Hot Cross Buns

Easter is almost here, and although I usually make hot cross buns during Easter, this year I will be travelling.  I'm making them this week instead, as they've become a bit of a ritual and they taste so nice I don't want to miss out.  Hot cross buns appear in Australian supermarkets straight after Christmas, which is ridiculous.  By the time Easter arrives I'm surprised people aren't sick of them.  The home made ones are much nicer than factory made ones.

Ingredients


500g flour
15g dried yeast
125g dried blackcurrants
1 tsp salt
60g brown sugar
60g butter
2 tsp mixed spice
2 eggs
280ml milk

Paste for the crosses


1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup water

Glaze

2 tbsp milk
2 tbsp castor sugar

Warm the milk slightly to room temperature.  Mix flour, salt, yeast and mixed spice together.  Make a well in the centre, add milk, eggs and softened butter and mix by hand.  Add the currants and mix them in.  Leave to rise for about 2 hours, covered, in a warm place.  Knock the dough down, knead briefly and shape into 12-16 round buns.  Place on a non-stick oven tray, or a greased tray, and leave covered for 45-10 minutes until they double in size.

For the crosses, mix water and flour into a smooth paste and pipe onto surface of buns when they have risen.

Bake in oven at 200 C for 15-20 minutes.

Just before they are ready to leave the oven, heat the sugar and milk in a small saucepan and boil until thick and syrupy.  Take the buns out of the oven and immediately brush the top of each bun with the syrup, and then brush them each again a second time.  Leave to cool.

Mixed spice


As I only seem to use a jar of this at Christmas and Easter, the spice will probably have gone stale if you have some hidden in the cupboard.  Buy a fresh jar, or you can make your own by mixing these together:

2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cassia
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp green cardamom seeds

Hot cross buns, and most other spiced fruit buns are an English tradition dating from Tudor times.  They were only allowed to be made and sold on special occasions, decreed by the crown.  This eventually lapsed and they became very popular, but now seem to have reverted to the special occasion of Easter.