< Hot cross buns

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Yield: 12 buns

Time: About 3 hours start to finish with proofing

Notes: You can either make a flour and water cross before baking or add cream cheese icing crosses once cooled. Add as much spice as you like.

Ingredients

Dough

• 500g strong white flour
• 45g chilled butter
• 45g golden caster sugar, plus 2 extra tbsp
• 1 tsp each salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground allspice
• ¼ tsp grated nutmeg
• 1½ tsp fast-action dried yeast
• 1 egg
• 275ml milk
• 100g raisins/dried fruit/whatever you like
• 25g chopped mixed peel

Glaze

• 3 Tbs marmalade (I like to use orange and ginger)
• 1 Tbs boiling water

**Cream cheese icing for cross (if you don’t want to use the traditional flour & water)

• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 2 Tbs cream cheese
• 1 Tbs butter unsalted, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 Tbs water

Method

• Sift 500g of the flour into a large glass or ceramic bowl. Cut up the butter and rub in with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs.
• Stir in 45g caster sugar, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and yeast.
• Beat the egg in another bowl, then mix it into the dry ingredients with 275ml milk, until you have a soft, pliable dough.
• Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Gradually work in the raisins and peel.
• Return to the bowl and cover loosely with oiled cling film. Leave in a warm place for 1 hour, until doubled in size. Make sure it’s in a warm place like the warming drawer.
• Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead well to knock out all the air, then cut into 12 pieces.
• Put your lightly floured hand – slightly cupped, with fingers open – over 1 piece, then rotate your hand in a circular motion, pressing down on the dough to create a neat ball. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
• Put on 2 greased trays, spaced apart. Cover with oiled cling film and leave in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes. Starting in the middle, place the balls down to create concentric circles.
• Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C. _ If you want to add crosses before: Sift the remaining flour into a bowl and stir in about 125ml tap water to make a smooth wet paste. Spoon into a freezer bag, snip off the corner and pipe a cross over each bun. Otherwise wait till they have cooled to add cream cheese icing cross.
• Bake for 15 minutes until golden and knife comes out clean.
• Mix 3 Tbs of marmalade (I like to use orange and ginger) & 1 Tbs boiling water to make the glaze.
• Once buns are cooked, brush the glaze over the warm buns. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• If you want to add cream cheese cross: whisk all the ingredients together and pour in a piping bag and refrigerate until ready to use. If the icing is too thin add more icing sugar, if it’s too thick add more water until desired consistency.Pipe crosses over once they’re cooled.