Easter Inspiration: Hot cRAWs Buns

There’s chocolate. There are hot cross buns… and then there’s Choc Cross Buns! However, the RAW and healthier option! Introducing the Choc cRAWs Bun! It’s full of real ingredients and it’s certainly a healthier option to the conventional hot cross bun out there that are sometimes filled with chemicals and nasties.

The Hot Cross Bun is traditionally eaten on Good Friday and the cross on top, in today’s society, is meant to represent the crucifixion.

Marking a cross on the bun is of ancient origin and is connected with religious offerings of bread. An example of this is when the Egyptians would offer small round cakes marked with the horns of an ox, to the goddess of the moon. Another example of this is when the Saxons ate buns marked with a cross in honour of the goddess of Light, Eostre, whose name was transferred to Easter.

Originally the cross was created by simply cutting a cross into the top of the bread before it was baked. This is still an option however; once it is baked it is quite hard to make out the shape of the cross. This lead to highlighting the cross in different ways such as applying it after baking using a mix of icing sugar and milk.

Not my recipe though! Say goodbye to Icing Sugar and Milk and enjoy these super yummy Choc cRAWs Buns!

For the “bread” part of the Hot cRAWs Buns I just used out Cacao Bliss Balls recipe and omitted some of the cacao to make them slightly lighter in colour. I also added some cinnamon and you could also try adding some orange zest to really spice it up!

Ingredients

• 1 cup medjool dates (pitted)
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1/4 cup cacao power
• 1/3 cup coconut oil (melted)
• 1/3 cup shredded coconut
• 1 pinch cinnamon powder
• Optional: orange zest
• 1 pinch Himalayan sea salt
• 1 Tbsp chia gel (mix 2 tsp chia seeds with 2 Tbsp water to form a gel)

Method

1. Put all the ingredients into the Vitamix 2L container in the order listed and secure the lid.
2. Turn your variable speed dial to 10 and pulse the machine on and off 5 times for 3 seconds each time.
3. Select Variable 1. Turn the machine on and quickly increase the speed to 10, then override to High.
4. Use the tamper to effectively press the ingredients into the blades whilst processing.
5. Blend until you have a nice dough consistency.
6. Roll the dough into a squashed spherical shape so it gives you the Hot Cross Bun look.
7. Set the bliss balls in the fridge and it’s time to make your cross mixture.

Ingredients

• 1 cup cashews (soaked for 24 hours and rinsed)
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 Tbsp liquid sweetener of choice
• 2 tsp quality vanilla bean paste
• 4 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1 pinch cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt

Method

1. Put all the ingredients into the Vitamix 2L container in the order listed and secure the lid.
2. Turn your variable speed dial to 10 and pulse the machine on and off 5 times for 3 seconds each time.
3. Select Variable 1. Turn the machine on and quickly increase the speed to 10, then override to High.
4. Use the tamper to effectively press the ingredients into the blades whilst processing.
5. Blend until you have a nice smooth icing mixture.
6. Place your icing mixture into a piping bag or sandwich bag and pipe over your hot cross buns.
7. Serve and enjoy!

Have a safe and Happy Easter everyone!