Cardamom Scented Hot Cross Buns

With Lent coming early this year and me craving something sweet and spicy, I decided to whip up some hot cross buns.  These are delicious right out of the oven and just as good a few hours later with a thick spread of butter.


Ingredients:

• 450ml milk
• 120g butter
• 1 orange peel
• 1 lemon peel
• 2 cloves
• 2 green cardamom pods, crushed
• 1 black cardamom pod, crushd
• 1 egg, beaten
• 900g bread/strong flour, sifted
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 14g of dried yeast
• 200g mixed dried fruit/sultanas
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• 1 egg and 2 tbsp milk for egg wash

For the cross:

• 8 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 8 tbsp water

For the sugar glaze:

• 5 tbsp sugar
• 5 tbsp boiling water
• 1/2 tsp orange extract

Gently heat the milk, butter, cardamom, cloves, fruit peels in a saucepan, simmer for 2 minutes and allow to infuse for 10 minutes. Cool and strain. Stir in the beaten egg.

Place the flour, yeast, spices, sugar and dried fruit in a bowl.

Pour the milk into the dry ingredients and bring together to form a ball.

Knead the dough on a floured surface for 10 minutes until smooth and place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with saran wrap. Allow to prove in a warm place until it has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F

Knock back the dough and divide into 15 balls and shape into buns.

Place the buns onto a baking tray lined with parchment, placing them fairly close together but not touching.

Make a cross on the top of each bun with a knife and leave to prove for a further 1 hour or until doubled in size. The buns will almost join. Brush the buns with egg wash.

Mix the flour, sugar and water to form a thick paste (place the paste into a plastic bag, cut a small corner off) and pipe a cross on each bun.

Place in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes until risen and golden.

Combine the sugar, water and extract together until sugar dissolves and brush over the buns while still hot.