Those Cakes We Like ... Are Raisin Hell

It’s a very British Easter tradition.

Picture (and cakes!) by Cakes We Like

“One a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns” — 18^th century nursery rhyme.

It is the month of chocolate eggs and Easter bunnies. In the UK this means the shops are full of fruity bread products, along with the traditional chocolate egg-stravaganza. I refer, of course, to the hot cross bun, a favourite Easter treat on these isles we call the United Kingdom. Sadly, you can no longer purchase these delicious treats for a penny each, let alone a penny a pair — according to the Bank of England’s inflation calculator that penny would be £1.66 today (or $2.10 in the USA).

As we are not affiliated with any specific religion here at Your Wonkette, I feel I ought to impart the (perhaps surprising) news that hot cross buns predate Christianity by several thousand years. Credit for the invention of the first hot cross bun goes to our old friends the Ancient Egyptians, who developed the earliest recorded bread recipes. The Egyptians used a bread roll that had been marked with a cross in their celebrations of the gods. The cross divided the bread roll into four equal sections to represent either the four phases of the moon, or the four seasons (not the landscaping company), depending on the occasion. So hot cross buns could actually be considered a rather pagan fruity snack. Of course, Christianity co-opted this delicious treat, although the fruit was not included in the ancient Egyptian version; I suppose the nice big cross on the top of it was just too good a symbol to pass up on. Hot cross buns have been a symbol of Easter and the crucifixion of Jesus since around the sixth century AD, courtesy of the Greeks. The modern, fruity form, which was first recorded in London during the 18th century, has its origins in the 14th century with the development of the Alban Bun — a fruited bread roll which was traditionally given to the poor on Good Friday.

There is a degree of religious symbolism in the ingredients used (aside from the glaring symbolism of the huge cross on the top): The spices are supposed to represent those used in the embalming of Jesus — although I struggle to get my head around the use of cinnamon and mixed spice for embalming. It’s hard to imagine an embalmer’s shop smelling like a bakery without getting Mrs Lovett vibes. To further drive the association with the Christian religion, the sale of hot cross buns was restricted to Good Friday, Christmas, and burials during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Don’t worry, no one was going to be confined to the Tower of London for selling delicious hot cross buns; the punishment for breaking this particular law was the forfeiture of the buns to the poor. There was also nothing preventing you from baking your own if you had a craving for fruity, spiced bread products. In the interests of separation of Church and the State that is my kitchen, I should also point out that there is nothing stopping you from decorating your hot cross buns with something that is not a cross. If you can pipe it then it can go on there, so pipe that pentagram, or the Bat signal, or any other symbol you want (Cakes Jr. opted for the pentagram).

The traditional way to enjoy a hot cross bun is freshly toasted and spread with lavish amounts of butter (my breakfast for the next few days). The addition of jam or marmalade is also permissible, and some people have been reported to enjoy them with cheese — a step too far for me.

Carbohydrates – 41 g per bun or 615 g for the entire batch. Please enjoy responsibly.

EQUIPMENT

2 Mixing bowls (or stand mixer and a mixing bowl)

Digital kitchen scales

Measuring jug

Wooden spoon

Baking paper

Deep sided oven tray

Small bowl or ramekin

Pastry brush

INGREDIENTS

For the buns:

300 ml milk (preferably full fat)

50 g butter

500 g bread flour (bread flour has higher protein than cake flour, if in doubt check the nutrition information)

1 tsp salt

75 g sugar

7 g (1 sachet) fast-action yeast

I egg, beaten

200 g raisins, sultanas or mixed fruit (or 150 g of chocolate chips if you don’t like dried fruit — this will change the carbohydrates)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp mixed spice

For the cross (or other symbols):

75 g all-purpose flour

50 ml water

For the glaze:

3 tbsp apricot jam or maple syrup

1 tbsp water

INSTRUCTIONS

Bring your milk to the boil then remove from the heat and add the butter, leave to cool until it reaches hand temperature.

In your mixing bowl combine your bread flour, salt, sugar, and yeast. Make a well in the centre.

Pour in your milk and butter mixture and add your beaten egg.

Mix well using a wooden spoon, then use your hands to bring the mixture together to form a sticky dough ready for kneading. Knead your dough for 5 minutes, or until the dough feels smooth and elastic. I find the easiest way to do this is to use the heel of one hand to push the dough away from me, stretching it out, then turning the dough a quarter turn and repeating. It helps to lightly oil your hands with a little olive oil first as this will prevent the dough from sticking to your hands. Alternatively, you can skip this entire step by using your stand mixer and dough hook attachment on a low- medium low speed (second or third setting) for 5 minutes.

Lightly oil your clean mixing bowl and transfer the dough to this bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise until doubled in size; this will usually take at least an hour. Alternatively, you could leave the dough in the refrigerator overnight.

Once your dough has doubled in size it’s time to add your fruit (or chocolate). Tip this into your bowl and fold the dough over it, repeating until the fruit is well-combined.

Line your oven tray with baking paper.

Divide your dough into 15 evenly sized balls and place them into your oven tray. Leave 1 ½  to 2 inches between each ball to give them space to rise; you may need to use a second tray if you’re short on space. Cover the tray with the damp tea towel and leave to rise for another hour.

Preheat your oven to 390 F (200 C), or 355 F (180C) for a convection oven.

Mix your remaining all-purpose flour with 50 ml water until it forms a thick paste.

Spoon this paste into a piping bag with a round nozzle, or use a disposable piping bag or sandwich bag with the tip/corner snipped off. Pipe your crosses or symbol of your choice across the top of your buns. You may want to use scissors to cleanly cut the paste when you finish each symbol.

Place into your hot oven and bake for 20 minutes, by which time the hot cross buns will be golden in colour and your kitchen will smell divine.

Gently heat your jam or maple syrup with 1 tbsp of water. When you remove your hot cross buns from the oven use a pastry brush to glaze the top of each bun with your jam/syrup mixture. Leave to cool.

Sit down and enjoy a delicious hot cross bun, ideally toasted, and served with plenty of butter (jam/jelly is optional). According to Cakes Jr. (and millions of other Brits who aren’t me, shocked face!), a cup of tea is the ideal accompaniment for this little treat.

An added note: If you leave out the spices and fruit from this recipe you will have a basic enriched dough. If you roll this dough into hotdog bun shapes and top them with glace icing (confectioner’s sugar mixed with water), you will have Iced Fingers. If you bake them as buns like you do in this recipe, you can slice them as you would a burger bun, fill with strawberry or raspberry jam and whipped cream, then close and sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar to make a Split. That’s three recipes for the price (the price is exactly $0 as all Wonkette recipes are free) of one!

Next month marks exactly one year since I started providing you all with baking recipes, and to celebrate this milestone I plan to treat you all to a recipe for the quintessentially British crumpet — a fantastic, light breakfast treat. See you then.

If you need to buy digital kitchen scales, or any other baking equipment, use this link right here to give Your Wonkette a small commission!