A Sweet Spring Tradition in Cake Form

The Hot Cross Bundt Cake is a spiced pound cake layered with yeasty biscuit pieces, golden raisins, and a citrus glaze. The signature crosshatch icing design is not only beautiful—it’s deeply symbolic. This cake is perfect for your spring dessert table, Easter brunch, or as a sweet addition to afternoon tea.

This recipe is inspired by the classic flavors of the hot cross buns from my hometown bakery, Dewey’s Bakery, known for its unforgettable seasonal treats since 1930. The warm aroma of orange zest, star anise, and raisins brings back memories of Easter Sundays, blooming flowers, and lemon chess pies.

Pair It with Door County Coffee’s Spring Collection

No spring dessert is complete without the perfect cup of coffee. I’ve partnered with Door County Coffee & Tea Co. and their seasonal coffee lineup is the ultimate match for this bundt cake. From Orange Crème to S’mores and Frosted Cinnamon Buns, their spring flavors are like a designer coffee collection—crafted for moments just like this.

What Is a Hot Cross Bundt Cake?

Traditionally, hot cross buns are sweet, yeast-raised rolls spiced with warm flavors like cinnamon and nutmeg, often containing dried fruit. They’re marked with a cross and served during Lent, especially on Good Friday.

This cake version reimagines that tradition by combining the moist, dense crumb of a pound cake with swirls of spiced dough and studded fruit. It’s finished with a simple vanilla-citrus glaze in a crosshatch pattern that pays homage to the original buns.

What Does Hot Cross Bundt Cake Taste Like?

This bundt cake tastes like a hybrid of coffee cake and Easter bread. You’ll get the tender bite of pound cake infused with warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and star anise. Biscuit dough bits add a subtle chewiness, and raisins or currants give sweet pops of texture. The glaze ties it all together with a zesty citrus note.

Best Flour to Use

This recipe calls for self-rising flour to keep things easy. If you only have all-purpose flour on hand, just mix in:

• ½ tsp salt
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp baking soda per cup of flour

Using bread flour? Add an extra ½ cup of milk to keep the cake moist and tender.

Which Spices Work Best?

This cake is flexible when it comes to spices. You can mix and match based on what you love or have on hand. Try:

• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Star anise
• Cloves
• Allspice
• Cardamom
• Mace
• Ginger

What Type of Sugar Should You Use?

The recipe includes both granulated sugar and brown sugar for depth. Light or dark brown sugar works—just note that dark brown sugar will give your cake a deeper caramel color. If you prefer, you can use all granulated sugar without affecting the bake time or texture too much.

Best Fruits for Hot Cross Bundt Cake

While raisins and currants are the traditional choice, feel free to get creative with your dried fruits:

• Dried apricots
• Dried cherries
• Chopped pineapple
• Cranberries

Celebrating Spring with a Slice of Nostalgia

Growing up Catholic, hot cross buns were a sacred tradition in our home, especially on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday (and Monday, IYKYK). This cake is a grown-up twist on those childhood memories—the spring flowers, early morning egg hunts, and family dinners steeped in tradition. It’s also a new way for me to make and share those memories with others.

If you don’t observe Easter, this cake still makes a wonderful treat to welcome the vernal equinox, celebrate the changing seasons, or simply enjoy a sweet moment of peace with coffee in hand.

Try the Hot Cross Bundt Cake this spring and start a new seasonal tradition of your own!

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Hot Cross Bundt Cake

Yield: 12

Author: Nikki Miller-Ka of Nik Snacks

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 1 Hour

A new twist on the Easter tradition of hot cross buns, this bundt cake has all of the flavors and look of the traditional morning treat.

Ingredients

• 1½ cups self-rising flour
• ½ (1 stick) cup butter, room temperature
• 1½ cups Dixie Crystals granulated sugar
• 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon Chinese 5-spice or ground star anise
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 cup packed Dixie Crystals light or dark brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• ½ teaspoon star anise extract or
• pure vanilla extract
• ½ Tablespoon orange zest
• 2 oz raisins or currants
• 1½ cups buttermilk 
• 1 can refrigerated biscuits (6 or 8-count), cut into 1-inch pieces

Icing

• 1 cup Dixie Crystals powdered sugar
• 3 Tablespoons orange juice

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Next, grease and flour a 9" or 10" tube or
2. bundt cake pan.
3. Measure 3 cups of flour by spooning lightly into a measuring cup and then leveling it off. Sift together with
4. cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, star anise and cardamom. Set aside.
5. Cream butter and sugars together in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla, orange zest and beat mixture until just combined. Alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk to the egg mixture. Add raisins.
6. Gently shape refrigerated biscuit pieces into balls. Place half of the biscuit rolls in the lightly greased 9-inch cake pan first. Carefully pour half of the cake batter into prepared pan. Place remaining biscuit pieces on top and pour the remaining batter. Gently smooth the top surface of the batter with a rubber spatula.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. When the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, it is done.
8. Let cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out on a wire rack to finish cooling. If the cake doesn't want to release completely from the pan, tap lightly on the top and sides of the upside-down pan with a spoon or carefully loosen the sides of the cake with a paring knife. Let cake cool completely before decorating.
9. Mix confectioners’ sugar and orange juice in a small bowl. Spoon into a small resealable plastic bag. Cut a small piece from one of the bottom corners of the bag. Close bag tightly then pipe a cross-hatch pattern on the top of the entire cake.

Please consult a healthcare professional or dietician about nutritional needs for your diet. I am a communications professional, not a physician.

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