Easter Bun Recipe

This time of year is always special to me. Easter is a major holiday for those of us from Caribbean families and Easter Bun is just as important to the Easter holiday as attending church, eating fried fish on Good Friday, and making sure Easter dinner was extravagant. I grew up eating Jamaican Easter Spice Bun every year from Good Friday to Easter Sunday. It’s a family tradition that I hold very near to me and it’s such a privilege to continue the Easter Bun tradition with my own family.

Why do Jamaicans eat Easter Bun?

Jamaicans were once under British rule before gaining their independence and the tradition of eating Easter Bun came from the Hot Cross Bun, which was a staple in the United Kingdom. Jamaicans celebrate Easter weekend by eating Easter Bun and fried fish on Good Friday up until Easter Sunday.

What is Easter Bun made of?

Easter bun is made of a delicious combination of sugar, warm spices commonly found in Jamaican cuisine, molasses, Dragon Stout, guava jelly, and red wine. Soaked raisins, mixed fruits, self rising flour, salt, butter, eggs, browning, vanilla and almond extract are also included in the traditional Easter Bun recipe.

Easter Bun Ingredients

Dry Ingredients 

-2 1/4 cup Self Rising Flour

-1/2 tbsp Ground Cinnamon 

-1/2 tbsp Ground Nutmeg

-1/2 tsp Salt

Wet Ingredients 

-1 cup Raisins soaked in 1 cup of Red Label Wine (you may use red wine of your choice if unable to source Red Label Wine. I recommend a dry or semi-sweet red wine)

-1 cup of Dark Brown Sugar

-3/4 cup of Mixed Fruits

-2 eggs, beaten

-1/2 tbsp Browning

-1 tbsp Vanilla Essence

-1 9.6 fl oz bottle of Dragon Stout

-1/2 cup Red Label Wine

-5 tbsp of Salted Butter, melted

-2 tbsp Molasses

-1 tbsp Guava Jam

-1 tsp Almond Essence

-1/2 cup Maraschino or Glace Cherries

Glaze:

-2 tbsp Honey

-2 tbsp Water

-optional: Maraschino cherries 

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. You’ll need two separate mixing bowls and a standard 9″ × 5″ non-stick loaf pan. In one bowl, add all the ingredients listed under “dry ingredients”. Mix well. In the other bowl, add all the ingredients listed under “wet ingredients”. Sugar is technically dry, but it goes into the bowl along with wet ingredients. Mix well. Grease your loaf pan with butter or spray with Pam Baking Spray.

Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. The soaked raisins should be put into the batter without the wine they were soaked in or you can use that wine, but omit the 1/2 cup of wine listed on the ingredient list. Pour the batter into the loaf pan, top with cherries (you may want to cut them in half first) and bake for 45 minutes. Test for readiness by using a toothpick. When it comes out clean, it’s ready. Make your glaze by mixing the honey and water and brushing the top of the Easter Bun. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before slicing. Enjoy with Tastee Cheese or cheddar cheese!