Fruity hot cross buns

Fruity hot cross buns

Makes: 12
Preparation time: 1 hour, plus rising time
Baking time: 10 minutes
Oven temperature: 240°C

• 825ml (450g) white bread flour
• Sml ground cinnamon
• 7mI ground mixed spice
• 2ml ground cardamom
• 60mI (50g) sugar
• 7g instant dried yeast
• 60mI (55g) butter, softened
• 215ml lukewarm milk
• 10ml vanilla essence
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 25mI (20g) dried mixed citrus peel
• 150ml (120g) mixed chopped
dried fruit of your choice — try
cranberries, pineapple and mango

Topping
• 45ml (40g) sugar
• 60mI hot milk
• 85g (165ml) icing sugar

1.Sift the flour and spices with 2ml salt. Stir in the sugar and yeast.

2.Stirthe butter into the milk until melted. Add the vanilla essence and the egg. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the liquid, stirring in the dry ingredients from the sides of the well using a wooden spoon. Once you have finished mixing, the dough should be soft, but not too sticky. If it is too sticky,
add spoonfuls offlour until a soft dough is formed.

3.Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes, or use the dough hook ofa food processor on a low speed. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and set aside in a warm place for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size, then knock back the dough.

4.Add the dried peel and fruit. Knead for a few minutes to incorporate the fruit into the dough. Divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll each one into a ball. (Or you can make mini hot cross buns, by dividing it into 24 small balls, if you prefer.) Place the balls next to each other in a greased rectangular or square baking tin, leaving a little bit of space between the balls of dough for rising. Set aside to rise again for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

5 Place the buns in a preheated oven and reduce the temperature to 200°C. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until browned and cooked through. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Gently pull the hot
cross buns apart once they have cooled completely.

6 Topping Stir the sugar into 45ml hot milk. Brush over the buns as soon as they come out ofthe oven to glaze.

7 Mix the sifted icing sugar with the remaining milk until smooth. Drizzle the icing over the buns or pipe the shape of a cross over each bun.