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    Recipes » Recipes » Baking & Desserts

    Gluten-Free Vegan Hot Cross Bun Loaf

    Last updated - July 10, 2021; Published - March 29, 2021 By Rhian Williams 40 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe
    A collage of two Gluten-Free Vegan Hot Cross Bun Loaf photos

    This Gluten-Free Vegan Hot Cross Bun Loaf is moist, fragrant, fruity and subtly spiced. It's easy to make as it's made in one bowl, yeast-free and no-knead. It's also refined sugar free, great for breakfast, brunch, dessert or a snack and perfect for Easter! It's a flexible recipe that can be adapted based on your taste preferences: for example, you can replace the raisins with chocolate chips or any other type of dried fruit!

    A sliced gluten-free vegan hot cross bun loaf with raisins and orange peel

    How to make this recipe

    Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.

    • Mix together all the ingredients in a glass mixing bowl.
    Raw gluten-free vegan hot cross bun loaf batter in a bowl
    • Transfer the mixture to a one-pound loaf tin.

    Tip: Line the tin with greased baking paper to make the loaf easier to remove afterwards.

    Raw gluten-free vegan hot cross bun loaf batter in a loaf tin lined with baking paper

    How to make the cross

    • Mix together the flour and the water in a small bowl until you get a smooth, fairly thick paste.

    Tip: Add the water a tiny bit at a time so you don’t add too much.

    Flour and water paste in a pink bowl against a marble background
    • Transfer the mixture into a piping bag with a round nozzle.
    • Pipe the flour paste in one vertical line down the middle of the length of the loaf and then do two horizontal lines at even intervals.
    Raw gluten-free vegan hot cross bun loaf batter in a loaf tin with raw flour crosses piped on top
    • Bake in oven for around 45 minutes.
    A gluten-free vegan hot cross bun loaf in a loaf tin lined with baking paper
    • Once out the oven, transfer to a cooling rack.
    • Mix together the apricot jam and hot water.

    Tip: The water is just to thin out the jam, so don’t use too much!

    • Use a pastry brush or the back of a spoon to evenly brush the jam mixture all over the top surface of the loaf.
    A gluten-free vegan hot cross bun loaf spread with apricot jam on a wire rack
    • Leave to cool and dry completely before slicing.
    A gluten-free vegan hot cross bun loaf with two slices next to it

    How long does this keep for?

    It keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days - best reheated in the toaster!

    Substitutions you can make

    • You can use any type of oil: coconut oil, olive oil or vegetable oil.
    • You can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, cashew milk, oat milk etc.
    • You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
    • You can replace the ground almonds (almond meal) with ground walnuts.
    • For a nut-free version: replace the ground almonds (almond meal/almond flour) with ground sunflower seeds. 
    • You can use plain flour, wholemeal (whole wheat) flour or spelt flour instead of the gluten-free flour if you’re not gluten-free.
    • You can either use freshly squeezed orange juice, or orange juice from a carton.
    • You can replace the orange zest with candied orange peel or 1 teaspoon orange extract.

    Flavour substitutions

    • You can replace the cinnamon with mixed spice (or a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves).
    • You can replace the raisins/sultanas with any other dried fruit (dried cranberries, chopped dates, chopped prunes, dried mango, dried pineapple, dried papaya etc).
    • You can replace the dried fruit with chocolate chips!

    More gluten-free vegan bread recipes

    • Gluten-Free Vegan Chickpea Bread
    • Gluten-Free Vegan Blueberry Banana Bread
    • Gluten-Free Vegan Irish Soda Bread
    • Gluten-Free Vegan Almond Bread
    • Gluten-Free Vegan Oat Bread
    • Gluten-Free Vegan Dinner Rolls
    • Gluten-Free Vegan Seeded Buckwheat Bread
    • Gluten-Free Vegan Cornbread
    • Gluten-Free Vegan Coconut Flour Bread
    • Gluten-Free Vegan Walnut Bread

    If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

    Watch how to make it

    A sliced gluten-free vegan hot cross bun loaf with raisins and orange peel

    Gluten-Free Vegan Hot Cross Bun Loaf

    This Gluten-Free Vegan Hot Cross Bun Loaf is moist, fruity and subtly spiced. It's easy to make and perfect for Easter! Plus it's yeast-free and no-knead!
    3.81 from 46 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Breakfast, Dessert
    Cuisine: British
    Keyword: gluten-free hot cross bun, vegan easter recipe, vegan hot cross bun
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 45 minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour
    Servings: 12 slices
    Calories: 207kcal
    Author: Rhian Williams

    Ingredients

    • 60 g (¼ cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
    • 60 ml (¼ cup) orange juice  (freshly squeezed or from a carton)
    • 150 ml (â…” cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
    • 6 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
    • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 1 tablespoon orange zest (or sub candied orange peel or 1 teaspoon orange extract)
    • 100 g (â…” cup) raisins or sultanas (or sub any other dried fruit)
    • 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) *
    • 150 g (1 ¼ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
    • 2 heaped teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
    • ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

    For the cross (optional):

    • 3 tablespoons gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
    • 2 tablespoons water (add it a bit at a time so you don’t add too much!)

