrifice and about love and b) Chocolate and hot cross buns. The food at Christmas I feel I generally could eat all year round, but Easter eggs and hot cross buns… now that is seasonal.

And they are my favourites. So I decided this year, to both buy and make these goodies. And I was dying of jealousy over my family and their choc chip hot cross buns, so I decided to make my own. And I did! But they are sort of very crunchy, almost scone like. So I have called them hot cross scones, in lieu of the more bready texture I was hoping for. Still delicious? You betcha. Still vegan, gluten free and refined sugar free? You double betcha. Am I still going to eat all of them? That's just a silly question. Probably before the end of me typing out this recipe will I have eaten them all.

Better get cracking with it then. Now I baked these for 35 minutes at 190 degrees celcius, if you baked them for slightly shorter perhaps they would not be as crunchy. Also, if you perhaps kneaded them more than I did OR you used normal plain flour instead of gluten free, you might have better hope. Do you, make changes and be happy inconsitencies. It is what makes life exciting after all.

Ingredients: 

3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons of Almond Milk (or dairy free milk of choice), slightly warm

2 tablespoons of coconut sugar, plus another 2 tablespoons of coconut sugar

1 sachet dried yeast (7g) 

1/4 cup melted dairy free margarine (I used the coconut oil based spread), melted

2 3/4 cup gluten free plain flour (plus extra for kneading later) 

1 teaspoon (or more, or less) mixed spice/ all spice 

Chopped chocolate, of choice (I used Loving Earth Dark) 

Spray oil, for pan 

Cross mixture: 

2 tablespoons of plain flour (approx., might need more or less) 

1 tablespoon water 

Glaze: 

1 tablespoon of coconut sugar 

1.5 tablespoons boiling water 

Method: 

In one bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of sugar, yeast and milk in bowl and set aside until yeast is activated (foaming). 

Add the melted spread of choice to this bowl and whisk until combined. 

In another bowl, add flour, mixed spice, chopped chocolate and the other tablespoons of sugar. Stir to combine. Then, make a well in the centre of this mixture bowl and add the liquid from the other bowl to the hole. Combine the mixtures until a sticky dough is formed. 

Lightly flour a clean surface (board, bench etc.) with flour of your choice (I used brown rice flour this time). Knead dough for as long as it requires until it is no longer sticking to your hands. 

Spray or coat oil on a bowl, and roll the dough into a ball and place it in the bowl, and cover with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap. Place in a warm area for an hour or until it has doubled in size. 

Just before your hour is up, preheat your oven to 190 degrees Celsius. 

Once it has, punch the air out on a clear (but unfloured) work space and knead for a little while longer. Divide the dough into even sections and roll these into small balls (as many or few as you like, these will be your buns). 

Spray oil a baking pan and place the balls right next to each other. 

Make your cross mixture, and pipe into cross shapes on top of buns (I cut a sandwich bag in the very corner very very tiny and used that haha) 

Pop the tray in the oven and allow to cook for 25-30 minutes or until hard on the top and when tapped, a hollow sound occurs. 

In the mean time, make your glaze and set aside. 

When ready, take the buns out of the oven and glaze them with a pastry brush. Allow to cool for 5 minutes so the glaze can harden, and then serve! 

Don't overcoat the buns, you don't want them to get too soggy. 

And enjoy with a nice cup of tea, or if you're like me, melted chocolate and banana stuffed. 

I like big buns and I cannot lie. 

Sweet Potato Pancakes

They are, as the title suggests, "sweet", even with the addition of sweet potato. Pancakes with an Autumnal flavour twist… me likey. Almost makes up for the cold… ALMOST. (I'm a summer girl but I don't mind autumn flavours, they can be so delicious… but I think I may like mango and ice cream more… and the heat. I can eat sweet potato pancakes in summer and be warm on the inside and outside simultaneously, universe!) 

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup buckwheat flour (or 1/4 cup buckwheat and 1/4 cup brown rice flour)

1 tsp baking powder 

1 tbsp maca powder (optional but recommended, I use this one ) 

1/2 cup steamed and mashed sweet potato (peeled before cooked) 

1 tbsp vanilla essence 

2 flax eggs (2 tbsp flax to 6 tbsp water, left in fridge overnight) 

1 mashed very ripe banana

1/2 cup plantbased milk 

Plantbased protein powder, optional (I use Rawr Energy vanilla in this recipe) 

Cinnamon and nutmeg, to taste 

Method: 

In a bowl combine all the dry ingredients and mix to combine. At the same time, chop your peeled sweet potato into chunks and steam it until soft. Then, put it through the blender until smooth. Put in bowl with dry ingredients and add mashed banana, flax eggs and milk. 

Heat a non-stick pan with your oil of choice (I love coconut oil) over medium heat, and one by one cook your pancakes until all cooked. Stack em up, and destroy them! It's easier than you think, especially if you add all your favourite toppings. I like Peanut butter, Dried figs, cacao nibs and coconut chips plus banana and berries. But be prepared for a large portion, that's the only way I'll eat my pancakes. Hehe.