Jamaican Easter Spice Bun — Highly Spiced Jamaican bread, soft, tender studded with raisins and fruits. Absolutely delightful anytime!
This is the time of the year, when Christians abstain from meat and flock towards bread and meat-free goods. I am happy to say I’m one of those Christians. Growing up, during the Lenten Season, especially on Fridays we would only eat bread and water until sunset. Hot cross buns were only reserved for Good Friday and my siblings and I waited for them impatiently. It was the highlight of our Lenten Season. 
Gosh! I miss those days… I always do have a fondness for spicy bread — this Jamaican Spice Bun is no exception. The good thing is it’s eaten year round. However, the Easter Spice Buns are made extra special- sweeter, and studded with dried fruit for the Lenten Season and especially on Good Friday. This is the Jamaican sweeter take on the ever popular hot cross bun.
You can find as many different adaptions to the classic recipe as there are cooks – made with or without yeast. I’m ashamed to say I totally went overboard – trying out different variations and they are all worth making at home. 
My preferred version has a modern twist to it — Guinness — substituting the liquid ingredients of milk for something a little tastier… Guinness Stout. Giving it an incredibly rich brown color. This one below is sans – without Guinness. 
This is made with half Guinness and half milk. 
For those that have never baked with Guinness I think you are in for a treat! Guinness contains a lot of complex flavors and definitely adds depth of flavor to baked goods with mild notes of cocoa and a strong malt flavor- making this bread truly unique and delightful. This amazing bread takes about 15 minutes to prep and is studded with raisins dried fruit. And wonderfully fragrant spices from nutmeg, cinnamon allspice, together with molasses and browning sauce. Yes! Quite a flavorful bread – sure to tantalize your taste buds. 
Traditionally, this is served with hard cheese or you can make a cheese sandwich.
Notes
- Browning is a Caribbean Sauce that is used to darken sauces, stews, or meat and even baked goods. If this is too dark for your liking then you might want to cut back on the browning – or eliminate completely.
Looking for a light airy Hot Cross Bun then check this out!
Hot Cross Buns Recipe
Enjoy!!!!
Watch How To Make It
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Jamaican Easter Spiced Bun
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Ingredients
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (or 50 grams)
- ¼ cup honey (or 85 grams)
- 1 teaspoon browning.
- ½ Tablespoon Molasses
- 1- teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 cup Guinness Stout
- 1 egg
- 1- cup dried fruits cherries, raisin
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1/2- tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 1/2 Teaspoon spice combination Nutmeg- (3/4 teaspoon), Cinnamon ( 1 teaspoon) and ( 3/4 teaspoon) all spice)
- 1 cup cherries optional to top bun
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan with baking spray; set aside
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the following ingredients: brown sugar, granulated sugar, honey, browning, Molasses, vanilla, melted butter Guinness Stout and egg
- In another bowl combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon allspice and salt, lightly mix. Then throw in the dried fruits
- Then combine wet and dry ingredients until thoroughly
- Scrape down sides.
- Pour mixture into prepared loaf pan , add cherries on top if desired – bake for about 60-75 minutes or until a tooth inserted comes out clean.
- Let it cool before slicing.
Nutrition Information:
Fay says
I am going to try this recipe but one question…do you cover the pan with foil? Do you add water in a pan in the over to keep the Bun moist? I really hate a hard outer crust if you will!
imma africanbites says
Hi Fay. I don’t do those, however the bun still comes out moist. But perhaps you can cover it with foil halfway through the baking.
Fay says
Thank you. I can’t wait to try this recipe.
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome!
Vee says
I made this, its in the oven as I write Can’t wait to try it. I did find though that I had to heat the liquid ingredients through a bit, as the butter went solid again and looked awful but was ok once warmed through.
Fiona says
I was so looking forward to making this for 2 Jamaican friends coming to my home on Scotland next week for a holiday. I have had this Easter Bun whilst staying in Jamaica and loved it.
I converted the measurements by tapping on the metric button on the recipe page as I don’t have American cup measures.
I did think that 7.39g of cinnamon and 12.32 g of the mixed spice combination was excessive but that is what the conversion said.
The cake once cooked was a disaster so at nearly midnight I made another batch and googled tablespoon to gram conversion and it says 14g = 1 tablespoon ( butter that is for grams of butter. 1/2 tbls of cinnamon does not weigh 7grams.
I then at nearly midnight made another batch using tbls and teaspoons for the weighing of the spices but completely forgot to do that for the baking powder and put in the weight in grams 9.86g – hence another disaster as cake completely sunk and will end up in the bin.
