Recipe of the day: Hot Cross bun Bombe – a show-stopping Easter dessert

With Easter weekend almost upon us, Hot Cross bun fever has hit South Africa. Grocery stores’ shelves have been filled with these delicious treats for a couple of weeks already, but sales are guaranteed to start booming this week.

‘Hot Cross Buns’ have been trending on X since Monday morning with users sharing their recipes and photos of warm, toasty buttered buns.

Despite being famous as an Easter treat, hot cross buns are actually very versatile and can be enjoyed in many different ways.

Having introduced two Crafted Collection Hot Cross bun varieties – Pink Apple & Caramel and Honey Burst & Cranberry, in addition to their other familiar favourites, Pick n Pay has shared a creative Easter dessert recipe using their popular chocolate hot cross buns.

ALSO SEE: Sous Chef Zakhele Ndlozi’s Raspberry Cinnamon Brioche Cake

Hot Cross Bombe

Ingredients

• 2 packets (12) PnP chocolate hot cross buns, halved
• 2L PnP vanilla caramel flavoured dairy ice cream
• Handful red berries, for serving
• 1 packet (6s) PnP candy-coated chocolate eggs, for serving

Caramel sauce:

• 1 cup (250ml) sugar
• ⅓ cup (80ml) cream
• ¼ cup (60ml) cold butter

Method

1. Line a 2L bowl with clingfilm, then line the sides of the bowl with the top halves of the buns to create the outer layer, making sure there are no gaps.
2. Fill bun-lined bowl with ice cream.
3. Top with remaining hot cross bun bottoms to form a base.
4. Cover with clingfilm and freeze overnight (or for at least 4–5 hours).
5. For the butterscotch sauce, place sugar in a saucepan and add enough water to wet the sugar – about ¼ cup (60ml).
6. Bring to a gentle simmer while stirring sugar until dissolved. (Once the sugar has dissolved, stop stirring, as this can crystalise the sugar, and bring to the boil.)
7. Boil until sugar turns an amber colour and large bubbles appear. (Swirl the pot if only one side changes colour – it happens quickly, so keep a close eye.)
8. Once the sugar is a rich amber colour, add cream and butter all at once.
9. Swirl to combine and cook for a moment longer on lower heat. Set aside.
10. Invert bowl to turn out the bombe and top with berries and candy-coated eggs.
11. Serve with sauce on the side.

Hot Cross bun Bombe

An Easter dessert showstopper that can be made well in advance. Using shop-bought caramel or chocolate sauce makes this dessert even easier.

• Author: Pick n Pay
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Category: Dessert
• Method: no-cook
• Cuisine: South African

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 packets (12) PnP chocolate hot cross buns, halved
• 2L PnP vanilla caramel flavoured dairy ice cream
• Handful red berries, for serving
• 1 packet (6s) PnP candy-coated chocolate eggs, for serving

Caramel sauce:

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• 1 cup (250ml) sugar
• ⅓ cup (80ml) cream
• ¼ cup (60ml) cold butter

Instructions

1. Line a 2L bowl with clingfilm, then line the sides of the bowl with the top halves of the buns to create the outer layer, making sure there are no gaps.
2. Fill bun-lined bowl with ice cream.
3. Top with remaining hot cross bun bottoms to form a base.
4. Cover with clingfilm and freeze overnight (or for at least 4–5 hours).
5. For the butterscotch sauce, place sugar in a saucepan and add enough water to wet the sugar – about ¼ cup (60ml).
6. Bring to a gentle simmer while stirring sugar until dissolved. (Once the sugar has dissolved, stop stirring, as this can crystalise the sugar, and bring to the boil.)
7. Boil until sugar turns an amber colour and large bubbles appear. (Swirl the pot if only one side changes colour – it happens quickly, so keep a close eye.)
8. Once the sugar is a rich amber colour, add cream and butter all at once.
9. Swirl to combine and cook for a moment longer on lower heat. Set aside.
10. Invert bowl to turn out the bombe and top with berries and candy-coated eggs.
11. Serve with sauce on the side.

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