Traditionally, Hot Cross Buns are eaten on Good Friday and Easter Eggs are given and eaten on Easter Sunday (because who can make their chocolate last any longer!). But these days, Hot Cross Buns are available to buy as early as January, right after the Christmas excitement is over.
If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know I’m all about cooking from scratch and doing it myself if I can. So naturally, I wanted to be able to make them myself. I tried a couple of different recipes for inspiration, and came up with what I think is the perfect mix of fruit, spices and softness.
You’ll find the recipe below, but here are a couple of things I discovered along the way. Enjoy!
You can use Instant Dry Yeast or Active Yeast, but you will have different rise times. Instant Dry Yeast is what I used, and will mean you can follow the recipe as is and make them ‘quickly’. Active Yeast will mean a longer rise time. To use Active Yeast, mix it with the milk and sugar and leave to soak for at least 20 minutes. Then it can be added to the other ingredients as normal. But, you’ll need to leave the dough to rise for a lot longer the second time once you have made the dough balls.
You can use either raisins or sultanas, or even a mix of both. However, I prefer raisins, as they are less invasive in your mouth! Of course if you prefer, you can also add currents and Áorange peel as the traditional buns would have included a range of dried fruits.
I like to add a good amount of spice. You shouldn’t need to add more after that, but adjust according to your taste.
Cinnamon (and Mixed Spice) is one of my very favourite spices, and I enjoy the taste, which is why I’ve included such a large quantity. If you choose to reduce the quantity, it would be best to reduce the other spices in the same proportion.
Allspice has a distinct flavour, and you’ll start to recognise the ‘hot cross bun’ smell as soon as you add it.
2 tablespoons instant dried yeast
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups milk, warm
4 cups plain flour
5 teaspoons mixed spice
3 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons allspice
1 teaspoon nutmeg
60g butter, room temperature
1 egg
1 cup raisins
FLOUR PASTE
1/2 cup plain flour
2 teaspoons caster sugar
1/3 cup water, approx
GLAZE
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1 teaspoon gelatine
3 tablespoons water
1. Preheat oven to 190C.
2. Combine yeast, sifted flour and spices in a large bowl, and rub in the butter.
3. In a small bowl, combine sugar and milk, and then add it to the dry ingredients, along with the egg and raisins (or sultanas). Mix until it is a soft, sticky dough. Cover and stand in a warm place for about 1 hour or until dough doubles in size.
4. Grease a 23cm-square deep cake plan.
5. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes or until smooth. Divide the dough into 16 pieces, and knead into balls. Place balls into pan and cover with glad wrap. Stand in a warm place for about 10 minutes or until buns have risen to the top of the pan.
6. Make the flour paste for crosses (see below). Place the paste in a piping bag fitted with a small, plain tube, then pipe crosses onto the buns.
7. Bake the buns for about 20 minutes, and then them, top-side up, onto a wire rack.
8. Make Glaze (see below). Brush hot buns with hot Glaze. Cook the buns on the wire rack.