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6 tasty ways to celebrate the hot cross bun

by Great British Chefs 05 April 2017

The supermarkets are full of them, but homemade hot cross buns are so much better. Use the long weekend to your advantage and put a few hours aside to create one of these incredible hot cross bun-inspired recipes.

Great British Chefs

Great British Chefs is a team of passionate food lovers dedicated to bringing you the latest food stories, news and reviews.

Great British Chefs

Great British Chefs is a team of passionate food lovers dedicated to bringing you the latest food stories, news and reviews.

Hot cross buns are one of those quintessential British bakes that – like mince pies at Christmas – are full of nostalgic flavour. It’s no wonder that shops line their aisles with the little buns in the run-up to Easter (although you’d be hard pressed to find them for one a penny these days, despite the rhyme), and they come in all sorts of weird and wonderful flavours (we’ve even seen savoury cheese ones).

However, Easter weekend is the perfect time to get baking, and there’s no better time of year to whip up your own batch of these seasonal treats. They need to prove for an hour or two, but apart from that they’re pretty simple to make and are a great way to show off your foodie credentials. And if you find plain old buns a bit boring, we’ve got some more unusual takes on the classic. Enjoy, and happy Easter!

1. Hot cross buns

First things first, let’s nail the traditional hot cross bun recipe. Mixed spice and dried fruit provide the flavour while the lightly sweetened dough is chewy and very satisfying. Split one in half, toast it under the grill and then slather with butter.

2. Gluten-free hot cross buns

Gluten-free hot cross buns

by Victoria Glass

Gluten-free baking

Recipe Collection

If you’re gluten-intolerant or coeliac then there’s no reason why you should miss out on all the hot cross fun, as Victoria Glass shows with her gluten-free recipe. The base dough is made with gluten-free plain flour and buckwheat flour, with an apricot jam glaze to finish.

3. Hot cross bun bread and butter pudding

Hot cross bun bread and butter pudding

by Mecca Ibrahim

If you’ve made a big batch of all those delicious buns but are getting a bit sick of eating them au naturale, do what everyone does when their bakes are getting a bit stale and stick them in a pudding full of creamy, rich custard. It’s an incredibly easy recipe and turns your teatime snacks into something more robust to serve after dinner.

4. Hot cross bun brownies

Hot cross bun brownie

by Paul A Young

Paul A Young is one of the best chocolatiers in the world, and his inventive takes on classic and contemporary flavours means his creations are always in high demand. This brownie is given the hot cross treatment with a hefty spoonful of spiced mincemeat, with an iconic cross piped on top so you know exactly what’s in store.

5. Hot cross blondies

Hot cross blondies

by Kate Doran

In a similar vein, Kate Doran’s traybake swaps dark chocolate for white and throws in some nutty brown butter, candied peel and a little mixed spice for good measure. The result is a particularly fudgy, rich blondie that encapsulates the sweet flavours of Easter perfectly.

6. Cherry, lemon and almond hot cross scones

Cherry, lemon and almond hot cross scones

by Elly McCausland

If you want something a bit different and are a little short on time, look no further than Elly McCausland’s scones, which are flavoured with cherries and lemon zest instead of the classic mixed spice and dried fruit. They’ve still got the cross on top (although it’s more of a glaze than a piped cross). If you’re entertaining and forgot to make something for when guests arrive, this is the perfect solution.