Hot Cross Scones

So I was looking at my blog and lamenting the fact that I hadn’t written up any recent baking exploits. I then realised I hadn’t really experimented that much and had been baking things I’ve baked before. This isn’t a bad thing – it’s very comforting to know the outcome and not stress about things. I saw the Hot Cross Bun bread and, with Easter coming up, thought it might be nice to make Hot Cross Buns. Then I remembered that they take a while, what with the rising of the dough etc etc. What to do? 

Hot Cross Scones of course! They don’t need rising, there is no yeast, and scones are super quick to make. I had some peel left over from Christmas so away I went. They have been a success which I can safely say after devouring the one I took a picture of. Well it was already spread with butter. I went with butter as the ‘serve’ but I guess jam and cream would work. Try it.  

I use a small cutter when making scones as I find a large scone off putting. These are very light so you can eat four and feel ok about it, in a way you couldn’t if you attempted to eat two large ones. Not sure how that works but it does.

Ingredients

100g cold butter, cubed

450g plain flour

2 tbsp baking powder

2 heaped tsp mixed spice

4 tbsp caster sugar

100g sultanas

50g mixed peel

2 large eggs, beaten

100ml whole milk

4tbsp plain flour

1. Preheat oven to 220°/GM7.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder and mixed spice and rub in the butter. Use tip of fingers – you know you’re doing it right if the palms of your hands stay clean. (I’m sure you could bung it in a food processor). You want it to go breakcrumby.
3. Add the sultanas, peel and sugar mixing in.
4. Make a well in the centre and add the eggs (keeping a little back to glaze the tops). Add about half the milk and then mix together. Start with a palette knife and then get your hands in. Add more milk if the dough needs it. You’ll probably not need it all.
5. When it’s all come together turn out on a floured surface and knead until smooth. This is an important part so make sure you do it for 2 or 3 minutes.
6. Roll the dough out until it’s about 2.5cm thick. Cut out with a 5cm cutter, rerolling when you run out of space (you can use a larger one). You should get 20-28 scones from it.
7. Place on a baking tray – non-stick is best – but if not grease the tray. Brush the tops with the remaining egg.
8. Take the 4 tbsp of flour and mix with about 5-6 tbsp of cold water to make a batter. I had mine fairly runny but it can be a bit thick. You need it to make the cross on top so put in a piping bag or something with a nozzle (I found some great squeezy bottles in Tiger) and pipe crosses on top. I did them all at once when they were on the tray – see below picture for the mess I made.
9. Cook for about 12-15 minutes (give it another couple if you think they need it). Make sure you eat one while hot just to live up to the name!

Bread and Butter Pudding with Hot Cross Buns

I've never made bread and butter pudding but thought that an Easter twist on it would be a nice dessert when The Thew’s family came around on Easter Sunday. I would recommend buying the hot cross buns as you want ones that are fairly robust to absorb the custard.
 
Ingredients
8 hot cross buns
Butter
450ml double cream
450ml full fat milk
4 egg yolks
1 full egg
Nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp caster sugar
Sultanas
Zest of an orange
Demerara sugar to top

1.    Preheat the oven to 160°C/GM 3.

2.    Slice the buns in half and spread with butter. Then arrange them in a dish slightly overlapping.

3.    Sprinkle with some sultanas and orange zest. I didn't weigh the sultanas as it was just a scattering to boost the fruit content.

4.    To make the custard heat the cream and milk together in a pan to just below boiling point.

5.    While that is going on whisk the egg yolks and egg together with the caster sugar. Then add the vanilla extract and a grating of nutmeg.

6.    Once the milk is hot pour into the egg mixture while constantly whisking. It will be a thin custard so don't panic that it’s not thick. Then pour the custard over the buns and leave for 20 minutes or so to soak in.

7.    Sprinkle Demerara sugar over the top and pop into the oven for 45 minutes.

8.    Serve with more custard!

Hot Cross Buns

Sometimes making an effort is worth it. Sometimes it’s not. A specific example would be taking time over making your fringe look nice just before going outside into gale force winds. Not worth it. Training in the gym for weeks so you can keep some dignity during a brutal 10km course (that actually was 11.2km) is. Well kind of. It’s all a matter of balance and what is important to you.

