I had the recipe for mixed berry hot cross buns on my to-do list for a while, so to speak, and since they are traditional English and Easter buns, I thought I’d make them today in my kitchen!
What can I say??? That hot cross buns are really good, they are soft, delicate, lightly sweetened, and thus perfect to be served with strawberry jam, blueberry jam, mixed berries jam just like I did… or better, some hot cross buns I filled from the bottom with strawberry jam and …TRIUMPH!!!!!!!!!!!
I made about 15 and honestly ended up gifting them in the building, where I’m already the official cook!
These soft English buns typical of the Easter period are usually filled with raisins while I used cranberries following the recipe by Nadiya Hussein, the charming, effervescent British chef and TV host!
Hot cross buns have a cross that symbolizes the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. They are typically enjoyed on Good Friday and were originally given to the poor starting in 1361.
The English tradition includes many beliefs regarding these delicate little Hot cross buns, for instance, if made on Good Friday, they won’t mold (🤔) and if a sick person eats a piece, it helps them recover. Also, they prevent shipwrecks when brought aboard and protect the house from fires when hung in the kitchen (though that’s odd).
These soft little English Easter buns close the Lent period because they are made with products forbidden during the time leading up to Easter because they are derived from animals.
Ok, ok, I’ll just limit myself to eating them and making them again with sultana raisins and simple royal icing!
The English hot cross buns mixed berry version are super soft and I highly recommend them!
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°I have opened a channel of free recipes on WhatsApp with no notifications and no sound, which you can join by clicking the link here https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaHbGIn9cDDig7Cw2x0F and every day you can read a sweet and a savory recipe !
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If you want to try other English recipes I suggest…
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 2 Hours 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 15 hot cross buns
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: English
- Seasonality: Easter, All seasons
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Manitoba flour
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 packet dry yeast
- 1 egg (medium)
- 6 tbsp sugar
- 3 1/2 tbsp butter
- 1 cup cranberries
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 9 g strawberry powder
- 2 tbsp flour
- to taste water
- to taste maple syrup
- to taste strawberry jam
Tools
#ADV
- Piping bags
- Non-stick baking trays
- Stand mixers
- Microwave ovens
Steps
1) As I mentioned above, if you want to read Nadiya Hussein’s recipe, you can find it online. I’ll tell you how I prepared these delicious and super soft English Easter hot cross buns with the mixed berries variant…
2) I used a stand mixer, but you can repeat the steps using a large bowl …
3) Place the flours, dry yeast (I use Mastro Fornaio) and granulated sugar into the bowl.
4) Quickly mix and add the egg and the milk in a stream (make sure it’s lukewarm) while continuing to mix everything.
5) Add the soft butter in small pieces and continue mixing until everything is absorbed and the dough is well combined. Finally, add the salt …
6) Continue mixing with the dough hook for at least 6/7 minutes at medium speed.
7) Remove the dough and place it in a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for about 60 minutes or until it doubles in size.
8) After the time has passed (I admit it was cold so I placed the bowl with the dough near a radiator covered with a blanket, cushions, etc… am I ridiculous?) I emptied the dough onto a lightly floured surface and added the cranberries, trying to mix them evenly throughout the dough.
9) Now divide the dough into 15 pieces… I used a scale but wasn’t precise to the gram, let’s say the pieces weigh about 60/70 grams but you can adjust as you prefer… For example, you can choose to use 2 trays instead of just one like I did, so you’ll have to decrease the weight, obviously!
10) As I weigh the typical English Easter buns traditional Good Friday recipe, I shape the hot cross buns .
10 bis) Gather the outer edges of the small buns at the bottom, pinch well, turn them over, and with a rotary movement, keeping them closed inside the hand. Make many concentric movements, turning and turning them in a very small space to round them, smooth them, and at the same time to close them at the bottom … not sure if I explained it well, and if not, check out some specific video online, thanks!
11) Now place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, slightly spaced from each other, forming 3 rows of 5 English Easter buns hot cross buns each.
12) Cover with plastic wrap and let them rise again in a warm place for about 60/70 minutes until they double in size!
13) Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) in static mode and prepare the glaze.
13 bis) Place the strawberry powder and flour into a small bowl and add about half a glass of water, but add it slowly to adjust the thickness, which should be fluid but not runny!
14) When the hot cross buns are well-risen and the oven has reached a uniform temperature, put the strawberry glaze in the piping bag and make the crosses on the risen buns.
15) Now bake the typical English Easter buns hot cross buns for about 20 minutes or according to the specifications of your home appliance.
16) Bake the buns for 18-20 minutes and when they are ready, remove them from the oven and brush them with maple syrup using a silicone brush, making them shiny and really tempting!
17) Remove them from the tray and leave them with the parchment paper to cool on a wire rack.
18) Now … WELL NOW WE CAN make a hole at the bottom and with a syringe we can inject some strawberry jam into a few of them to make them even more WOWWWWWWWWWWW!
19) No, no, forgive me, FIRST INJECT THEM WITH JAM AND THEN ONLY THEN brush them, or else you’ll stick a little to the syrup …
Anyway, make them in your homes because they are not only soft but super soft, good, delicate, and tasty without being too sugary, a real revelation!
ENJOY YOUR MEAL AND …HAPPY EASTER to you and your loved ones!
Thank you
Annalisa
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Annalisa says…
After reading Nadiya’s recipe, I decided I needed to look for strawberry powder and ….voilà!
#ADV
Recipe taken from Nadiya Hussain’s Netflix series BUT ….
1) I omitted the orange zest that should have been added to the cranberries and surely gave an even better aroma…..
2) I didn’t heat or even warm the milk but took it straight from the fridge and that was it, sorry….
3) The kind of strawberry glaze I made by weighing and putting the 9 grams of strawberry powder as per the original recipe, then I tried after adding the 2 tablespoons of flour to mix in water by feeling to get a glaze that was fluid but not runny!…
4) I added 1/4 teaspoon of salt, not 1/2 as indicated by Nadiya!
Instead of ordering strawberry powder, you can blend the dried fruits or use strawberry jam possibly thickened with a bit of cornstarch.
If you understand English, you can find Nadiya Hussein’s hot cross buns recipe in its original language on the web!
The English tradition includes many superstitions and traditions regarding these spicy English Easter buns with cinnamon, the Hot cross buns, and among them is also a song or rather a nursery rhyme!
The English tradition includes many superstitions and traditions regarding these spicy English Easter buns with cinnamon, the Hot cross buns, and among them is also a song or rather a nursery rhyme!
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