It can't be denied that one of the best things about this time of year is the abundance of Hot Cross Buns available. If you're like the Victoria Eggs team and find yourself going through quite a few packets, it makes more sense to make a batch at home!
This recipe is a little twist on the classic, with delicious tart cranberries and a good zing of citrus. This is a great activity to get the kids involved in too to keep them busy during the Easter holidays.
Makes 16 small buns.
Ingredients
For the buns
zest of 2 oranges and juice of 1
100g dried cranberries
250ml milk
50g unsalted butter diced
1 large egg
500g strong white bread flour plus extra for kneading
1 tbsp fast-action dried yeast
2 tsp mixed spice
100g caster sugar
a little oil for greasing
butter to serve
For the crosses
75g plain flour
juice 1 orange
5 tbsp apricot jam
Method
- Pop your orange zest in a bowl and set aside, while you soak the dried cranberries in a bowl with the orange juice and 75ml of boiling water. Leave these to sit while you get the rest of the components ready.
- Pour the milk into a saucepan, add the butter, and over a low heat stir occasionally until the butter has just melted. Turn off the heat and beat in the egg by hand. You want to make sure that the butter and milk mixture isn't hot, so you don't accidentally end up making scrambled eggs!
- Mix together the bread flour, yeast, 1 tsp salt, and the mixed spice and sugar in a large bowl, then make a well in the flour and pour in the milk mixture.
- Drain the cranberries and add to the bowl with the orange zest, then mix these into the dough with a wooden spoon until it comes together enough to handle without getting too sticky.
- Tip out onto a floured surface and knead for five minutes until smooth and elastic – you’ll need to keep poking the cranberries into the mix as you go. Grease a bowl with a little oil, then add the dough and cover with cling film. Leave somewhere warm to rise for around one hour, or until the dough has risen to twice the size.
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knock it back by kneading for about one minute – this will get all the large air holes out and give you nice even buns.
- Divide the dough into 16 equal(ish) pieces, roll into balls and lay on baking sheets lined with parchment. Lightly cover the baking sheets with cling film and leave to prove for an hour more.
- Heat your oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. While that's warming up, mix together the plain flour and 5 tbsp water in a bowl to a sticky consistency. For a neater finish to your crosses, add this mixture to a piping bag and pipe crosses onto each risen bun. If you don't have piping bags handy then you can drizzle this on with a spoon, but be careful not to let big blobs of it pool. Pop the buns in the oven for 20-22 mins until brown on top.
- While the buns are baking, make your glaze by pouring the orange juice into a saucepan and mixing in the jam. Bring to the boil over a low heat, then simmer for 3-5 mins – you’ll need to keep an eye on this the whole time and stir it to stop it sticking. Once the buns are cooked, put them on a wire rack and immediately paint with the glaze.
- Once cool enough to touch, slather with lashings of salted butter and enjoy with a cuppa! These will keep for up to 2 days in an airtight container.
