• Welcome
  • Contact me
  • Recipes

facebook
twitter
google_plus
email

  • Welcome
  • Buy signed cookbooks
  • Recipes
  • What people are saying
  • Become a VIP
  • Contact me



Little hot cross cakes

April 09, 2020
by Chelsea Winter
13 Comments

Click here to print

Welcome to your gluten, dairy, egg, yeast & baking powder-free Easter baking feast! How can they still be so scrumptious without all that, you may ask? Well, they just are, trust your old pal Chelsea here. They’re also EXTREMELY quick and easy to make, and super addictive (so speedy you can make them first thing in the morning as a breakfasty brunch treat). Still-warm from the oven, they’re good crammed straight into an open mouth. When they’ve cooled, pop them under a grill or in a toaster and slather them in something creamy. If you’re not a fan of fruit in your hot-crossed items, you can swap it out with chocolate. HAPPY FEASTER!

Prep time – 20 minutes
Cooking time – 30 minutes
Makes 8 (double the recipe if you like)

Ingredients

1 cup gluten-free flour mix (without raising agent) – or use regular flour
¾ cup ground almonds*
½ cup brown sugar (or you can use coconut sugar)
1 tbsp mixed spice
2 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp salt
1 cup plant-based milk
1∕3 cup grapeseed, rice bran or sunflower oil
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup currants, raisins or sultanas
1 orange (or use chopped candied peel – or chopped chocolate/chocolate chips)

Crosses
¼ cup gluten-free flour mix
2-3 tbsp water
1 tsp sugar

Method

Preheat oven to 170c regular bake and line a muffin pan with 8 paper cups (sorry, not enough for 12 – suggest doubling recipe it for a family).

I like to do my orange zest a little differently for these. First, I peel thin strips of skin from the orange using a potato peeler (it’s okay if there’s a teeny bit of white pith on it). Then I chop the peels up into tiny bits with a knife. It means you get those firm little zesty pieces of orange, rather than just extra fine zest melting unnoticed into the cake. Set aside.

Combine the crosses ingredients in small bowl and transfer to a small ziploc bag or piping bag. In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, ground almonds, sugar, spices and salt. Make a well in the centre and add the milk and oil and stir with a whisk to combine evenly. Fold through the raisins and peel.

In a very small bowl or cup, combine the baking soda and vinegar (it will froth up immediately) and straight away add this to cake mixture, scraping the excess out with a spatula. Fold the mixture gently with a spatula until evenly combined.

Fill the paper cases about about ¾ full (I use a1/4 or 1/3 cup measuring cup for this).

Snip a teeny corner of the ziplock bag, then carefully pipe crosses over the top, taking care to stop short of the edges so it doesn’t touch the paper cups. This is because if you do, the edge of the crosses will stick to the cups and tear apart in the middle as the cakes rise.

Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes – they should be risen, golden and smell delicious. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before removing from the tin.

Lovely warm with a little dairy-free spread, coconut oil or butter – you can also halve then and grill them to get them toasty.

Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 2 days.

*If you don’t have ground almonds, try whizzing up sunflower seeds in a bullet or food processor.

.

13 Comments
  1. Sarah April 10, 2020 at 10:10 pm Reply
    Super yum! Didn’t quite look the same though😆
  2. Jo Duncan April 12, 2020 at 10:49 pm Reply
    These were amazing. Having spent years trying to find a good gf df hot cross bun . These are much better option 😊. Thanks for sharing Chelsea n
  3. SUSANNAH April 14, 2020 at 7:25 am Reply
    Just made the Lockdown Loaf today. It was quick, easy peasy and so delicious. Thank you Chelsea xx
  4. Y Hallam May 7, 2020 at 11:03 pm Reply
    These were a hit in my household! Thank you.
  5. Denice April 2, 2021 at 12:16 am Reply
    Made these last year yummy
  6. Kiri April 2, 2021 at 9:32 pm Reply
    Can someone plz tell me what the gf flour mix is?? I have plain gf flour so do I need to add a raising agent? Im new to this gf dairy free diet but would love to try these. Tia
    • Kiri April 2, 2021 at 9:34 pm Reply
      Oops... just reread recipe and saw baking soda 😀
    • Team Chelsea June 22, 2022 at 9:17 am Reply
      It is just plain gluten free flour x
  7. Carla Thomson April 4, 2021 at 1:44 am Reply
    These are so good Chelsea!! Going to be a regular Easter treat in our house.
  8. Liz April 5, 2021 at 12:30 am Reply
    Seriously delicious! Just had one still warm from the oven with df butter as recommended, thank you Chelsea!
  9. Tracey April 10, 2021 at 10:25 am Reply
    Mmmm, I made these and they are so yummy!
  10. Gail July 6, 2021 at 11:34 pm Reply
    Hey Chelsea! About to try this recipe this weekend for brunch. Does ground almonds refer to almond flour or almond meal? Thanks in advance!
    • Team Chelsea June 22, 2022 at 9:02 am Reply
      Almond meal :-)

Leave a Reply to Y Hallam Cancel reply

*
*

captcha *

Looking for something?


Order now

Order now

Sign up

Sign up

What's cookin'?

Crispy sweet & sour cauliflower bites
Aug 28, 2021
Snausage Rolls
Jun 17, 2021
Dairy-free chocolate mousse
Jun 17, 2021
Freedom Chocolate Chip Cookies
Jun 17, 2021
Jellytip Cheesecake
May 11, 2021
Dairy-free Cheat's Chocolate
Apr 23, 2021
Chelsea's Chocolate Christmas Cheesecake
Dec 11, 2020
Delectable plant-based chocolate fudge brownie from Chelsea Winter's Supergood
Fudge Cake Brownie
Nov 30, 2020

Recipe index

  • Baking recipes
  • Basics
  • Beef recipes
  • Breakfasts
  • Burgers
  • Cakes and Biscuits recipes
  • Chicken recipes
  • Christmas recipes
  • Curry recipes
  • Dairy free
  • Dessert recipes
  • Drinks recipes
  • Egg free
  • Gluten free
  • Lamb recipes
  • Nut-free
  • Pasta recipes
  • Pie recipes
  • Pork recipes
  • Salad recipes
  • Seafood recipes
  • Sides
  • Snacks and nibbles recipes
  • Soup recipes
  • Vegan recipes
  • Vegetarian recipes

What's new?

Crispy sweet & sour cauliflower bites
Aug 28, 2021
Snausage Rolls
Jun 17, 2021
Dairy-free chocolate mousse
Jun 17, 2021

What have we here?

  • Welcome
  • Buy signed cookbooks
  • Recipes
  • What people are saying
  • Become a VIP
  • Contact me

Looking for something?


Recipe index

  • Baking recipes
  • Basics
  • Beef recipes
  • Breakfasts
  • Burgers
  • Cakes and Biscuits recipes
  • Chicken recipes
  • Christmas recipes
  • Curry recipes
  • Dairy free
  • Dessert recipes
  • Drinks recipes
  • Egg free
  • Gluten free
  • Lamb recipes
  • Nut-free
  • Pasta recipes
  • Pie recipes
  • Pork recipes
  • Salad recipes
  • Seafood recipes
  • Sides
  • Snacks and nibbles recipes
  • Soup recipes
  • Vegan recipes
  • Vegetarian recipes

Chelsea Winter | Copyright © 2017