Tropical Hot Cross Buns

Nothing screams Easter more than steamy hot cross buns with sizzling butter slipping and sliding across it on Good Friday lunchtime. Admittedly, you might think of the satisfying crack when you snap an Easter Egg in half more than this, but shout out to all those who've stuck to their lent - I haven't touched chocolate for almost forty days, so continuing that trend I decided to do some Easter baking that wasn't so heavy on the chocolate (probably also best since I plan on over-indulging on Easter Sunday). I haven't gone for a traditional hot cross bun. Instead, I've decided to put a tropical spin on these well loved treats with pineapple and mango rather than the usual raisins and sultanas. The recipe is also fairly simple and quick, so would be easy to whip on Good Friday. 

~I have adapted this recipe to make it my own, but the original recipe is linked here~

You Will Need: 

• 500g of strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting your surface
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoons of mixed spice
• 50g of caster sugar
• 50g of butter, cubed
• 100g dried pineapple chunks, chopped
• 100g of dried mango, chopped
• 7g sachet of easy-blend dried yeast
• 200ml of semi-skimmed milk
• 2 medium eggs
• 3 tablespoons of plain flour
• Golden syrup 

Method: 

• Sieve the flour into a large bowl in two batches, before mixing in the salt and mixed spice with a wooden spoon
• Rub the butter into the dry mix with your fingertips. Chop up the dried pineapple and mango chunks - this could depend on the brand of dried fruits you're using, so you may think you don't need to chop them up any more; I used Whitworths and did chop them - and scrape them into the bowl. Mix the pineapple and mango in with the yeast.
• Beat the eggs together in a glass. Heat the milk gently in a saucepan so its hot but warm enough to leave your finger in it for a couple of seconds. Pour the eggs into the milk and beat together before pouring into the dry ingredients. 
• Mix the wet and dry ingredients together with a spatula until it has formed a fairly wet dough. Allow it to soak for around 5 minutes, then separate the dough into 8 roughly equal buns. The easiest way to do this is by halving the dough, then halving both halves. 

• Lightly dust your surface with flour. Shape the buns by rolling them into a ball with the palm of your hand then flattening them slightly. Place them onto a lined baking tray, ensuring there's enough space for the buns to expand without conjoining. Loosely cover the buns with cling film and leave to rise for 45 minutes - 1 hour and 15 minutes, depending on how warm your kitchen is
• When the buns have risen, pre-heat your oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas mark 7. Mix together the plain flour with 2 tablespoons of water, plus a little drizzle of water to make it a teeny bit runnier for the piping bag. Pipe crosses on the top of each bun.

• Bake for 12-15 minutes until they have a golden brown top. Brush your buns with a golden syrup glaze as soon as they come out of the oven - I found it best to squeeze it evenly and then quickly brush it all over the top. The buns will keep fresh for a day, but after that they are nicest toasted. 

Hope you enjoy making these hot cross buns and have a lovely Easter! 

From,

Eleanor