One of the most traditional Easter treats, Hot Cross Buns, are loved by many! But have you ever tried Hot Cross Muffins? If you love these spiced sweet buns, usually eaten on Good Friday, join Hannah Trueman, a nutritionist and dietician, on Thursday, 1st April, from 7pm via Instagram Live for a fun baking class!

Hannah is a healthy food advocate, so we promise her Hot Cross Muffins will not only be delicious and sweet, but also quite good for you.

Check out the recipe below.

Ingredients List

Dry ingredients

160g (approx 1 and 2/3 cup) almond flour

50g (approx 1/3 cup) oat/buckwheat flour – you can make oat flour by blending oats in a food processor or blender. Doves do a buckwheat flour which can be found in most supermarkets)

30g (approx 2 tablespoons) coconut sugar

100g (approx 1/2 cup) sultanas

1.5 teaspoon baking powder (or 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp baking powder)

A pinch of salt (not needed if you are using 1.5 teaspoons baking powder as it already contains salt)

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Zest of one orange

Optional chocolate chips

Wet ingredients

80g (approx 1/3 cup) almond/cashew butter or tahini

175 ml (approx 3/4 cup) coconut milk, or any plant-based milk

80ml (apparox)1/3 cup) Maple syrup or honey

3 tablespoons orange juice

For the crosses

2 tablespoons coconut/tapioca flour (or use any flour you have if you can’t find these – the whiter the flour the better for the crosses and I find these 2 are the best for that)

1 tablespoons coconut milk

A tiny dash of maple syrup

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and line a muffin tray with muffin cases, or lightly grease
2. Add the ingredients for the crosses to a small bowl and mix gently but thoroughly to combine. Set aside
3. Add all the dry ingredients to a bowl and mix
4. Combine the wet ingredients in another bowl
5. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients then gradually pour in the wet ingredients, stirring gently as you pour to combine. Your mixture shouldn’t be too runny or too thick, you may need to add a little more milk/four depending
6. Spoon the mixture evenly into your greased/lined muffin tray
7. Stir the mixture for the crosses then either pipe onto the muffin mix using either a sandwich bag with the corner cut off, or a teaspoon
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the tops are golden and a knife comes out clean when inserted
9. Keep in a sealed container for up to 5 days