Making your own hot cross buns from scratch this weekend will not only impress your loved ones, but it means that you know exactly what goes into them as opposed to the shop-bought variety.
To make the hot cross buns dairy-free, substitute the butter for coconut oil and the milk for soy milk or rice milk. For a sugar-free version, try substituting the icing sugar for xylitol.
What You Need
The Buns:
850g Sasko cake flour
½ cups icing sugar (or xylitol)
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp baking powder
500ml milk (or soy milk or rice milk)
1 extra-large free-range egg
¼ cup seedless raisins
2 tsp bicarb of soda
150g softened butter (or coconut oil/butter)
The Cross:
1 cup Sasko cake flour
1tbsp butter (or coconut oil/butter)
180ml warm water
The Glaze:
3 tbsp apricot jam
100ml water
READ MORE: Wheat-Free Date, Coffee And Walnut Cake
Method
The Buns:
1/ Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2/ In a bowl, sift together flour, icing sugar, ground cinnamon and baking powder.
3/ In a separate bowl, beat milk and egg together, then add the raisins and bicarbonate of soda.
4/ Add butter to the dry ingredients and mix together with your fingers until you have fine crumbs.
5/ Slowly, add some of the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix the dough. Be cautious not to overmix though, the dough must have a soft, but firm texture.
6/ With a rolling pin, gently roll the dough until it’s approximately 4cm thick. Press the buns out with a round cookie cutter and place them close together on a well-greased baking sheet.
The Cross:
1/ Sift flour and add the butter. Rub the mixture together with your fingers until the texture resembles fine crumbs.
2/ Add warm water in small amounts until the dough has a mushy consistency.
3/ Mix well to create smooth dough.
4/ Place the mixture into a piping bag and pipe thin crosses onto the buns.
5/ Pop them into your preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes until golden brown.
The Glaze:
1/ Heat water and the apricot jam until well mixed.
2/ Once the Hot Cross Buns have finished baking, remove from oven.
3/ Brush syrup over the buns and serve warm.
