Easter is fast approaching, and as I can’t subsist entirely on Cadbury Creme Eggs (believe me, I’ve tried), I thought I’d whip up a different holiday treat today. Here’s my take on hot cross buns:
Ingredients:
For the buns:
- 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for lining and kneading
- 1 1/4 cup milk
- 2 large eggs, plus 1 yolk
- 1/2 cup butter, plus extra for greasing
- 1/6 cup apple juice
- 1/4 cup and 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 1/3 cup dried sultanas
- 1/3 cup dried currants
- 2 1/4 tablespoons (roughly one sachet) self-raising yeast
- 1 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
- zest of two small oranges
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon cloves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon all spice
For the glaze:
- 1 egg white, reserved from above
- 1 1/2 tablespoon milk
For the icing:
- 1 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 4 teaspoons milk
Preparation:
- Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan with butter. Line with a dusting of flour.
- In a small bowl, consolidate the dried fruits and apple juice. Microwave for 30 seconds, and set aside for later.
- In a large bowl, combine the remaining wet ingredients for the buns. Mix thoroughly with a whisk or electric mixer.
- In a smaller bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the buns (excluding the fruit, of course, which is stewing in the juice). Add them to the wet ingredients and mix until smooth.
- Add in the fruit/juice mixture and beat further.
- Spread a light coating of flour on a sufficiently large flat surface. Knead the dough until it is soft and elastic. (This should take 5-6 minutes.)
- Divide the dough into ice cream scoop sized pieces, and place them in your pan (or on a baking sheet, in which case you should omit step 1 and cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper instead). Cover and allow the dough to rise at room temperature for an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
- In a small bowl, whisk together glaze ingredients. Brush the glaze over the tops of the buns immediately after removing them from the oven.
- Allow the buns to cool for at least 10 minutes before beginning to prepare the icing. Meanwhile, you should slice the buns, if fused together, into your desired serving portions; you can keep them in the pan to do this.
- For the icing, mix the two ingredients, adding in more milk as needed. Pipe icing in a cross shape on top of each bun.
- Serve warm.
Enjoy, and I HOP everyBUNNY has an EGGcellent Easter, filled with chocolate and hot cross PUNS. (Sorry, I had to!).
