My favourite Hot Cross Buns

I am an absolute hot cross bun fiend. As soon as April rolls around (sometimes even March), I eat hot cross buns every few days. They’re the perfect breakfast or afternoon pick me up. I’m a purist when it comes to the flavour. For these, the raisins are soaked in earl grey which keeps them plump and imparts a lovely citrus flavour. I prefer a lightly spiced bun so I’ve used a mixture of mixed spice and cinnamon. Lastly, these are glazed (or rather soaked) in a orange golden syrup mixture to keep them moist and irresistibly shiny.

They last well for about 3 days. They’re great eaten fresh on the first day and toasted on days 2 and 3. Generous amounts of butter are the only acceptable topping in my opinion. Enjoy!

Ingredients - Makes 8 large
150g raisins
125ml boiling water 
2 earl grey tea bags
450g strong flour
1 tsp salt
65g soft light brown sugar
2 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
7g active dried yeast
230g whole milk
70g unsalted butter
1 lemon zest
1/2 an orange zest
1 egg

Cross Mixture:
50g plain flour/50g water

Glaze:
45g golden syrup
15g orange juice
15g water

Method
Place the raisins in a bowl along with the tea bags. Pour over the boiling water and stir. Leave to steep for 5 minutes before squeezing out the tea bags and removing. Cover the raisins and leave to soak for 2 hours.

For the dough; warm the milk and butter in a pan until warm and the butter has melted. Leave to one side until cooled slightly. Place the strong flour, salt, brown sugar, spices and yeast into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix the dry ingredients before zesting in the lemon and orange. Add in the milk/butter and the egg. Mix the dough on medium-high speed for approx. 7 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Once kneaded, add in the soaked raisins along with any leftover liquid and knead on medium speed until all of the raisins are incorporated into the dough. This will take about 5 minutes but they will eventually incorporate.

Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to make sure all the raisins are distributed evenly. Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave to prove for 45 minutes-1 hour in a warm place until doubled in size.

Grease and line a 9x12inch tray (or similar) with butter and baking paper. Once proved, punch the dough down and portion into eight pieces. They should be roughly 135g each. Roll each piece into a ball and arrange onto the prepared tray, leaving a 1 or 2 cm between each ball. Cover and leave to prove in a warm place for 45minutes-1 hour or until doubled in size. When your buns are nearly proved, preheat the oven to 180°C.

When you’re ready to bake, mix the flour and water for the cross mixture. Add more water or flour as needed. It should be thick enough to pipe and hold its shape but thin enough to drop off a spoon. If you prefer a softer cross then make the paste thinner and vice versa. Spoon the cross mixture into a piping bag and snip off the end so you have a small hole. Pipe a cross on top of each bun. Bake at 180°C for 15 mins, then lower the temperature (without opening the oven) to 170°C for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

While the buns are baking, warm the glaze ingredients together in a pan over low heat until melted. As soon as the buns come out of the oven, brush them liberally with the glaze. Continue to re-coat the tops until you’ve used it all. Leave to cool before serving fresh or toasted with lots of butter. These keep well for up to 3 days in a sealed container at room temperature.