    To decorate (optional):

    • 1 teaspoon apricot jam
    • ½ teaspoon hot water (to thin out the jam)

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
    • Place the coconut oil in a separate large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other oil).
    • Once melted, add the orange juice to the same bowl along with the almond milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, orange zest, raisins and ground almonds.
    • Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and mix well.
    • Transfer the mixture into a loaf tin lined with greased baking paper (I used a one-pound loaf tin).

    For the cross:

    • Mix together the flour and the water in a small bowl until you get a smooth, fairly thick paste (add the water a tiny bit at a time so you don’t add too much).
    • Transfer the mixture into a piping bag with a round nozzle.
    • Pipe the flour paste in one vertical line down the middle of the length of the loaf and then do two horizontal lines at even intervals.
    • Bake in oven for around 45 minutes until risen and golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
    • Once out the oven, transfer to a wire rack to cool.

    To decorate:

    • As soon as you’ve transferred the loaf to a wire rack, mix together the apricot jam and hot water - the water is just to thin out the jam, so don’t use too much!
    • Use a pastry brush or the back of a spoon to evenly brush the jam mixture all over the top surface of the loaf.
    • Leave to cool and dry completely before slicing.
    • Keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days - best reheated in the toaster!

    Video

    Notes

    *You can alternatively use almond flour.
    Leave to cool and dry completely before slicing.
    Keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days - best reheated in the toaster!
    Nutrition Facts
    Gluten-Free Vegan Hot Cross Bun Loaf
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 207 Calories from Fat 108
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 12g18%
    Saturated Fat 5g25%
    Sodium 43mg2%
    Potassium 120mg3%
    Carbohydrates 25g8%
    Fiber 3g12%
    Sugar 7g8%
    Protein 4g8%
    Vitamin A 13IU0%
    Vitamin C 4mg5%
    Calcium 72mg7%
    Iron 1mg6%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Made the recipe?Tag @rhiansrecipes on instagram and use the hashtag #rhiansrecipes!

    Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you purchase any of these products, a small percentage will come to me with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Linda Rosie

      May 24, 2021 at 4:46 am

      Hello Rhian, this is a beautiful tasting loaf but I'm unable to make it stick together. I use macadamia oil instead of coconut and this time soaked 2tbs of ground flaxseed with the orange juice and added 1 tbls psyllium. None of which helped to stabalise the loaf when cutting. The flour I use is equal parts sorghum, buckwheat and tapioca. Any ideas would be useful, the recipe is too flavoursome to miss. Thank you

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        May 24, 2021 at 2:40 pm

        I'm sorry to hear that. You don't need to add the ground flaxseed or the psyllium. I think the issue is with the gluten-free flour you are using. If you don't want to buy a pre-made shop-bought mix (I recommend Dove's Farm if you are ok with this), I recommend using 140g white rice flour and 10g tapioca flour. Thank you so much for your feedback!

    2. Aileen

      February 28, 2022 at 12:43 am

      Beautiful recipe. Very tasty and moreish. Thank you for sharing it!!

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        February 28, 2022 at 12:59 pm

        Thank you so much, so happy to hear that!

    3. Clare

      October 16, 2022 at 4:40 pm

      5 stars
      made this today, it's so easy and tastes amazing! I used Gluten free self raising flour and it still worked out! Thank you so much, I found this recipe on pinterest.

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        October 17, 2022 at 5:26 am

        Thank you so much, so happy to hear that!!

    4. Milady

      January 21, 2023 at 7:42 am

      5 stars
      fantastic recipe and goes down a hit!

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        January 21, 2023 at 8:14 am

        Thank you so much, so happy to hear that!

    5. Susana Santiago

      March 22, 2023 at 7:11 pm

      Can you replace the gf flour blend with a single GF flour like garbanzo or teff or tiger nut or brown rice or quinoa or coconut flour? Any suggestions?

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        March 23, 2023 at 3:00 am

        For the gf flour blend replacement, oat flour works best! Brown rice flour is ok too, but not ideal as it can get quite dry. However, if using brown rice flour I'd recommend using 140g brown rice flour and 10g tapioca flour (necessary for binding the mixture together). Hope that helps!

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    Photo of Rhian Williams from Rhian's Recipes

    Hi, I'm Rhian! I make easy, undetectably vegan + gluten-free recipes, including healthy comfort food and naturally sweetened desserts using plant-based ingredients.

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