Jamaican Easter Spice Bun
Warm holiday spices, soft bread, and dried fruit come together in the popular Jamaican Easter spice bun. Absolutely delightful any time of year, so why wait for Easter?
Easter is the time of the year when Christians abstain from meat and flock towards bread, vegetarian goods, and fish. I’m happy to say I’m one of those Christians. When I was growing up, the Lenten Season, especially on Fridays, was a time we consumed bread and water until sunset. Hot cross buns were reserved for Good Friday, and my siblings and I waited for them impatiently. It was the highlight of our celebration.
Gosh! I miss those days… I always have a fondness for spiced bread, and this recipe takes the cake. The good thing is that we can enjoy it year-round. However, it’s extra special, sweeter, and studded with dried fruit for Lent, especially on Good Friday. This is the sweeter, denser Jamaican take on the ever-popular hot cross bun.
You can find as many different adaptations to the classic recipe as there are cooks – made with or without yeast. I’m ashamed to say I totally went overboard, trying different variations, and they’re ALL worth making at home.
Using Guinness Stout
My preferred version has a modern twist — Guinness — substituting some of the liquid ingredients with something more complex. Stout (a darker, more intense beer) gives it an incredibly rich brown color. The image below is sans Guinness, and you’ll notice it has a lighter color.
For those who’ve never baked with Guinness, you’re in for a treat! Its complexity definitely adds depth of flavor to baked goods with mild notes of cocoa and a strong malt flavor. The bread will not taste like beer.
How to Make Spice Bun Bread
- Mix the sugars and wet ingredients. Combine the dry ingredients and toss the dried fruit in, then mix the wet and dry ingredients.
- Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan, add the cherries on top if desired, and bake. Make a pot of coffee, slice up some sharp cheddar cheese, and enjoy!!!
Easter Spice Bun Variations
This unique bun studded with dried fruit takes about 15 minutes to prep. Wonderfully fragrant spices from nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice, with molasses and browning sauce, make quite a flavorful loaf. Here are some popular variations.
- Replace the baking powder with a packet of yeast and let it rise in a warm place for the traditional airy texture.
- Personalize the dried fruit mixture or leave it out completely. Raisins, prunes, dates, figs, apricots, apples, peaches, pears, pineapple, cherries, mango, papaya, and kiwifruit are just some fruits on a long list that go well in this recipe. I didn’t include cranberries, blueberries, or strawberries because something about the sound of them doesn’t match the spice blend.
- Make it with or without Guinness stout. If you can’t get it, any stout will work. Another quick substitute is the same amount of root beer or cola, then halve the sugar to compensate for the extra sweetness. Coffee also adds bitterness and color if you can’t get stout or don’t want alcohol in the house.
- For a vegan twist, replace the egg with a tablespoon of ground flax or chia seeds and a tablespoon of water.
- Increase the spices for more intensity or reduce them for a milder bread.
- Brush the finished spice bun with a rum glaze for extra indulgence.
Tips and Notes
- Browning sauce is a Caribbean seasoning used to darken sauces, stews, meat, and even baked goods. If you prefer a lighter bread, then cut back on the browning sauce or eliminate it completely.
- While spice buns are traditionally made in a loaf pan because the batter has too much liquid to make buns with it, you can fill the wells of a muffin tin for cute little cupcakes. Simply reduce the baking time by half.
What to Serve With Jamaican Easter Spice Bun
Traditionally, spice buns are served with sharp cheddar cheese to balance the sweetness. If you’ve ever had cheese on apple pie, you know what I’m talking about. Then brew up some coffee or tea, put out the butter and jam (or an avocado), and you have a breakfast or snack fit for a king.
More Sweet Easter Delights to Try
If you’re looking for light, airy hot cross buns, I’ve got you covered, along with more tasty sweets to enjoy.
