Cranberry Hot Cross Buns
Source: CMC - Australia
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (310ml) milk
- 3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar
- 2 x 7g sachets dried yeast
- 4 1/3 cups (650g) plain flour (plus extra for flouring your hands and surfaces)
- 1 tsp cinnamon, ground
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg, ground
- 1/4 tsp ginger, ground
- 1/4 tsp cardamom, ground
- 1 cup (190g) cranberries, dried
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 100g unsalted butter, melted, cooled
- ¼ tsp salt
Directions
- Gently stir the milk and 1/3 cup of sugar in a saucepan over low heat till it is lukewarm, then turn off heat
- Stir in yeast, then stand on stove top for 10 minutes or until mixture is foamy
- Sift 4 cups of flour, spices and 1/4 tsp salt together into a bowl
- Stir in cranberries, add the yeast mixture, egg and butter and stir until the mixture forms a dough
- Flour a clean kitchen surface or chopping board (the surface is usually easier) and knead for 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic
- Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Stand in a warm place (not an oven!) for 1 hour or until doubled in size. NB - If you have a bread maker, follow the instructions for proofing to save time at this stage
- Divide dough into 16 pieces and shape into balls and place in a greased 23cm square cake tin
- Cover with plastic wrap then stand in a warm place (not an oven) for 30 minutes or until it has risen level with the rim of the tin
- Preheat oven to 200°C while you make the icing
- Stir remaining flour, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water together until smooth
- Spoon into a piping bag then pipe crosses over buns
- Bake for 10 minutes at 200°C then reduce oven to 180°C and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and risen
- Turn on to a wire rack to cool
- Stir remaining 1/3 cup sugar and 2 tbsp water in a saucepan over low-medium heat until sugar dissolves then bring to the boil. Brush hot syrup over top of buns. Serve.
