Pastry Chef Liz Stevenson said, “Who doesn’t love some Hot Cross Buns? Definitely not a purist myself, I much prefer a cross made of icing. In fact, it wasn’t until I moved to the UK in my twenties that I discovered the crosses were actually made of flour paste. So, true to my maritime roots, I’ve included an icing recipe below. You can also modify this recipe to your heart’s content – currants in place of raisins, candied ginger, adjust the spices, add mixed peel or freshly grated zest, etc. etc. etc. It’s up to you! Happy Easter, and happy baking friends.”
Hot Cross Buns
Makes 12
Equipment needed:
-Bowl or stand mixer with attachments
-2 x 9×5” shallow loaf tins or one 9×9” brownie tin
-Cooling rack
-Pastry brush
-Piping bag
Ingredients:
-160ml milk (½ cup, 1 tbsp, 1 tsp)
-10gm dried instant yeast ( 3.2-3.3 tsp)
-55gm granulated or organic cane sugar (¼ cup)
-450gm organic all-purpose flour (2 cups + ¾ cup + 1 tbsp)
-5gm sea salt (1 tsp)
-2 ea large fresh eggs
-85gm unsalted butter, softened (3/8 cup)
-½ tsp ground ginger
-½ tsp ground nutmeg
-2 tsp ground cinnamon
-115gm raisins, soaked in boiling water (½ cup)
25gm mixed citrus peel (optional) (¼ cup)
Icing:
-200gm Icing sugar (1¼ cups + 2 tbsp)
-2 tbsp Hot Water
-1 tsp Vanilla
Glazing syrup:
-250gm organic cane sugar or granulated (1 cup + 3 tbsp)
-125gm water (½ cup)
Directions:
1. Pre-heat your oven to 360F (convection: 350F). Grease 2 x 9×5” shallow loaf tins or one 9×9” brownie tin
2. Soak the raisins in very hot water and set aside for 30 mins. After 30 minutes, strain thoroughly.
3. Scale all of the dry ingredients (including the yeast) together and place in a bowl of a tabletop mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix to combine. You can also mix by hand if you don’t have a mixer.
4. Rub in the softened butter until you achieve a breadcrumb consistency.
5. Warm the milk ever so slightly (should be room temp or just warm) and add to the mix, followed by the eggs, then the raisins.
6. At this point, if using a stand mixer, switch to a dough hook. If mixing by hand, turn out onto a bench lightly dusted with flour and knead until very smooth and elasticated.
7. Place the dough in a covered bowl and leave it in a warm place to rise until doubled in size.
8. While you’re waiting for the dough to rise, make the glazing syrup. Place the sugar and water in a pan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat (do not stir) and set aside.
9. Next, make the icing. Mix the sugar, water and vanilla together to make a thick paste. Place in a piping bag fitted with your preferred nozzle, or leave aside to drizzle on top of the buns with a spoon.
10. Once the dough has doubled in size (approx. 2-3 hours), divide into 80-85gm portions and roll into tight balls. Place these in your greased tins and into the oven. For extra moist & fluffy buns, place a shallow pan with water in the bottom of the oven.
11. Bake for 12-15 minutes until dark golden brown on top. Turn out of the pan and onto a cooling rack. Brush the tops with the glazing syrup while they’re still warm.
12. Once cooled, drizzle or pipe on your crosses. You may now eat these delicious Hot Cross Buns!
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About Pastry Chef Liz Stevenson
Pastry Chef Liz Stevenson joined the kitchen last summer, adding some serious bench strength to the Naramata Inn bread and desserts team. Chef Liz describes herself as a certified wine and chocolate nerd. An obsession with sweets paired with a passion for incredible ingredients, and an impressive resume of education and experience is great news for Inn guests.
Originally from New Brunswick, Liz cut her culinary teeth in Montreal after graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Halifax’s NSCAD University. Liz spent the next 16 years abroad between London and Dubai in some of those city’s best loved restaurants and bakeries, including the award-winning Rüya in Dubai and London’s Mayfair, Caprice brands The Ivy, J Sheekey & Scott’s, and Dominique Ansel Bakery in London. Liz is deeply invested in policy issues and is an outspoken advocate for food system sustainability and gender equality. Completing graduate studies in food security, urban agriculture and international food governance, Liz was recognized as one of the most powerful women in F&B in the Middle East by Caterer magazine for her work in these areas.
