HOT CROSS BUNS

ok... so easter has long gone... making this post rather tardy (thanks to a heavy uni workload) but it is such a reliable recipe (and a necessity at easter time - when there are no vegan-friendly hot cross buns in the shops) that i still felt that it deserved to be posted!

using a recipe from a non-vegan cookbook, and a few slight modifications to vegan-fy things, i smashed together a fresh batch of hot cross buns for good friday morning. they were warm and toasty and screaming out for a smearing of nuttelex (in moderation of course) - satisfying!

how?

1 tablespoon of dry yeast

1/2 cup of caster sugar (i used panela)

1 1/2 cups of lukewarm soy milk

4 1/4 cups of plain flour

2 teaspoons of mixed spice

2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

50g vegan margarine (i used nuttelex), melted

1 teaspoon of egg replacer with 2 tablespoons of water, mixed well

1 1/2 cups of sultanas

1/3 cup of candied mixed peel

1/4 cup of plain flour

2-3 tablespoons of water

1 tablespoons of apricot jam mixed with a dash of hot water to thin this out for glazing your buns

add the milk, yeast and 2 teaspoons of the sugar into a small bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to activate your yeast.

add the flour, mixed spice, cinnamon, margarine, egg replacer, sultanas, mixed peel and remaining sugar into a large mixing bowl. add the yeast mixture and stir to combine with a butter knife until a dough forms. turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 8 minutes (or until it feels elastic).   return your kneaded dough to your mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel and leave it to rise in a warm, dark place for 1 hour (or until the dough has doubled in size).

divide your dough into 12 pieces and roll into balls. arrange the balls in a 23 cm (9 in) square cake tin that has been greased and lined with baking paper. cover the tin with plastic wrap or a tea towel and leave to prove for the second time for around 30 minutes. meanwhile, preheat your oven to 200℃ (400℉).

combine the extra flour and water to form a paste. place the mixture into a piping bag and pipe across the top of the buns to form a cross. place your buns into the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes (or until golden brown on top and springy to touch).

remove your buns from the oven and immediately brush the buns with the glaze. serve warm and enjoy!

serves 12

happy (very belated) easter! x