HOT CROSS BUNS

A hot crossed bun is a spiced sweet bun made with currants and raisins and marked with a cross on the top.
It is traditionally eaten on Good friday in the United Kingdom, Ireland and a few other countries across the globe.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE BUNS
300ml Milk, Plus 2tablespoon extra
50g Butter
500g Bread Flour
1 tsp Salt
75g Caster Sugar
1 tsp Sunflower Oil
7g Satchet Fast Action yeast
75g Raisins
1 Beaten Egg
Zest of 1 Orange
50g Mixed Peel
1 tsp Cinnamon Powder

INGREDIENTS FOR THE CROSS
75g Plain Flour plus extra for dusting

INGREDIENTS FOR THE GLAZE
2 tbsp Caster Sugar
2 tbsp Boiling Water

PREPARATION
Boil the milk, remove from heat and add the butter. Leave to cool to room temperature.

Put the sugar, flour and yeast into a bowl and make a hole in the middle.

Pour in the warm milk and butter mixture and add the beaten egg.

Mix all together to form a sticky dough.

Put mixture on a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 mins by which time you should have a smooth and elastic mixture.
Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl,  cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for about one hour and thirty minutes.

With the dough still in the bowl, pour in the raisins, mixed peel, orange zest and cinnamon powder.

Knead into the dough and make sure everything is well distributed. Then leave to rise for another one hour and thirty minutes. (Remember to cover with an oiled cling film and keep in a warm place)

Divide the dough into 15 even pieces and roll each into a smooth ball on a lightly floured work surface. Arrange the buns on baking tray(s) that has been lied with parchment paper. Remember to leave space between the buns to make room for the rising that would occur during baking.

Pre Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas7.
Prepare the cross by making a paste with the flour with 5 tbsp of water (add a little water at a time in case you need to adjust for thickness).
Put paste in a piping bag with a small nozzle and pipe a line along each row of buns.Then repeat in the other direction to make a cross.
Bake for about 20mins in the middle shelf of the oven, until golden brown.

GLAZE PREPARATION

Add the boiling water to the sugar, mix well and use it to glaze the buns with a pastry brush as soon as they come out of the oven to give it a shiny look.

Your buns are ready for serving! I had mine with some jam! They were delightful!!!

NIGERIAN BUNS: CRUNCHY MEETS CAKEY!!!

YOU'LL NEED

Baking powder 1 tablespoon
Butter 85ml (at room temperature)
Milk  195ml
Eggs  3
Sugar 100g or less if needed
Pinch of salt
vanilla essence 1 teaspoon
Plain/All purpose Flour  400g
Vegetable oil of your choice for frying

METHOD

We don't want to over mix so everything will be added and incorporated gently. First we'll add the butter to the flour in a clean bowl.

 Next add your sugar and baking powder...

Add your eggs...

Add your salt...

add milk...

Now use clean hands to gently mix and fold all together.

Your batter should look like this, not watery and not hard.

Now you have to wash off all the batter from your hands as we prepare to fry. In a bowl pour in warm water and some oil, because sticky hands are difficult to work when handling dough.

 Make some balls with your mix.

Drop in hot oil and fry for a few minutes. Fry a few at a time till they are a light golden brown. Use medium heat so it can cook through to the core without burning on the outside.

Fry a few at a time till they are a light golden brown. Use medium heat so it can cook through to the centre without burning. A lot of people make the mistake of cooking with high heat and end up with cooked outside and burnt inside buns!!!

Serve and enjoy.