It’s a very different Easter this year and many people will not be celebrating in any sort of ordinary way but one thing we can do though, is enjoy a Hot Cross Bun or two or three!
These are very simple to make and yummy to eat whilst still hot, otherwise toasted the next day, they are great too.
A Good Old Fashioned Recipe
This recipe came from my mother in law who proudly referred quite often to her Cakes, Pastries and Bread Cookbook. It was a St Michaels 1977 edition put out by Marks and Spencers and every recipe was an absolute winner.
Hot Cross Buns
When we lived in England, we would make a couple of batches of these buns together and would enjoy them straight out of the oven with a good strong cup of tea or two on Good Friday with all the family. The wonderful smell of the hot spiced buns is the absolute scent of Easter for me. Nothing will ever change that.
After eating way more than we every thought possible, we would struggle out of our chairs and venture into the garden. The little ones got to sprinkle happy flower seeds in prepared beds, promising lots of colour before summer. It was always a fun family activity and seeing the seeds grow less than a month later was enchanting for the kids. All their own work!
Hot Cross Buns
After the exhausting exercise outdoors, we would then shuffle back inside and see if we could wedge just one more Hot Cross Bun in! Admittedly, they were now cold, but we still managed! It was a killer!
Size Matters
This year I rolled out the buns smaller (as seen in the photos here). The idea being that we would not eat as many. That was not the cleverest idea I have had and I would definitely return to making them a more generous size in future.
- 1 pkt (7g) of instant yeast or 15g fresh yeast
- 230ml warm but not hot, milk
- 450g flour gently warmed
- ½ tsp salt
- 60g soft butter or margarine
- 120g sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon / mixed spice
- 2 eggs
- Possible 50ml extra milk needed
- 60g currants added after the first rise
- CROSSES:
- Shortcrust pastry trimmings made up of 2:1 flour:margarine and a little water
- GLAZE - whilst hot
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 2 Tbsp water
- Add yeast to warm milk and let sit whilst you organise the rest of the ingredients.
- Mix the salt into the warmed flour
- Rub in the fat
- Add the sugar, spices and the creamed yeast
- Add the eggs
- Mix to a soft dough, adding some extra milk if necessary
- Leave to rise
- When risen, knead lightly, work in the fruit and divide into 20 to 24 balls.
- Flatten and prove
- Make crosses out of shortcrust pastry (my preference) or a thick flour and water mix
- Bake buns in 170C oven for 15 - 20 minutes
- Turn buns over and cook on bottom for 5 minutes
- To glaze - melt sugar in water and brush on whilst hot
Hot Cross Buns
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