Easter

[green lily]

Easter is nearly here and today I made a simnel cake to take with me on Easter Sunday. I've only just taken it out of the oven so it isn't decorated yet but during next week it will be marzipanned and suitably decorated with balls and some left over choc eggs which look like seagulls eggs [from Royan...]
Then Wed/Thurs. will be the big Hot Cross Bun bash which I love ..All much more fun than buying from a supermarket and free from all the tawdriness  and exhaustion of Christmas.
And the larder has survived not being refilled for 6 weeks and I have survived too.  Last egg and scrap of butter used to make peanut cookies today
The PSB is bending under net and snow, a pigeon has been stripping a not very good cauli which wasn't covered properly and the end of winter commands respect...

[green lily]

[artichoke]

Family arriving on Good Friday from Germany and London, with maximum numbers reaching 14 on Sunday. I made thick onion gravy today (to freeze) into which I intend to pour roast lamb juices on Sunday for instant gravy. I'm not much of a cake maker, but am starting to stockpile home made bread in the freezer for the onslaught and am glad to have mountains of various fruits in the freezer that will be turned into crumbles and my standard "allotment cake" (more of a pudding). Have never tried making hot cross buns - might have a go.

"End of winter...???"

[Mrs Tweedy]

Homemade hot cross buns are my absolute favourites; so much better than the ready made buns. They aren't difficult to do. They make a delicious hot cross bun and butter pudding too.

And you can put choc chips, interesting dried fruit and nuts in them.

My Simnel cake is made, decorated and hidden until Easter, I have to hide it or it will get eaten by the hungry hounds that inhabit our dwelling, and I will end up having to make another one!

I will make my Easter tree tomorrow, if I can get to the bottom of the garden for the twigs and greenery.

[jesssands]

I would like to try Hot X Buns too, do you have a good recipe Mrs Tweedy?

[Mrs Tweedy]

I certainly do have a recipe, or rather several.
IMPORTANT NOTE keep the salt in the recipe away from the yeast as the salt will kill off/reduce the activity of the yeast. You can mix the dough and add the yeast last.

The one I have been using for the past 40 years is as follows.
7g sachet dried yeast
about 175 ml tepid milk/ cold if using a bread maker
350g strong white bread flour
1 tsp salt
1tsp ground mixed spice
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
50g butter,
finely grated rind of 1 lemon
25g caster sugar
75g currants ( I use raisins and sultanas, 'cos we are not too keen on currants)
25g mixed peel
1 egg beaten

The  easy way is too bung everything except the dried fruit on the bread maker on a dough setting.
When the dough is ready, Knock the dough back and knead in the dried fruit. Don't add the fruit to the machine or the fruit will disintegrate.
Divide the buns into about 25 equal pieces and shape into buns.

Place on a well greased baking sheet.....I line mine with baking parchment, not greaseproof it must be baking parchment. It saves any sticking.  Or an silicone baking sheet. press  with your palm to flatten slightly and cut crosses on with a very sharp knife.

Leave the buns in a warm place for about 30 minutes until doubled in size and bake at 190C or fan 170C  mark 5 for about 15-18 mins until they sound hollow when tapped.

Make a sugar syrup with 4 tablespoons of water and 3 tablespoons of sugar boiled until the sugar dissolves and you have a light syrup, you don't want it thick. Then brush your buns with this while they are still warm.

If you are making by hand
Rub the butter into the flour.
Add all the other ingredients except the dried fruit and mix and knead to an elastic dough, then knead in the dried fruit and shape as above.
If you have a Kenwood follow the instructions above using the dough hook for the dough and add the dried fruit for a few minutes at the end.

The other recipe I use regularly is one with dried cherries and chocolate chips. THIS RECIPE CUTS INTO 12BUNS not 25
450 strong white bread flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
100g caster sugar
7g packet fast action yeast
160g dried cherries/ or other dried fruit
100 g chocolate chips or chocolate you have chopped yourself.... I like Waitrose 70% Belgian dark chocolate
50 g butter
250ml milk
1 egg

Make as above. If you want to make authentic crosses on the buns  mix 50g plain flour with about 5-6 tabs water to make a smooth thick paste. Spoon this into an icing bag or a clean plastic bag with the corner snipped off and pipe crosses onto the buns.Bake for about 20-25 mins. Glaze with a sugar syrup as above.
The buns freeze brilliantly and just need warming in the oven before eating. It also helps to make, cool and freeze when no one else is about otherwise you may end up making lots more as the will disappear at the rate of knots. It also gives you a chance to have a practice run.

[jesssands]

Thank you for taking the time posting this. I will have a go at making some at the weekend x
Try and post pics after 

[galina]

Mrs Tweedy,  thank you for this recipe.  My dinner rolls are always started off in the bread machine, so this approach is very appealing  .  Have never made our own, but your recipe sounds very good indeed. 

[Mrs Tweedy]

My pleasure.
I wish you both success. They are miles ahead of the pappy shop bought ones and the hit of spice is gorgeous.

I will be making mine on Thursday. Will probably make some into bun and butter pudding for Easter lunch too.

Did you know that a large proportion of the hot cross buns bought are made around Xmas and frozen and the spices in the buns are synthetic flavourings made extra strong to stand up to the freezing process. They are done like this to cope with the demand at Easter.

