Bake up a batch of these fluffy, perfectly spiced Vegan Hot Cross Buns to make your Easter celebration complete! So good, you'll want to make them all year!
In your stand mixer bowl, add the yeast, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and lukewarm water. Let stand for a few minutes.
When the yeast has foamed up, add the room temperature/lukewarm milk, oil, salt, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, sugar, orange zest, lemon zest, and 1 cup of flour. Mix with a spoon to combine.
Put stand mixer bowl in place, add 2 more cups of flour and using the dough hook, set the mixer to knead.
If the dough is sticky, add flour ½ cup at a time.
Let mixer knead dough for about 4 minutes and until it is no longer sticky. In the last minute of mixing, add the raisins and currants to incorporate them.
Lightly oil the inside of a medium-sized bowl.
Remove dough from mixer bowl and place into the oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel and let it sit in a warm spot until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Line a 9" x 13" pan with parchment paper. Allow an overhang on each side so they can be easily removed from the pan when done.
After the hour has passed, punch the dough down and knead for a few seconds to get rid of any air pockets.
Separate the dough into 12 equal sized pieces.
Roll each piece into a ball and place each one into the parchment lined pan. It's OK if they are close together.
Cover with a towel and place in a warm spot. Let rise for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C.)
Make the vegan "egg" wash...
Mix the unsweetened non-dairy milk and the maple syrup together.
After the rolls have rested, using a pastry brush, brush the vegan egg wash over each bun.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until they are golden brown.
Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes in pan.
Remove buns using parchment paper overhang as handles and place onto a cooling rack. The buns will have joined together while rising/baking. Do not separate them yet.
While cooling, make the icing...
Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and unsweetened non-dairy milk to a small bowl. Mix well until it has all combined to form a thick icing. Place into a piping bag with a very small tip or a small ziplock bag. If using a ziplock bag, snip off one of the bottom corners.
Once the buns have cooled, pipe the icing onto the buns to make the crosses. (3 horizontal lines and 4 vertical lines)
Notes
I use my stand mixer to knead the dough, if you don't have a stand mixer, you can still make this, just knead by hand.
If you don't have currants, replace them with more raisins or if you don't want to add more raisins, omit the currants.
Wait until the buns have fully cooled to add the icing crosses on top or the icing will melt.
Store leftovers in an airtight container for a few days. If you know you will not be able to use up all of them within a few days, only put the icing crosses on the ones you know will be eaten quickly. If you add the icing too far in advance and then store, the icing will melt and soak into the buns.
Buns will stay fresh for up to 3 days.
TO MAKE FLOUR CROSSES - The crosses on hot cross buns are traditionally made with a flour and water mixture and the buns are also brushed with an apricot glaze after they have baked. If you would rather do this instead of using icing, skip the vegan egg wash and the icing steps. Whisk together ½ cup of flour and 5 tablespoons of water until a paste forms. Add the paste to a piping bag and pipe the crosses onto the buns just before baking. After they have baked and are still warm, mix 1 tablespoon of apricot jam with 2 teaspoons of water and warm for 30 seconds in the microwave. Brush onto each bun and allow to cool before serving.
TO MAKE THE NIGHT BEFORE AND BAKE IN THE MORNING: Follow all the steps up to #11. When you get there, cover the rolls tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. When ready to bake, remove from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking. After the 1 hour has passed, continue at step #1 in the “Make the vegan “egg” wash…” section. And to clarify, you’re not going to let them rise for the 30 minutes before you put them in the fridge, you’ll just form them into the rolls, cover, and put them in the fridge.