Hot Cross Bun Pancakes for Easter
These hot cross bun pancakes are studded with raisins and redolent with Easter spices. The recipe is perfect for Easter breakfast or brunch. Serve with or without an easy, yet luscious chocolate sauce.
Do you like the idea of making homemade hot cross buns? I do and sometimes I actually manage it. Yeasted buns need a bit of planning and a fair amount of time. Most years, I find it’s Good Friday before I know what’s going on. These hot cross bun pancakes have all of the flavour without the hassle and are ideal for Easter breakfast, brunch or tea. Plus, as it’s Easter, you can serve them with my easy chocolate sauce.
If you fancy having a go at making hot cross buns, I have this recipe for hot choc buns, which is a really good one. And if you’re vegan or catering for vegans, these vegan hot cross buns are simple to make and delicious too.
Hot Cross Bun Pancakes
So what makes these pancakes, hot cross bun ones? It’s the addition of raisins and the holy trinity of Easter spices – cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. They really do taste like hot cross buns and they’re a whole heap easier and quicker to make. I make them with wholemeal spelt flour, which is my favourite flour for baking. They should, however, be fine with whatever wholemeal flour you have to hand.
You can use the milk of your choice, but I find kefir, buttermilk or watered down yoghurt give a better result. I tend to use kefir as I usually have plenty of it to spare. Kefir is incredibly good for you and really useful for baking as well as smoothies or just drinking on its own. If you fancy a go at making your own, I have a post explaining just how to do it.
Despite only adding one teaspoon of sugar, the pancakes are irresistibly sweet. It’s those flavoursome raisins doing their thing.
The pancakes are so delicious when they have just been cooked, that I find it very hard not to just scoff the lot straight away. If truth be told, they’re so good, they don’t really need the chocolate sauce. But it is Easter and chocolate is mandatory.
Easy Chocolate Sauce
This dairy-free chocolate sauce is really simple to make. It’s also really scrummy; you wouldn’t know it was pretty much just chocolate and water. The key to this chocolate sauce is to use the best quality dark chocolate you can afford. There are no other flavours to mask those coming from the chocolate. For occasions, like Easter, it’s worth pushing the boat out a bit. I used a bar of Nicalizo 72% dark chocolate from Chocolate Naive. This is a bit of an elusive brand, but well worth tracking down if you’re a chocolate connoisseur.
Once the sauce is made, drizzle a cross on top of each pancake or pancake stack – the choice is yours.
You can find several recipes for chocolate sauce on Tin and Thyme. If you don’t like the idea of this one, just choose one of the others to serve with your hot cross bun pancakes.
Other Tin and Thyme Chocolate Sauce Recipes
- Bailey’s chocolate sauce
- Chocolate caramel fudge sauce
- Coffee cardamom chocolate sauce
- Honeyed chocolate sauce
- Manuka honey & crème fraîche chocolate sauce
- Maple chocolate sauce
- Salted dark chocolate sauce
For more Easter recipe inspiration you can take a look at my Easter archives. Alternatively, head over to my Easter Recipes and Ideas Board on Pinterest, where you’ll find loads.
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make these hot cross bun pancakes for Easter, or any other time, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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If you’d like more pancake recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious, of course.
Choclette x
Hot Cross Bun Pancakes. PIN IT.
Hot Cross Bun Pancakes – The Recipe
Hot Cross Bun Pancakes
Ingredients
Easter Pancakes
- 140 g wholemeal spelt flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp golden caster sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves
- good grating of nutmeg
- 1 pinch sea or rock salt (I use Himalayan pink rock salt)
- 50 g raisins
- 150 g kefir, buttermilk, sour milk or watered down yoghurt
- large egg I use duck eggs, when I can get them
- 20 g unsalted butter melted
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil can use butter or rapeseed oil instead
Chocolate Sauce
- 50 g dark chocolate the better the quality, the better the sauce (I used 70%)
- 30 g golden caster sugar
- 1 pinch sea or rock salt (I use Himalayan pink rock salt)
Instructions
- Place the dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk together. Add the raisins and whisk again.140 g wholemeal spelt flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp golden caster sugar, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ⅛ tsp ground cloves, good grating of nutmeg, 1 pinch sea or rock salt, 50 g raisins
- Make a well in the centre, break in the egg and add the kefir. Whisk together, then add the melted butter and whisk again. Leave to stand for a couple of minutes whilst you make a start on the chocolate sauce.150 g kefir, buttermilk, sour milk or watered down yoghurt, large egg, 20 g unsalted butter
- Heat a large non-stick frying pan on a medium heat. Just coat the surface with the butter or oil. Place a heaped tablespoon of batter into the pan and form into rough circles.1 tbsp sunflower oil
- Turn down the heat slightly, so it’s medium low rather than medium high and cook until you see bubbles start to form on the surface of the pancakes – about 3-4 minutes. Flip the pancakes over and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
- Either serve immediately, or cover the pancakes with a tea towel to keep them warm and to stop them drying out whilst you finish cooking the rest.
