Hot cross buns
History
The hot cross bun is a spiced sweet bun made with currants or raisins and marked with a cross on the top, which represents the crucifixion of Jesus. They can be found in the British Isles, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and some parts of America. While traditionally hot cross buns were eaten on Good Friday to mark the end of Lent, they are now more widely available, and in some places are sold year round. Although the traditional recipe remains very popular, other flavour variations are now sold, for example: apple and cinnamon, orange and cranberry, and toffee and chocolate (the currants are replaced with chocolate chips). For many British people hot cross buns are an important feature of their Easter celebrations, along with chocolate eggs!
Recipe
Notes:
- The measurement ‘tbsp.’ is short for ‘tablespoon’, which is 15ml.
- ‘Proving’ means leaving the uncooked dough mixture to rise and increase in size.
