This Easter, treat your home to the irresistible aroma of a beautifully fluffy and amazingly soft Easter bun—without the fuss of long kneading. Moist, tender, and wonderfully long‑lasting, this festive bake stays fresh for days. Infused with vibrant orange zest and sweet vanilla sugar, it fills your kitchen with a warm, unforgettable fragrance that sets the perfect Easter mood.
For the bun:
- Sultanas – 150 g
- Orange juice – approx. 5 tbsp
- Dry yeast – 7 g
- Sugar – 1 tbsp
- Milk – 170 ml (lukewarm)
- Flour – about 500 g
- Eggs – 3
- Yolk – 1
- Sugar – 120 g + 1 tbsp for the sponge
- Zest of 1 orange
- Vanilla sugar – 20 g
- Honey – 1 tbsp
- Butter (softened) – 120 g
For glazing:
- Warm water – 50 ml
- Milk powder – 80 to 90 g
- Icing sugar – 4 to 5 tsp to your taste
For decoration (optional):
- Dark cooking chocolate – approx. 50 g
- Smarties mini eggs (or M’D’Ms)
Method is explained and illustrated below. Enjoy!
Preparations (recommended to be made the day before baking)
Grit zest of 1 orange (only the yellow part of it).
Place it into a small dish or container…
… add the sugar and mix it in.
You can also rub zest into sugar by hand. The process releases citrus oils, creating a highly aromatic and flavoured, damp sugar.
Cover the dish with the zest-induced sugar with a lid or a cling film, and put it in the fridge until you start baking your bun.
Cut the orange you just gritted zest off, in half, and squeeze the juice out of it.
Place sultanas into a separate dish…
… and add orange juice.
Cover the dish with the lid or a cling film, and leave it in the fridge until you start baking your bun.
Baking the bun
When you are ready to bake, start from sifting the flour into a bowl.
Now make a sponge to enhance texture of the dough. Place dry yeast into a separate bowl…
… add 1 tablespoon of sugar…
… and lukewarm milk…
… and 5 to 6 tablespoons of flour out of the total amount.
Stir it up until combined…
… cover with a lid or a cling film, and leave in a warm and dry place for 15 to 20 minutes.
Carefully pour the wet sultanas into a sieve, to drain extra juice…
… and place them onto paper towels to dry.
Time to start making the dough. Place 3 eggs and 1 yolk into a main mixing bowl…
… add 1/2 teaspoon of salt…
…add vanilla sugar…
… add sugar induced with orange zest…
… and whisk until light and fluffy.
Time to get your sponge out. Look how beautifully it has grown!
Add the sponge to the mixture in the main bowl.
Change the whisks of your mixer to these hooks – they are specifically for kneading the dough.
Add a tablespoon of honey…
… and start kneading, adding flour gradually.
Once each portion of the flour has fully incorporated, add the next portion.
Once you’ve added all the flour, the dough should turn out quite runny and sticky.
Now it’s time to start adding the butter. It should be soft and of room temperature. Cut the butter into several small chunks, and start adding into the dough while kneading, one or two chunks at a time.
Add the next chunk or two after the previous ones are fully incorporated.
Once you’ve added all the butter, knead the dough for another 8 to 10 minutes.
When your dough is ready, it should turn out like this – still sticky, but a bit harder.
Time to get your dough out and let it rest. Place it into a bigger bowl or pot, cover with a lid or cling film, and leave in a warm and dry place for 1 to 1.5 hours.
In the meantime, get your sultanas out, add 1 heaped tablespoon of flour…
… and mix it in. The flour will absorb extra liquid.
Once your dough has rested for 1 to 1.5 hours, get it out…
… and look how it has grown and how wonderfully fluffy it has become.
Add the sultanas into the dough…
… and mix them in until evenly incorporated.
Prepare 2 panettone baking tins (mine are 14 cm in diameter). Grease the bottom and sides of the tins with oil.
Place the dough into the tins, filling them approximately to one third, and place the tins in a warm, dry place for 40 to 60 minutes.
In 60 minutes, take the tins out. You will see the dough has grown and almost filled in the tins.
Bake the buns in the pre-heated oven at 170 C for approx. 45 to 50 minutes.
Now make the glazing.
Place milk powder into the bowl…
… and add icing sugar.
Now and warm water gradually, until you reach creamy consistency of the mixture.
Mix the glazing together until combined, and once it’s ready, cover the buns with it.
If you wish, you can also make decorations for your buns.
Place dark cooking chocolate into a microwavable dish or container…
… and melt in in the microwave in 3 or 4 short intervals, stirring well after each interval.
Now place the melted chocolate into a small piping bag and cut the edge off to make a very small hole.
Now, pour very cold water into a dish, and squeeze melted chocolate onto the water, creating a ring-like pattern to symbolise a nest. Melted chocolate will immediately harden up on the cold water.
Don’t make the ring too thin, as it would turn out very frail and may break when you try to transfer it onto the bun.
Let the chocolate harden up completely, then very carefully lift the “nest” off the water and transfer it onto the bun.
Add the coloured Smarties mini eggs.
Your fantastic Easter buns are now ready – and the bright decoration is definitely a wow factor! Such an amazing treat will surely brighten your Easter and fill any festive table with colour and warmth. A delight for the whole family to enjoy.
