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carrot cake hot cross bun
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Carrot Cake Hot Cross Buns

We're combining hot cross buns with carrot cake! Here, tangzhong buns are filled with carrots, fruit & spices then topped with cream cheese frosting crosses.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Proving Time3 hours
Total Time3 hours 55 minutes
Course: Baking, Snack
Cuisine: British, English
Servings: 12 Hot Cross Buns
Author: Ben Racey

Equipment

  • Stand Mixer
  • Box Grater
  • Large Baking Tray
  • Digital Scales
  • Dough Scraper
  • Pastry Brush

Ingredients

Mix Ins

  • 100 g Sultanas (Or Raisins)
  • 30 g Rum (See Notes)
  • 180 g Grated Carrots (Roughly 3 Carrots - See Notes)
  • 75 g Walnuts

Tangzhong

  • 25 g Strong White Bread Flour (See Notes)
  • 100 g Whole Milk

Dough

  • 190 g Whole Milk
  • 8 g Dried Active Yeast (Or Instant Yeast)
  • 500 g Strong White Bread Flour
  • 45 g Light Brown Sugar
  • 8 g Fine Sea Salt
  • 1 tsp Skimmed Milk Powder (See Notes)
  • 1 Large Egg (50g Out Of The Shell)
  • Zest Of 1 Orange
  • 1½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
  • 1 tsp Ground Ginger
  • ¼ tsp Ground Nutmeg
  • 55 g Unsalted Butter (Softened)
  • 30 g Candied Peel

Egg Wash

  • 1 Egg
  • 1 tsp Whole Milk

Glaze

  • 60 g Apricot Jam
  • 2 tsp Water

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 100 g Unsalted Butter (Softened)
  • 200 g Icing Sugar
  • 165 g Cold Cream Cheese (Full Fat)
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Paste
  • A Pinch Of Table Salt

Instructions

Mix Ins

  • The night before making the buns, place the sultanas & rum into a small bowl, mix to combine then cover and leave to soak overnight.
  • The next day, peel the carrots, grate with a box grater then weigh out 180 grams. Place the grated carrot onto a tea towel then wring out, to remove some of the water. Tip the carrots out onto a tray, pat dry if needed then set to one side.
    It's key to remove as much moisture from the carrots as possible otherwise it will make the dough too wet & sticky!
  • Next, toast the walnuts, leave to cool then roughly chop. You can toast the nuts in a frying pan over a medium heat or in an oven set to 180°c/356°f. They'll take 3-4 whichever method you use.

Tangzhong

  • Place the flour & milk into a small saucepan & whisk to combine. Cook over a low heat until you have a thick paste, stirring constantly with a spatula. Transfer to a bowl & leave to cool to room temperature.

Hot Cross Buns

  • Warm the milk to 38°c/100°f (either in the microwave or on the stove) then whisk in the yeast. Leave for 5-10 minutes, to go frothy.
  • In the meantime, place the flour into the bowl of a stand mixer, along with the brown sugar, sea salt, milk powder, egg, orange zest, spices & cooled down tangzhong.
  • Next, give the activated yeast another whisk then add into the flour.
  • Mix the dough on a medium speed for 4-5 minutes until smooth then mix the softened butter in, a small piece at a time. Make sure that each piece of butter is fully incorporated before adding in more.
  • Continue mixing on a medium speed until the dough passes the window pane test. This will take around 5 minutes.
    To perform the window pane test, stretch a small amount of dough between your fingers. If the dough stretches thin enough so that you can see your fingers through it without tearing, it's ready.
  • Next, add the grated carrot, rum soaked raisins, chopped nuts & candied peel into the dough then knead by hand to incorporate the mix ins into the dough. If needed, you can use your stand mixer to incorporate the mix ins more evenly.
  • Once mixed, cover the dough then leave to prove at room temperature until doubled in size. This will take 1-1½ hours.
  • Once the dough has risen, knock it back, tip out onto a clean work surface then divide into 12 equal pieces, using a bench knife. Each piece should weigh around 110 grams.
  • Shape each piece of dough into a ball then place onto a lined baking tray, in 4 rows of 3, leaving a couple of centimetres between each bun. Cover the tray lightly with clingfilm (or an upside down roasting tin) & leave to prove for another 1-1½ hours, until almost doubled in size.
    The buns should have risen by about 75% & should just be touching.
  • Whilst your buns are rising, preheat an oven to 180°c/160°c fan (356°f/320°f).

Baking

  • To make the egg wash, add the egg & milk into a small bowl then whisk to combine.
  • Once risen, brush the hot cross buns with a light coating of egg wash then bake for 20-25 minutes, until a deep, golden brown.
  • Whilst your buns are baking, add the jam & water into a small bowl then microwave to warm up slightly. This makes it easier to brush onto the buns.
  • Once baked, brush the jam over the hot cross buns then leave to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Add the softened butter into the bowl of a stand mixer then sift in the icing sugar. Mix with the paddle attachment for 2-3 minutes on a medium speed, until light & fluffy.
    Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl down regularly with a spatula!
  • Next, add the cream cheese, vanilla & salt into the butter then continue mixing on a medium speed for another 2-3 minutes, until everything is combined and the frosting is light & whipped.
  • Transfer the frosting to a piping bag then pipe crosses on top of the hot cross buns. Serve straight away!

Notes

1. To Cook In An Aga - Use the simmering plate to cook the tangzhong. Bake the hot cross buns in the baking oven, on the bottom set of runners.
2. Carrots - You'll need 180 grams of grated carrots for this recipe, which is roughly 3 large carrots. As carrots contain a lot of water, we need to wring them out to remove as much of it as possible. A tea towel works best for this but don't use a good one, it will turn it orange!
3. Soaking Fruit In Rum - An overnight soak works best but a couple of hours will work as well. It's best to warm the rum up slightly if you're doing a shorter soak. If you're not a fan of rum, you could use black tea, orange juice or just boiling water instead.
4. Bread Flour - You’ll need a strong white bread flour for this recipe (12-14% protein). I use a Canadian white bread flour from Shipton Mill in the UK.
5. Yeast - This recipe can be made with either dried active yeast or instant yeast. Dried active yeast will need to be activated before using whereas instant can be added directly into the flour.
6. Milk Powder - Adding milk powder to the dough is optional but helps give the hot cross buns a deeper, golden colour once baked.
7. Storage - Carrot cake hot cross buns are best stored in the fridge because of the cream cheese frosting. However, they are best eaten at room temperature, so it's best to let them sit out of the fridge for 30 minutes or so before serving.