- Hot Cross Buns
- Italian Easter Egg Bread
- Challah
- Tea Cakes (top them with jelly beans before baking for a quick Easter treat)
- Hummingbird Cake
Watch How to Make It
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”4acyCzvg” upload-date=”2019-04-01T04:00:06.000Z” name=”Jamaican Easter Spice Bun” description=”Jamaican Easter Spice Bun — Highly Spiced Jamaican bread, soft, tender studded with raisins and fruits . Absolutely delightful anytime!”]
This blog post was originally published in February 2016 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video.
Jamaican Easter Spiced Bun
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (50g) brown sugar
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (85g) honey
- 1 teaspoon (5g) browning sauce
- ½ tablespoon (9g) molasses
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
- 1 cup (236ml) Guinness stout
- 1 egg
- 1 cup (170g) dried fruit (cherries, raisins, apricots, etc.)
- 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons (8g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (3g) salt
- ½ tablespoon (4-5g) ground cinnamon
- 2½ teaspoons (4g) Easter spice blend (1 teaspoon cinnamon, ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg, and ¾ teaspoon allspice)
- 4 tablespoons (60g) melted butter
- 1 cup (120g) candied cherries (or fresh, frozen, maraschino, canned, etc.- optional to top the bun)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃). Grease a loaf pan with baking spray, and set it aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the brown sugar, granulated sugar, honey, browning sauce, molasses, vanilla extract, Guinness stout, and an egg until combined.
- In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt. Then toss in the dried fruit, making sure the fruit is coated with flour and doesn’t stick together.
- Then mix the wet and dry ingredients until thoroughly combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you mix to make sure all the flour has been incorporated. Add the melted (or softened) butter and stir well.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Top with the cherries if you want, and bake for 60-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the bread cool before removing it from the pan. Optionally brush it with a sugar or rum glaze, slice, and enjoy. Enjoy!!!
Tips & Notes:
- Have the wet ingredients at room temperature for easier, smoother mixing.
- Toss the dried fruit in the dry ingredients (break up any clumps) before mixing the batter so they stay evenly distributed and don’t stick together.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the ingredients used in the recipe.
Hello! I’d like to try this recipe. What is browning sauce?
Hi Dana. Browning sauce is caramelized sugar that darkens sauces. You can find it in Caribbean stores or on Amazon. But I have a browning sauce recipe if you want to try making your own.
I made this and it was good. I did have a problem with the center not getting done. What can I do to correct?
Hi Rhonda. I’m so glad you liked it.
Maybe lowering the oven temperature and baking it a little longer the next time. You may even be able to rebake the bun for 10-20 minutes, or slice it and toast the slices to finish them up.
An instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle will read 200-205°F (93-96°C) when the center is done. And then, sometimes, it’s too much moisture and a little extra flour will take care of it.
I hope that helps.
I’ve make bun using this recipe every year easy to follow and a great tasting product my friends look forward to me giving them a bun for Easter
So glad to hear that 🙂
Mine comes out dry and cracked what am I doing wrong ?
I’m sorry that happened. It’s hard to tell without seeing it. But the most common reason is packing the flour when measuring it. The weight of a cup of flour can vary by 30 grams just by scooping or sifting it. That’s why a lot of people invest in a kitchen scale because the numbers don’t lie. Hope that helps.
Hello, I find this bun very sweet, otherwise it’s lovely. what do you suggest I remove from the recipe.
Example can I remove the honey or molasses?
Thanks
Hi Mona, Glad you liked it! You can reduce or skip the honey to cut the sweetness—molasses adds depth, so I’d keep a little if possible. Let me know how it goes!
Great recipe had some fruits soaking in wine and added to my recipe
Great! Thanks for the feedback.
Heya! Excited to try this recipe. Just curious- where it requires melted butter, is that salted or unsalted butter?
Unsalted butter is usually the best option as there is no added salt. You could still use salted butter, but make sure you don’t add any more salt to the batter. Happy baking!
This bun recipe is delicious. My family loved it. Definitely making this again. No substitutions
Thank= you for trying out my recipe, Coleisha :)!