[Spartacus]

with fruit, of course!!! (well, essence or grated rind is fine)

I've tried so many and Delia's is the closest, but it's still not great.

This post has been edited by Spartacus: 05/04/2012, 12:50 PM

[Party of 5]

I use the CWA recipe

Hot Cross Buns

3 level teaspoons of dry yeast
1/3 cup of caster sugar
1 cup warm milk
4 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
80g butter
1 cup sultanas
1 egg beaten lightly
1/4 cup warm milk

Flour Paste for the crosses
1/4 cup plain flour
2 teaspoons caster sugar
2 tablespoons cold water approx

The Glaze
21 tablespoons caster sugar
1 teaspoon powdered gelatine
1 tablespoon water

Combine the yeast, sugar and warm milk into a bowl and whisk until yeast is dissolved. Cover and stand in a warm place. About 10 mins. Sift flour, spices and salt into large bowl and rub in the butter. Then stir in the fruit, beaten egg, yeast mix and warm milk. Combine to make a soft dough.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.

Place large bowl and cover with oiled plastic wrap and stand in warm place for approx 1 hour or until dough doubles its size.

Knead lightly and divide into portions - quickly, then form into balls and placed onto a greased lined tray.

They should be almost touching. Stand in a warm place for 20 minutes or until double the size. Preheat the oven to 220c (200c fan forced).

Flour Paste - put all ingredients onto a small bowl and stir enough water to make a smooth paste and then put into a piping bag and pipe the cross over the buns.

Bake the buns for 12-15 minutes. Golden brown is what you are aiming for. Tap them and they'll sound hollow when they are ready.

Glaze - combine all ingredients into small saucepan, stir without boiling until sugar and gelatine are dissolved.

When the buns are cooked, put on to a wire rack and brush with glaze and then open the oven door and sit buns for about 10 seconds (this last little trick allows the glaze to set).