Easter fun

Easter has always been an exciting time of year for me. As a christian family we celebrate Easter traditionally, church in the morning followed by a family celebration where a large roasted lunch is served. As I have mentioned before we usually serve salmon en croute, sometimes we will also have a roasted chicken for the meat eaters of the family.

Looking back now even though I knew the true meaning of Easter I would still get so excited about Easter eggs. I think its the childhood excitement and the effect of advertising that creates this. The television adds and then walking around the supermarket, chocolate eggs all around, all shapes and sizes. So tempting .... until now.

I have embarked on a health kick to rid myself of my extra weight I have gained in recent years. I want to be a size 10, it saddens me that I cannot remember ever being a size 10, it seems I took a large leap in size from childrens clothes to a size 14. I have already dropped a dress size and continue on my path to loose the rest. I also think that I have grown up a bit. I now don't see chocolate as a big part of my Easter celebrations, I now crave spices like cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, those that you find in hot cross buns.

Every morning I collect the bread from our local bakery close to where I work, the amazing smell that floats through the air as I walk closer to the bakery is fantastic. The sweet spices from the hot cross buns envoke memories of the past, mostly of Easter.

This afternoon on my path to rediscovering my relationship with food I decided to bake some traditional hot cross buns. I added alot of spice and they are just so warm and comforting, just what I felt like;

Here is my recipe to share with you all, my hot cross buns;


Recipe makes 12 buns

500g plain flour
80g raw sugar
1 egg, beaten
a 7g sachet of yeast
60g margerine
150g sultanas
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp nutmeg
1 tbsp mixed spice
75ml boiling water
125ml milk

Seive the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the other dry ingredients including the yeast. Mix the water with the milk and pour into a well in the middle of the bowl, add the margerine and the beaten egg. Stir all together and create a dough, knead to a smooth ball. Place into a floured bowl and leave in a warm place to prove for 1 hour.

Once doubled in size 'knock back' the dough by kneading it for 2 minutes and then portion into 12 even balls. Smooth the balls and place onto a baking tray. In a seperate bowl combine some more plain flour and water and make it into a loose dough, roll into thin sausages to create the traditional cross ontop of each bun. Let the buns prove and then bake in a 220 degree centigrade oven for 15 minutes.

Leave to cool a little and in another saucepan combine equal amounts of sugar and water, boil to a syrup and glaze each bun. They are now ready to be eaten with whatever you like to eat them with. For me its just a light smear of margerine. I know margerine? but your a chef,  isn't butter better? Well it is but I can't always be naughty!

Happy Baking!