Hot Cross Bun Pudding – A Delicious Easter Dessert

Hot Cross Bun Pudding is a warming, comforting Easter dessert and a wonderful way to use up leftover hot cross buns. The soft, buttery, fruit-spiked hot cross buns come together with the rich custard and make for a simple, indulgent and nostalgic pudding.

Whether you are looking for a special dessert for the Easter weekend, or simply using up the things you have on hand, this Hot Cross Bun Pudding is on you will find yourself making again and again.

Updated April 2026 – This post has been refreshed with new tips and a streamlined format to make it even easier to enjoy. Please note I originally made and blogged this recipe back in 2016 after receiving some yogurt samples and a recipe from Rachel’s Organic, and have gently adapted it over time to suit my own tastes. New photos to come!

As always, there is a story behind this recipe, but if you would like to skip ahead, just use the Jump to Recipe button at the top of this post.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• A delicious way to use up leftover hot cross buns
• Can be customised with different flavours of yogurt and/or hot cross buns
• Rich, creamy comforting dessert
• Ideal for a relaxed family dessert

Tips for Making Hot Cross Bun Pudding

Use a smaller baking dish to allow the custard to really envelop the buns.

Take your time adding the custard to the buns to allow it to really soak in. I gently lifted the tops of the buns off to make sure the custard soaked into the bottoms, before putting the tops back on and adding the remainder of the custard.

Adapt the flavourings to suit the hot cross buns and the yogurt – For example you might want to use almond or lemon flavouring instead of vanilla, or you may want to add a little extra cinnamon or ginger, depending on your family’s tastes. It’s best to a variety of hot cross buns you have tasted already to help with this.

If possible serve this dessert the day it is made – Serve warm, soon after baking, for the best flavour and texture. You can safely refrigerate and reheat leftovers, but the custard will not be the same texture and they will not taste as good as when served freshly baked.

Variations

Add a little orange or lemon zest to the custard.

Use a splash of liqueur instead of vanilla flavouring. Be careful not to add too much liquid.

Add a few extra raisins, dried fruit or even some chocolate chips to make this hot cross bun pudding extra special.

This warming and comforting dessert is the perfect way to love your leftovers and create a wonderful, warming and nostalgic Easter dessert all at the same time. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family, friends and I do!

Hot Cross Bun Pudding – Printable Recipe

Created by: April J Harris

Hot Cross Bun Pudding

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Use up leftover hot cross buns in this deliciously easy Hot Cross Bun Pudding, a rich, creamy bread-pudding style dessert.

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Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

• 4 hot cross buns sliced in half
• 2 tablespoons softened unsalted butter plus extra to grease the pan
• 1⅓ cups double cream (also known as heavy cream)
• ½ cup whole milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ⅓ heaped cup Rachel's Greek Style Lemon Yogurt or Plain Yogurt any brand of Greek yogurt will work
• 1 teaspoon demerera sugar I used a couple of teaspoons in the end

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 160°C / 325°F / Gas Mark 3.
• Grease a 1 litre ovenproof dish with a little butter.
• Spread the hot cross bun slices with butter on both the internal sides.
• Arrange the buns in the ovenproof dish with the buttered sides together and the cross sides face up.
• In a small pan, heat the cream and milk together until just warm.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and egg yolk.
• Temper the eggs by adding a bit of the heated cream and milk and whisking rapidly. Add a little more, whisk and then add the remainder, whisking all the while. (This avoids scrambled eggs!)
• Add the vanilla and then the yogurt and whisk together.
• Pour the mixture over the buns a little at a time, making sure it has time to soak in. (I gently lifted the tops of the hot cross buns to make sure the bottoms were thoroughly soaked, then replaced the lids and continued pouring the custard mixture over the buns.)
• Sprinkle the pudding with the demerera sugar.
• Place the ovenproof dish on a baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes or until the pudding is puffed up, set and golden brown.
• Serve with custard or cream.

Notes

I originally made this recipe using yogurt samples from Rachel’s Organic, which gave very good results, but if you have any good quality Greek-style yogurt on hand, it will also work beautifully here. 

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