Jamaican Easter Bun Recipe (2024)

Published: Apr 16, 2022 · Modified: Mar 3, 2023 by Jen Sim · This post may contain affiliate links · 1 Comment

This flavorful Jamaican Easter bun is moist, sweet and filled with warming spices making it the perfect addition to any Easter menu. The main ingredients include flour, eggs, honey, Guinness, molasses, browning and raisins. Serve with hard cheese for a complete traditional Jamaican Easter treat.

About this Recipe

This bun is rich, moist and delicious! Whenever I make it the smell of sweet molasses and Guinness fills up the house. As the Jamaican bun includes so many ingredients, you will find that many cooks have their variations and personalize the bun to suit their taste. The most important thing is that you use the correct proportion of wet and dry ingredients to make the perfect dough.

The Jamaican bun is a spin on the popular British Hot Cross bun. Both buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday to symbolize the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This tradition first came to Jamaica when the British colonized the Island in the 1600s. There are a number of ways Jamaican buns differ from hot cross buns. For example, Jamaican buns are baked in a loaf tin whereas hot cross buns are round. Also, the Jamaican bun includes Molasses, Guinness and browning which gives it its notorious dark brown color.

Serve this tasty Easter bun with hard cheese, butter or plain during Easter or any time of year for breakfast.

Jamaican Easter Bun Ingredients

• All-purpose flour: Regular plain flour is fine for this Easter bun recipe as it includes baking powder.
• Baking powder: This is a leavening agent which is used to help the bun rise.
• Cinnamon powder: A warm spice flavor that pairs with the other spices to give the distinct spice flavor that Jamaican buns are known for.
• Nutmeg: You can use already ground nutmeg or you can grate the whole nutmeg for this recipe.
• Allspice: This recipe would work with either store-bought or homemade allspice mix.
• Salt: To taste
• Guinness: To make a Jamaican Easter bun with stout you will need one bottle of Guinness. Guinness is a great ingredient in baking as it has complex flavors that give baked goods a rich and delicious taste. I highly recommend not skipping out on the Guinness in this recipe.
• Molasses: Molasses is another common baking ingredient that is used to sweeten and add a depth of flavor to baked goods. You can find Molasses in big supermarkets or specialty baking stores.
• Honey: use good, quality honey for the best results.
• Brown Sugar: Use dark or light brown sugar for this recipe.
• Browning: This popular ingredient is used in Caribbean cooking to darken soups, sauces and baked goods. Adjusts the amount in the recipe to suit your preference.
• Vanilla essence: You can also use pure vanilla extract.
• Egg: Use fresh, free-range and if possible, organic eggs for best results.
• Butter melted and cooled: This bun recipe includes salt, so unsalted butter is best for this recipe. If you don't have unsalted butter, then reduce the amount of salt in the bun.
• Raisins: To add to the batter.
• Glazed cherries: For topping on the bun.

How to Make Jamaican Easter Bun

1.First, preheat your oven to 170C/340F. In a clean bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

2. In another bowl, mix together the honey, Guinness, molasses, browning, melted butter, brown sugar and vanilla essence. Mix well until the brown sugar has completely dissolved.

3. Add the eggs and raisins and mix again. Then, add half of the flour mixture into the wet mixture and mix until fully combined. Add the remaining mixture and stir until fully combined.

5. Pour the batter into a greased or lined loaf tin and bake for 60 - 70 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.Baste the Jamaican bun with a mixture of honey and water.

6. Once the bun has cooled, remove it from the loaf tin and serve plain, with cheese, butter or tea for breakfast or as a snack.

Tips and Tricks

• Sugar: Make sure the sugar granules completely disappear when mixing wet ingredients. The wet mixture should be smooth once you have finished mixing.
• Wet ingredients: You can heat the wet ingredients on the stove but be careful as the egg may start to cook. A good way to avoid this is to heat the wet ingredients without adding the eggs. Once the sugar has dissolved, remove it from the heat and keep stirring until the mixture cools down. Once the mixture is cool, you can add the eggs.
• Alternatives: Some variations include guava jam, orange zest, lime zest and more
• Guinness: If you don’t have Guinness or don’t want to use Guinness in your recipe, you can use either brandy or rum as an alternative.
• Alcohol-free: To make an alcohol-free Jamaican bun add malt instead of Guinness.

FAQs

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