This traditional Easter treat that originated in England has been around for hundreds of years. And I hate to admit it, but until now I’d never eaten one and certainly never baked one. But I’ve come to love these spiced, soft yeast bread buns studded with dry fruit and citrus peel. And I believe you will, too.
I took my recipe (mostly) from Mary Berry, the Queen of British baking. Here’s a link to her BBC video and another link for her recipe. I also borrowed from Paul Hollywood’s version, from his cookbook, How to Bake. The recipes are very similar so I took Mary’s, but used orange zest instead of lemon zest. Like Paul, I added my dried fruit, peel, and zest, along with a cup of chopped sweet apple, after the first rise. I also used Paul’s heated sieved apricot jam for my glaze, as opposed to Mary’s warm golden syrup.
You’ll notice Mary’s recipe is in metric. And because I have a kitchen scale, I don’t need to convert anything. For those who don’t have a scale and don’t want to convert, here’s another recipe that uses standard “American” measurements.
Mary’s recipe has two ingredients that can be hard to find locally: mixed spice and candied citrus peel. I made them myself and both are packed with flavor. Mixed spice is a simple combination of cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, mace, cloves, and coriander. The candied citrus peel took longer to make. You blanch orange and lemon peels, but you can use grapefruit peels, too. You scrape off the softened pith and soak them in a sugar syrup then toss in sugar. This is NOT a quick process, but the peel will keep for months. Don’t toss the leftover syrup!
I hope you enjoy making (and eating) these as much as I did. For the cross, you can substitute the flour/water paste for a simple white piped glaze once the buns are cooled. Whatever method you use, the symbolism is unmistakable: The cross represents the crucifixion of Christ; the spices reflect the ones used along with the linen cloth to prepare His body for burial; and the orange peel speaks to the bitterness Jesus endured to purchase our salvation. And the recipe I used has 3 rises of the dough, like the 3 days Christ was in the tomb before His resurrection.
However you enjoy your hot cross bun, whether split and toasted with butter, or eaten whole along with a cup of proper hot tea, I hope you’ll take time to contemplate the special meaning baked into every treat.
Happy Easter!
2 Comments on “Hot Cross Buns”
Where is the recipe; I didn’t see this.
Hi Cary,
I included links to all the recipes in the post 🙂