This Jamaican Spice Bun is usually served with cheese and served during the Easter holiday. I eat it year round, don’t judge me. It’s a delicious bread recipe that is a part of the Jamaican Culture and can easily be made at home.
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This post was updated on 3/3/2021.
Full Recipe Ingredients/Instructions are available in the
recipe card at the bottom of the post.
You can find important tips/tricks in the
blog post.
Any Jamaican will let you know that it is a must to eat “Bun & Cheese” for Easter. Growing up, it was a must for me to eat Bun & Cheese every time I visited the Jamaican bakery.
This homemade version is easy to make and is quite delicious. I like to slice it up and place slices of sharp cheddar cheese on it.
How to Make Jamaican Spice Bun
Gather all your ingredients.
Soak the dry fruits in the beer to hydrate them. I do this for about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a standard 8×4 loaf pan. Set aside.
Combine all-purpose flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
In another bowl, combine brown sugar, egg, milk, honey, melted butter, molasses, browning, vanilla extract, and the beer that’s soaking the fruit. Do not pour the fruit in at this time, just the beer. Mix to combine.
Remove 2 Tbsp of flour from the flour mixture and pour over the fruits and toss until they are covered.
Create a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and mix in the wet ingredients, stirring until combined.
Then add the fruits to this mixture and stir until incorporated.
Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and bake on the middle rack in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick entered in the middle comes out clean.
Allow bread to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then finish cooling on a cooling rack. Serve with cheddar cheese.
How to Store Jamaican Bun and Cheese
Store the bread inan air tight container. The bread will last for 2 days on the countertop or up to 5 days in the fridge.
Notes on Jamaican Bun and Cheese
- I use Red Stripe beer in this recipe.
- You’ll want to hidrate the dried fruits before adding them to the batter. It helps keep the bread nice and moist.
- Tossing the fruits in a little flour before adding it to the batter allows the fruit to distribute evenly in the bread and they won’t sink to the bottom.
Jamaican Spice Bun Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour 380g
- 2 teaspoon baking powder 9g
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 5g
- 1/2 teaspoon salt 1.5g
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar 156g
- 1 cup beer 250g
- 1/3 cup milk 85g
- 1/4 cup honey 85g
- 4 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted 53g
- 1 Tablespoon molasses 18g
- 1 teaspoon browning 6g
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 4g
- 1/2 cup dried craisins 62g
- 1/2 cup raisins 62g
- 1/2 cup dried cherries 62g
Instructions
- Soak the craisins, raisins, and cherries in the 1 cup of beer. Set aside and allow to soak for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease an 8×4 loaf pan. Set aside.
- Combine all-purpose flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, salt, in a large bowl and set aside.
- In another bowl, combine brown sugar, egg, milk, honey, melted butter, molasses, browning, vanilla extract, and the beer that’s soaking the fruit. Do not pour the fruit in at this time, just the beer. Mix to combine.
- Remove 2 Tbsp of flour from the flour mixture and toss the fruit in it. Set aside.
- Make a well in the middle of the bowl of dry ingredients and pour in wet mixture, stirring until fully combined. And the fruits to the mixture and stir until incpororated.
- Pour mixture into prepared loaf pan and bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then move to a cooling rack to finish cooling. Serve with slices of cheddar cheese.
Notes
- I use Red Stripe beer in this recipe.
- You’ll want to hidrate the dried fruits before adding them to the batter. It helps keep the bread nice and moist.
- Tossing the fruits in a little flour before adding it to the batter allows the fruit to distribute evenly in the bread and they won’t sink to the bottom.
Nutrition
*Adapted from Tanya’s Jamaican Spice Bread. Funny how this Tanya and I share the same name 🙂
Linda
Monday 20th of June 2022
Ohhh, this is so good! I highly recommend it. I didn’t have dried cherries so I substituted nuts. Will get cherries soon.
Marcia
Friday 11th of February 2022
The spice bun does not have beer instead use Guinness or Dragon Stout. You can also use Malta
Connie @ BohemienArt
Wednesday 30th of March 2016
Oh my! I haven't tried anything Jamaican yet and I think it's time to change that! I'll stay to see more Jamaican recipes and maybe try some of them ;)
Tanya
Wednesday 30th of March 2016
Yay! You will love Jamaican food! I am excited about sharing recipes I grew up eating.