I found this out when I took a party of pupils to a factory/scince lab which made the flavourings for the food industry.

[Mrs Tweedy]

I certainly do have a recipe, or rather several.
IMPORTANT NOTE keep the salt in the recipe away from the yeast as the salt will kill off/reduce the activity of the yeast. You can mix the dough and add the yeast last.

The one I have been using for the past 40 years is as follows.
7g sachet dried yeast
about 175 ml tepid milk/ cold if using a bread maker
350g strong white bread flour
1 tsp salt
1tsp ground mixed spice
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
50g butter,
finely grated rind of 1 lemon
25g caster sugar
75g currants ( I use raisins and sultanas, 'cos we are not too keen on currants)
25g mixed peel
1 egg beaten

The  easy way is too bung everything except the dried fruit on the bread maker on a dough setting.
When the dough is ready, Knock the dough back and knead in the dried fruit. Don't add the fruit to the machine or the fruit will disintegrate.
Divide the buns into about 25 equal pieces and shape into buns.

Place on a well greased baking sheet.....I line mine with baking parchment, not greaseproof it must be baking parchment. It saves any sticking.  Or an silicone baking sheet. press  with your palm to flatten slightly and cut crosses on with a very sharp knife.

Leave the buns in a warm place for about 30 minutes until doubled in size and bake at 190C or fan 170C  mark 5 for about 15-18 mins until they sound hollow when tapped.

Make a sugar syrup with 4 tablespoons of water and 3 tablespoons of sugar boiled until the sugar dissolves and you have a light syrup, you don't want it thick. Then brush your buns with this while they are still warm.

If you are making by hand
Rub the butter into the flour.
Add all the other ingredients except the dried fruit and mix and knead to an elastic dough, then knead in the dried fruit and shape as above.
If you have a Kenwood follow the instructions above using the dough hook for the dough and add the dried fruit for a few minutes at the end.

The other recipe I use regularly is one with dried cherries and chocolate chips. THIS RECIPE CUTS INTO 12BUNS not 25
450 strong white bread flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
50g caster sugar
7g packet fast action yeast
160g dried cherries/ or other dried fruit
100 g chocolate chips or chocolate you have chopped yourself.... I like Waitrose 70% Belgian dark chocolate
50 g butter
250ml milk
1 egg

Make as above. If you want to make authentic crosses on the buns  mix 50g plain flour with about 5-6 tabs water to make a smooth thick paste. Spoon this into an icing bag or a clean plastic bag with the corner snipped off and pipe crosses onto the buns.Bake for about 20-25 mins. Glaze with a sugar syrup as above.
The buns freeze brilliantly and just need warming in the oven before eating. It also helps to make, cool and freeze when no one else is about otherwise you may end up making lots more as the will disappear at the rate of knots. It also gives you a chance to have a practice run.

NB. OOPS, SORRY, THE FIRST POST OF THE CHOCOLATE AND CHERRY BUNS RECIPE CONTAINS AN ERROR. iT SHOULD SAY 50g caster sugar. I HAVE AMMENDED THIS RECIPE.
Di

[jesssands]

my best effort... :)

[Mrs Tweedy]

Better than best effort, my love, they are excellent.

You will be extremely popular with your friends and family.
Have a good Easter.
Di xx

[galina]

Mine worked out well too, but some of the cuts were growing back together again.  We had about 6 perfect looking ones and 11 'definitely homemade but tasty' ones.  Jess yours are a picture.

I made the first recipe, but didn't do my dough dividing right and ended up with 17 buns.  Son and fiancee ate their fill, OH loved them and mother-in-law was impressed at the attempt (she got the last two good looking ones) - we have yet to see what she makes of the flavour.  Definitely worth making again, thank you for the recipe.  Grating the nutmeg was superb, so aromatic.  The bread machine takes the hard graft out of making them.  We have a buzzer on ours when additions can go in without being pulverised and I put the fruit and peel in then, including the salt to keep it away from the yeast for as long as possible.  Then shaped rolls, let them rise a second time in the very lightly warmed and switched off oven, then baked them and glazed with the syrup. 

[jesssands]

Just a couple of differences when making mine buns... I used fresh yeast, just because I had some. Just used sultanas, and no peel, cos thats all I had!
Thanks for your lovely comments on my buns!

[Mrs Tweedy]

I have an automatic feed on my bread makers that drops the fruit it but after i cleaned them a while ago they all broke And the manufacturers have stopped making the replacements.

Which is a distinct annoyance. Nothing wrong with them apart from that!!! I can't justify getting new ones until they stop working! 

I will get my OH to post the piccies of my buns when he can get to grips with posting the pictures.

Jess and Galina, enoy your buns and your Easter.

[Mrs Tweedy]

Well we are having a slow roast leg of lamb with garlilc, rosemary and anchovies, a la Heston but with some small new potatoes and garlic in the roasting pan a la Michel. With roast potatoes, parsnips, sweet and sour onions, swede and carrot mash with a cheese crumble and a butternut squash with a cheese crumble, cauli and broccoli.

Have got the hot cross bun and butter pudd with  marmalade and choc chips sitting and waiting to go in the oven and my son and his girlfriend have bought me some Easter chocolates, mum and dad are on their way so all it right with the world, apart from the weather.

Have a gammon joint sitting in the fridge for tomorrow with some home made coleslaw and potato salad for a lazy day.