Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday is one of my favorite parts of a Guyanese Easter. My other favorite Easter Tradition is flying kites on Easter Monday. Guyanese cross buns are spiced buns typically made with currants or raisins. I make mine with blended mixed fruits and it is always a winner.
A few years ago someone commented on my old Cross Buns recipe saying that it really shouldn't have eggs because Cross Buns are typically eaten on Good Friday, a day when most people eat vegan meals. I thought about it for a while and realized that I could still make my cross buns recipe delicious without eggs. I tried it and was successful and from that point on I started excluding eggs from my cross buns. Then recently I thought, why not just go ahead and make it vegan, and so I did. I promise you that it still has the most amazing texture and taste without any animal product.
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Differences between this Vegan Hot Cross recipe and my original Cross Buns Recipe:
- The old recipe includes, eggs, butter or shortening and milk. To make this recipe vegan, I simply left the eggs out, substituted the butter for coconut oil and swapped the milk for water.
- These cross buns have the same texture and same delicious flavor with fewer ingredients.
- In my old recipe I also used mixed fruits I had soaking in wine. For this recipe I used raisins and prunes soaked in some pineapple juice and then blended to a smooth paste.
- Finally, in this Vegan Hot Cross Buns recipe I am using my hands to knead the dough instead of my stand mixer which makes this recipe accessible to everyone.
Substitutions for the Vegan Cross Buns:
- You can swap the coconut oil for other kinds of fat or oil. You can keep it vegan or use dairy butter if you choose
- Use coconut milk instead of water for a rich coconut flavor
- Swap the mixed fruits for currants or just raisins. Be sure to soak them first.
- Instead of simple syrup, brush the top with maple syrup, or fruit jam. Apricot jam or marmalade works really well here.
The Video Tutorial:
Printable Recipe Card
Guyanese Hot Cross Buns {Egg Free, Vegan Recipe}
A sweet Easter bun top with a sticky simple syrup that is typically enjoyed on Good Friday
Ingredients
- 4 cups of flour plus ½ cup for dusting
- 1 tablespoon instant or rapid rising yeast
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 1 ¼ cup warm water
- ¼ cup of brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup of pineapple or apple juice
- 8 prunes
- ¼ cup of raisins washed
Simple Syrup topping
- ½ cup of water
- ¼ cup of granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
Instructions
- Combine flour, yeast, salt, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg in a large mixing bowl and mix together well
- Next add coconut oil and rub into the dry ingredients with your finger tips
- Then form a well in the center of the dry ingredients and set aside
- Next, mix together the brown sugar and 1 ¼ cup of warm water until the sugar dissolves and set aside
- Then add the raisins, prunes and pineapple juice to a blender and blend until a smooth paste forms
- Next add the sugar and water mixture, followed by the blended dried fruit paste to the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients
- Mix together well combining the wet and dry ingredients to form a soft dough
- You may add a bit more flour to the dough if it is sticky
- Then knead for 5 to 10 minutes until it becomes a smooth ball
- Place the smooth dough ball into a clean and greased mixing bowl, cover with a damp paper towel and set aside in a warm place to allow the dough to rise
- Let the dough rise for 45 minutes or until it doubles in size then turn onto a floured surface and knead for 1 to 2 minutes
- Then separate a small piece of dough, about the size of a tennis ball and set aside
- Next divide the remaining dough into 9 equal pieces
- Knead each of the 9 dough pieces into a tight, round and smooth dough ball or bun
- For the cross element on top of the bun, using your rolling pin roll the tennis ball size piece of dough you set aside earlier into a flat disk
- Then cut the disk into 18 strips, 2 strips per bun
- Next, place the two strips over each bun to make a cross, tucking the ends of the cross under the buns
- Repeat until all 9 buns have crosses
- Then place all of the buns on a greased baking sheet and cover with a kitchen towel
- Let rise for 30 minutes before baking
- While dough is rising, preheat your oven to 350 °F
- When you are ready to bake (after the dough rested for 30 minutes) place the cross buns uncovered into the oven and bake for 25 minutes
Making the syrup
- While the cross buns are baking, make the simple syrup topping by combining ½ cup water, ¼ cup granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence in a small saucepan on medium heat
- Stir until the sugar crystals dissolve, then bring the solution to a boil
- Continue to boil until the solution reduces to ½ the amount. This should take no more that 5 minutes
- Remove from the heat and set aside.
Finishing Touches
- Remove the cross buns from the oven after 25 minutes and allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes
- Then brush the top of the cross buns with the simple syrup
- Enjoy your cross buns warm or hot if you like
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Sunita Umraow says
Thanks for this wonderful receipe! They came out perfect! I added 2 extra table spoon raisins (i love raisins 🙂).
Sarika says
These were absolutely perfect! I am thrilled that it's eggless. They are so soft and tasty. Yumz!
Amy says
These look amazing! We don't eat animal products during Lent, but I wanted to make some Hot Cross Buns anyhow.
Could you sub something like applesauce for the juice? We don't ever buy juice