Paradise Hot Cross Bun Mix 1/4 Inch, 10 Pound Tub

To make the glaze, dissolve the sugar and gelatine in the hot water and use a pastry brush to brush over the top of the hot buns. I don’t think I will ever buy Hot Cross Buns again. To kick this Easter off I have finally got a good recipe for Hot Cross Buns in my repertoire thanks to Julie Goodwin’s latest book ‘The Heart Of The Home’.   But even the kids who don’t know normally like sultanas in hot cross buns loved them in the home made version.   Term one is over and I have one very tired 5 year old, one sick 7 year old and one recovering 9 year old. hot cross buns.   Place in a little plastic bag, snip a tiny piece out of a bottom corner and pipe this paste on the buns to form a cross on each one.   The recipe suggest it makes a dozen but I make 16 smaller buns which is perfect. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.   Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead for just a minute then divide up into individual sized buns.   Pop the buns in the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until cooked and sound hollow when tapped.   After hot summers the slightly cooler weather makes everything look so much more inviting – picnics, baking, cups of tea, going for walks.

A woman I worked with used to make Scotch eggs, but she would slice the boiled eggs in half remove the yolks and mix them with so much black pepper they appeared grey in color, then she’s spoon the yolk mixture back in the egg put both halves... I was in hospital at the time, and I distinctly remember my Mum bringing me chocolate eggs, that came in an egg carton (although I’m sure mine was orange, not purple), with a chocolate fondant/mousse filling to eat with a spoon. My younger sister Juji made scotch eggs following chef Heston Blumenthal’s as method as shown on his latest TV show How to Cook Like Heston (get his scotch egg recipe here). I barely ate any Easter choccies this year – just a tiny milk chocolate egg I received from a work colleague and not a single Creme Egg. The milk chocolate eggs are wrapped in Cadbury royal purple foil and come in a cute mini egg carton. She apologised for egg yolks – she’d aimed to get them perfectly soft and gooey in the middle but took a shower while the eggs were finishing off in the oven, resulting in some yolks being overcooked. I also ate a Freddo on Easter weekend but that’s not really Easter chocolate is it. While the rest of us weary workers are thankful for long weekends (and the crankier among us complain they’re never long enough – yours truly included) it’s always... Jac and I brought a trio of sausages – spicy Mexican beef and plain beef chipolatas (pictured below) and curry sausages. My younger sister Juji brought a pack of Cadbury Spoon ‘n’ Eggs for the kids. Seeing the picture of the Egg ‘n’ Spoon reminded me that I’m sure we used to have these in the UK about ten years ago. The girls liked the plain beef ones the best, and the Mexican beef sausages were the surprise hit with just about everyone else.

At the risk of being seen as a crusty, killjoy, I’ve got a radical idea: why not just eat hot cross buns and Easter eggs at Easter. It drives me mad seeing hot cross buns and Easter eggs in the shops before we’ve barely got over Christmas. And yet of course, too many hot cross buns and Easter eggs are not good for our health. I spotted hot cross buns at the beginning of February, Easter eggs soon afterwards. But rather than having them on top of my normal meals, I’ll swap them for something else e. g one hot cross bun has about the same calories in it as a couple of slices of bread, so I had mine instead of toast for breakfast today. I was in Oz for Christmas and actually saw hot cross buns on sale the first week of January. The hot cross buns are more of a temptation for me I must say. I didn’t even realise it was Easter this week because I’ve got so used to seeing the buns and eggs everywhere. I refuse to buy them until Easter week and even then, as you say, it’s the best I can afford and I savour them. I haven’t bought an Easter egg, but if I fancy some chocolate I’ll just have a little bit of my usual (a bit boring, but I know that it won’t be disappointing chocolate. And as you say, buy the good ones with big, juicy raisins.

Put the chocolate into a small zip loc bag or piping bag, snip off the end and pipe crosses across the chocolate chip buns. Preheat the oven to 200 C. Cover the hot cross buns with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for 20 minutes. Place it in a large bowl (not metal), cover with plastic wrap and set aside in warm place for 1 – 1 1/2 hours, until the dough doubles in size. Makes 15-16 hot cross buns. 60g white chocolate (2 oz). To make the buns, combine the lukewarm milk, sugar and dry yeast in a small bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the melted butter, lightly beaten egg and frothy yeast mixture, as well as half the chocolate chips.