Chocolate Sauce
- Roughly break up the chocolate and place in a small pan together with 75ml water and the other ingredients. Set over a low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved and the chocolate melted. Don’t worry if it’s a bit lumpy at this stage.50 g dark chocolate, 30 g golden caster sugar, 1 pinch sea or rock salt
- Crank up the heat a little until the mixture is bubbling lightly. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is smooth, thick and glossy, but still pourable.
- Pour over the freshly cooked pancakes whilst still warm.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Sharing
I’m sharing these Easter hot cross bun pancakes with Apply to Face Blog for #BakingCrumbs and Lost in Food for #CookBlogShare.
What a fabulous twist, love the fusion of hot cross bun flavours into pancakes!
Thanks, I reckon they are going to become our Easter breakfast norm from no on.
Loving the idea of hot cross bun pancakes – very inventive! They look incredible with that glossy chocolate sauce 🙂
The inventiveness came from pure laziness. Next year I might get around to making the real deal again, but then again, these are a pretty good compromise.
I’m a bit rubbish at making HX buns, to be honest. It doesn’t help that my husband has very different views on how he likes them to me – if they are not like the squishy supermarket ones, he doesn’t class them as proper HX buns. These pancakes are a great idea though and will stop us having a seasonal bicker over breakfast.
Hahaha Jane, I’m glad to have come to your Easter breakfast rescue. I have to confess I quite like squish hot cross buns, but homemade ones are most definitely superior.
These sound simply incredible. I’m all about the easter spices so I would be in heaven. These would definitely be my Easter breakfast of choice. Like Jo mine would be swimming in the chocolate sauce! Thank you for sharing these genius pancakes with #BakingCrumbs.
Thanks Jenny. They were very good and delicious with the chocolate sauce too. Like Jo, I’d be happy to eat them at any time of the year.
These sound like proper hot cross buns in a pancake form and quick and easy too. Such a great idea and big fat yes to the chocolate sauce from me (although in my case it would be more likely a puddle rather than your very neat cross lol). Thank you for sharing with #BakingCrumbs 🙂
Well I have to admit I may have added a bit more sauce to the pancakes after I’d taken the photos. Can’t have chocolate sauce going to waste 😀
Cinnamon must be one of my all time favourite spices. I have it almost every morning on porridge. My daughter would love these so will make them for her next weekend! Thanks for sharing with #CookBlogShare. Michelle x
I think if I had to name one spice I couldn’t live without, it would probably be cinnamon. But I do hope it never comes to that. I often have it with porridge too.
Haha love it Choclette. You did make me smile. I’d happily tuck in. Sharing!
Thanks Jac. I’d happily tuck in again too. They are delicious.
My Dad LOVES hot cross buns! I’m totally making these for Easter breakfast! Thank you for sharing
Yay! I do hope you enjoy them. Happy Easter.
I’ve just made a pile of these for some surprise visitors. Really tasty, just as good as buns, I think! I didn’t do chocolate sauce as I had no chocolate – I know, I know but, I don’t like chocolate so only buy it for others – but I served them with some lovely local chestnut honey. These are excellent, I shall certainly make them again.
Woohoo, glad you liked them Isobel. We decided they really didn’t need the chocolate sauce, they were good just on there own. I do like the idea of having them with chestnut honey though. Happy Easter.
What a great idea, they look delicious! I would never have thought to combine those flavours in a pancake. I must admit I’ve never made hot cross buns from scratch – too much forward planning for lazy-baker-me!
Never fear Jo, this pancakes are a pretty good substitute and can easily be made last minute.
They look delicious! I love Hot cross bun flavours in anything!
Yes me too Kat. Especially at Easter 😀
Adore the look and sound of these pancakes, Choclette. I’m like you – each year I plan to make hot cross buns (like for tomorrow) but I’ve missed my opportunity already! This sounds a super idea and delicious too.
Thanks Jill. I shall be thinking of you tucking into a plate of these tomorrow 😀
I love using the flavours of hot cross buns in different bakes. Like you said hot cross buns can take some time to make but the flavours are delicious!
I love homemade hot cross buns and was planning on making some this year, but what with one thing and another, it’s sadly not going to happen. These pancakes make for a pretty good substitute though.
Such a great idea! I love the warm spices in them.
Thanks Angie. They are good the next day popped in the toaster, but definitely best when just made.
These sound so good. I attempted some hot cross scones but I love pancakes so need to try these.
Hot cross scones sound delicious too Jo. The pancakes will be a regular Easter breakfast for us now, they were really good.