The Best Tear & Share Hot Cross Buns Recipe | Waitrose & Partners (2024)

FAQs

What spread to put on hot cross buns? ›

Hot cross buns contain a little fat from butter/shortening (around 5%) and are high in carbohydrate so consideration is needed around portion size for people with diabetes. Hot cross bun sizes vary a lot. For example, one commercial variety sold in a 6 pack contains 40g carbohydrate and 920 kJ (220 calories).

DO NOT add too much flour – results in dry dough = tough buns. Sultanas: Some recipes say to add sultanas after the dough has been kneaded or risen. If you do this, you'll find it very hard to disperse them evenly throughout the dough. By adding them before kneading, some do get squished.

The so-called 'Alban Bun' was made with flour, eggs, yeast, currants and an expensive spice similar to cardamom fittingly called grains of paradise. Imprinted with a cross using a knife, the lavish buns were supposedly distributed to the poor at the gates of St Alban's Abbey from 1361.

Namely, hot cross buns. Doughy, sultana-scattered and smothered in butter, we love 'em and there's no better time to scoff them than Easter. Traditionally, hot cross buns are reserved for Good Friday to mark the end of Lent, but 20 million are sold during Easter week in the UK.

Sugar Syrup.

The sugar syrup for hot cross buns goes on after the buns have come out of the oven - it gives them a delicious shine. You could also use watered down apricot jam for your hot cross bun glaze.

Significance and Superstition

Hot cross buns are usually consumed on Good Friday to celebrate the end of Lent, or on Easter Sunday. In fact, Queen Elizabeth even banned them except on specific Christian events like Christmas and Good Friday to protect its holiness.

Diabetes charity Diabetes UK recommends eating Hot Cross Buns or a small piece of Simnel cake as an alternative treat, although some people with diabetes may consider these too high-carb/calories even for a treat.

Your hot cross buns are made entirely out of vegetable products so there's no need for anyone to pray over the batter while the baker stirs in currants and citrus peel. The stamp on the package simply signals to Muslims that it's okay to eat those buns — not that someone prayed over them.

Should you toast a hot cross bun? ›

“Toasting your HCB is the correct way. Microwaving your HCB is for psychos. While yes, they sort of resemble fruit toast, HCBs have embellishments that you don't find in fruit toast, e.g. the cross and the fancy glaze. Toasting gives a nice, firm, crunchy surface for optimal butter spreading.

Wheat. Wheat contains a protein called gluten, which may cause bloating, gas, stomach pain, and diarrhea for some people. Bread, pasta, and many baked goods contain gluten.

In 1592, during the reign of Elizabeth I of England, the London Clerk of Markets issued a decree forbidding the sale of hot cross buns and other spiced breads, except at burials, on Good Friday, or at Christmas. The punishment for transgressing the decree was forfeiture of all the forbidden product to the poor.

HOT CROSS BUNS ON GOOD FRIDAY

In Ireland, the UK and as far abroad as New Zealand, Australia, Canada and India, Hot Cross Buns are eaten every Good Friday in Christian communities. They are symbolic of this significant day in the Christian faith when Jesus was crucified.

Revive. If your buns are starting to turn stale, sprinkle with water and heat for a few minutes in the oven. If they're very stale, blitz into breadcrumbs and add to puddings, like our hot cross bun treacle tart. You can freeze hot cross buns.

Toast them lightly and serve hot, slavered with good Irish butter. The ultimate Easter bun! There's even a school playground rhyme about Hot Cross Buns, sung while clapping in time to the rhythm of the words. A childhood favourite for generations.

They're perfect served toasted and buttered with a cup of tea during the build-up to Easter, but they also make a great base for hacky-yet-showstopping desserts.

The cheese adds that extra salty, cheesy deliciousness to each hot cross bun! Right before baking, I sprinkled the tops of each HCB with even more Pecorino – if you're not vegetarian, then you can use Parmesan instead. Serve your cheesy hot cross buns with a liberal amount of salted butter.