 

Baking falls into this. It’s one of those things where the end product takes longer to make than to be consumed. I’m basically a feeder (I blame my Irish heritage and the compulsion this gives me to force food on people) so I don’t mind that everything disappears. In fact I’d panic if it didn’t! An interesting take on this time to make vs. time to consume was in ‘Rant’ by Chuck Palahnuik (well worth a read but prepared to have to read it about three times and then go on forums to work out what the hell just happened). The main characters mother is annoyed by how quickly her food is demolished without full appreciation of the taste, so she starts putting thumb taks, balls of tin foil and cherry pips in her food. People learn to chew carefully, take their time and ultimate appreciate the taste more. Now it’s not something I’m going to start doing but it makes you think about how all the traditions around those cakes that have a ‘prize’ baked in for the ‘lucky’ person who finds it in their piece got started.

 

Baking is full of tradition and the ones surrounding hot cross buns are huge. Take one on a ship to stop a shipwreck and hang one in your kitchen to stop fires. There are lots more but you can go on Wikipedia for that, let’s get on to the recipe. These are great and so light compared to the ones in the supermarket. I’m going to be honest though. They can feel like a lot of effort because of the crosses. Don’t ask me why but that extra step feels like forever to me. I think it’s because I don’t like piping bags so I use short crust pastry instead. However over the years I have found it to be less stressful and messy and the end result is pretty much the same – a cross on top of a bun! So these are more effort than picking them up on your weekly shop but the lightly spiced soft buns make up for it as far as I’m concerned.

Ingredients

Buns

250ml milk

75g butter

100g caster sugar

2 x 7g sachets fast acting yeast

2 large eggs

450g strong white flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

2 tsp mixed spice

Pinch of salt

150g mixed dried fruit

1 egg, beaten (in addition to the ones above)

Short crust

200g plain flour

100g butter

Pinch salt

1 egg

1.    Put the butter and milk in a saucepan and gently heat. You just want it warm so don't boil. I haven't put these down as ingredients but you can chuck a couple if cardamom pods and a clove in to infuse in the milk mix. I'm not certain it makes a difference but you feel fairly smug. Try some orange peel as well.

2.    Take out anything you added to the milk mixture and measure out 60ml. Add a 1 tbsp of caster sugar and the yeast to it, then just to one side.

3.    Add the flour, rest of the sugar, spices and salt to a bowl and mix well. Make a well in the middle.

4.    Beat the 2 large eggs into the left over milk mixture then mix in the yeast mixture. Add most of it into the flour mix. Now this is where you get your dough hooks out. (You can knead by hand but I really can’t ever be bothered). Mix for about a minute. It is a damp-ish dough but don't over add on the liquid.

5.    Add the dried fruit and knead with your dough hooks for about 5 minutes. You want the dough shiny and pulling away from the side of the bowl.

6.    Cover with cling film double size in a warm place (I can’t tell you the joy I had when I saw our flat for the first time and saw it had an airing cupboard).

7.    Then make the short crust or look up a recipe for the flour paste version. Flour, salt and butter in a food processor until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add most of the egg, pulse, add more egg if it needs it but you want it to just come together. Put in the fridge for about 15 minutes and then roll out thin and cut out strips. Done! (You’ll only need about a 1/3 of this so save the rest for making jam tarts or just freeze until you need).

8.    Take your doubled in size dough and knead for 2 minutes. Then divide into buns about 45g in weight (I do weigh them but I’m weird). Put them on an oiled baking tray leaving space between them and wash with beaten egg, placing a short crust pastry cross on top.

9.    Leave to rise somewhere warm for about an hour and pre-heat the oven to 190°C/GM5.

10.  Once they’ve risen again put in the oven. After 5 minutes turn the heat to 180°C/GM4 for another 10. I find that these like to burn quickly so just watch them. Then let them cool and eat with butter.