Better weight measurements are needed if converting from US to metric.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Fiona,
I am So Sorry to hear about this.
Will look into it.
Thanks for the feedback
Leisel says
Hi
I made this bun for the office last week and it was well appreciated. Everyone loved the taste the Guinness that you get as an after taste, just flavorful.
Love it. Another great recipe
Elly says
It’s Easter Sunday and I woke up wanting bun and cheese! My husbands family is Jamaican ❤️ I am Dutch and we also use many of the spices in our specullaas cookies.
I doubled the recipe. I didn’t have any beer so I used cherry coke with a bit of rum, ACV, and even some balsamic vinegar. I used less sugar and honey because of the coke. I tasted the batter and it was the right sweetness for me. The cake turned out amazing. The only thing I think I would change is to add more allspice or something as I would have liked flavour. Maybe not using beer was part of the problem too I’m not sure. Thanks for the recipe!
Reina says
Made your spicy bun twice with much success. I was pleasantly surprised at how moist it was. I’m accustomed to the yeast buns during this season but so glad I found this recipe. Great taste, less work. Thank you fotr sharing. Incidentally, does this bun freeze well?
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks . It does freeze well. Tightly wrap in Saran Wrap or plastic wrap.
Gary Lawrence says
May I ask how long it can be kept frozen I have a store bought one that has a months expiry date but want to freeze it for about the same time, as I have to go somewhere for a month and prefer to keep it home.
ImmaculateBites says
It sure can. Tightly wrap and place in a ziplock bag . Then remove and reheat in the oven on low heat(250-300 degrees) until heated through.
Faith says
Thanks so much for the recipe! I just baked two today. The first one, I used all Guinness, and the second one was half milk/half Guinness for liquid. Can’t wait to dig in!
ImmaculateBites says
Great! Thanks for taking the time to let me Faith.
Tamara says
Hey Imma! I just wanted to thank you for this amazing recipe! My boyfriend and I are both Jamaican so it’s been such a joy being able to recreate the taste of home over here in the UK. My coworkers are all huge fans of this as well – I had to bake more the demand was so high! I’m planning to make another for my family Easter gathering and I know it’s going to be a hit!
ImmaculateBites says
Thank you so much Tamara!!! So happy to hear this!
Verlina Keener says
Thanks for getting back with me. My husband’s co-worker is Jamaican and has never made a bun. She is going to bake your recipe too. Happy early Easter !!!
Verlina Keener says
Hi! I just came across your Easter Bun recipe. I am going to make it this Easter- 2018. I have a couple questions:
-Are the cherries on top and in the batter maraschino or candied?
– My husband and I do not drink alcohol. Can I use the name brand drink called Malta?
– Is browning used for flavor and color? Will it make a big difference if I don’t use it?
-Can you eat Velveeta cheese instead of Tastee Cheese with this?
As you can see- I am totally going to make this! I have read all your reviews and it sounds like it makes an awesome bun! I can’t wait to bake this! Thanks so much.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Verlina, the cherries on top are maraschino and yes you can use Malta and Velveeta cheese works as well – What ever cheese rocks your boat.
Yes browning is used for both flavor and color . Hope this helps ! Happy Cooking !!!
Omar says
I tried this recipe and it came out great.
Guinness gives it great color and flavor.
Just Mix a little bit of honey with maple syrup
And brush the top 2-3 times for beat results.
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome ! Thanks for taking the time to share with us. Happy Holidays!!!
A. Harcourt says
What is Jamaican Browning. What does it consist of
ImmaculateBites says
It’s burnt sugar . Sold in Caribbean Markets and some supermarkets depending on location.
Simone Cheong says
Followed recipe exactly, except put one cup raisins only instead of fruits and cherries. It came out amazing! Family and friends loved It!
ImmaculateBites says
So pleased to hear Simone! Thanks for letting me know.
Van says
Hi there, Can I use real cherries soaked in Rum or will it get soggy?
ImmaculateBites says
Real cherries would do just fine.
Lizzy says
Hello Imma,I love love this bun!! I make it when ever I feel I deserve a treat! It is so lovely. Pls can I use a non alcoholic malt drink to replace the Guinness? I want to give it as a gift to someone who doesn’t take alcohol. Thank you
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Lizzy ! You sure can. Another reader tried them with malt and loved it . Thanks!
Lesa-Anne says
So I tried the recipe last night and it came out great!! I did not have Guinness and so I used malt beer. I love it! Thanks again for such an easy and straightforward recipe!
Lesa
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome! Glad to hear it worked out well for you with malt beer. Thanks for taking the time to let me know.