Hot Cross Buns With Cream Cheese Icing Food

HOT CROSS BUNS WITH CREAM CHEESE ICING

Steps:

• Add the milk, sugar and yeast to a small bowl. Let the yeast mixture rest for 10 minutes or until bubbles start forming.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, add 4 cups of flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix until combined.
• Add the eggs and butter to the yeast mixture and stir together. Pour the liquid mixture into the flour. Mix using the dough hook attachment for 5 minutes. Add in the raisins and continue mixing the dough for another minute. The dough will be done once it stops sticking to the sides of the bowl. Add more flour if necessary.
• Add around a tablespoon of oil to a large bowl. Place the dough in the bowl and roll it around until it is covered in the oil. This prevents the dough from getting dry during the rising process. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. You can let the dough rise on your counter for several hours or place it in the oven for quicker rising. Turn the oven on for a minute or two, place the bowl in the oven, and then turn the oven off. The dough will be doubled in size within an hour.
• Line a 9x13 inch pan with parchment paper. Sprinkle flour on a clean surface. Place the dough on the surface and cut it into 15 equal pieces. Roll out each piece, and place them in the pan. Cover the pan with a damp cloth and let rest for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake the buns for 20 to 25 minutes or until they are golden brown.
• While the buns are baking, make the syrup. Combine the sugar and water in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and continue boiling until the syrup thickens. Once the buns are done, brush them with the syrup.
• For the icing, whisk all of the ingredients together. Pour them in a piping bag or a sandwich bag with the end snipped off. Add more milk or powdered sugar depending on the desired consistency.
• Once the buns have cooled, pipe the icing on top in the shape of a cross.

HOT CROSS BUNS

Steps:

• Combine the water and milk in a medium saucepan and warm over low heat until about 100 degrees F (but no more than 110 degrees). Remove from heat and sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of sugar and flour over the surface of the liquid. Set aside without stirring, until foamy and rising up the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes.
• Whisk the butter, egg yolk and vanilla into the yeast mixture.
• Whisk the flour, the remaining sugar, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and stir in the yeast mixture with a wooden spoon to make a thick, shaggy, and slightly sticky dough. Stir in currants. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until soft and elastic, about 8 minutes. Shape into a ball.
• Brush the inside of a large bowl with butter. Put dough in bowl, turning to coat lightly with butter. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 hour 30 minutes. (If you have a marker, trace a circle the size of the dough on the plastic, and note the time to help you keep track.)
• To form the rolls: Butter a 9 by 14-inch baking pan. Turn the dough out of the bowl and pat into a rectangle about 16 by 8 inches. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions, about 2 ounces each, with a pizza wheel or bench scraper. (If you don't have a scale, divide the dough in half lengthwise, then in half crosswise. Cut each of those four sections into 3 equal-sized rolls.)
• Tuck the edges of the dough under to make round rolls and place them seam-side down in the prepared pan, leaving a little space in between each roll. Cover the pan with buttered plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until the rolls rise almost to the rim of the pan and have more than doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.
• Remove the plastic wrap and brush the tops of the buns with beaten egg. Bake rolls until golden brown and puffy, and an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of the rolls registers 190 degrees F, about 25 minutes.
• For the glaze: Stir together confectioners' sugar, milk, lemon zest and vanilla until smooth. Transfer icing to a zip bag or pastry bag, and make a small cut in the corner of the bag. Ice buns in a thick cross shape over the top of the warm buns.

CREAM CHEESE CROSSES (ICING FOR HOT CROSS BUNS)

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in honey and lemon rind.
• Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Make your favorite sweet bun recipe. Pipe mixture onto warm buns in the shape of crosses.
• Do not reheat once crosses are in place.

HOT CROSS BUN CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Combine the lemon juice and milk in a large jug, and set aside for 5 mins. Meanwhile, heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and melt the butter in a saucepan. Use a little of the butter to grease a 12-hole muffin tin.
• Put the flour, baking powder, sugar, spice, almonds and a pinch of salt into a large bowl, then sift through it with your fingers to squash any lumps of sugar. Beat the eggs, zest and melted butter into the thickened milk. Pour this into the dry ingredients, then beat with a balloon whisk until even. Stir in the dried fruit and apple, scoop mix into the tin (the holes will be full; see tip below), then bake for 18-20 mins until golden and well risen. Cool for 10 mins in the tin, then remove to a rack.
• When the buns are cold, cut a cross from the top of each one using a serrated knife, then brush the tops with the apricot jam. For the spiced buttercream, beat everything together until creamy and pale. Pipe the buttercream into the crosses. Alternatively, simply glaze the buns and pipe crosses across the tops.

HOT CROSS CINNAMON BUNS

Steps:

• Warm the milk and lemon zest in a small saucepan until steaming. Remove from the heat and add 25g butter, swirling until it has melted and the milk has cooled slightly.
• Mix 500g flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, the caster sugar, yeast and 1 tsp salt in a large bowl. Pour in the milk mixture and one of the beaten eggs, then combine with a wooden spoon until the mixture clumps together. Tip out onto your work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 mins - the dough should bounce back when pressed with your finger. Transfer to an oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for 2 hrs or until doubled in size.
• While the dough rises, make your cinnamon butter. Mash the remaining butter and cinnamon with the light brown sugar.
• Dust your largest baking tray with flour. Tip the dough onto the work surface and knead again to knock out any air bubbles. Roll the dough to a rectangle roughly 30 x 40cm. Spread the cinnamon butter over the dough, covering the whole surface. Scatter over the dried fruit. From one of the longer edges, roll up the dough into a tight sausage shape. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 12 equal-sized pieces. Arrange them on the tray, leaving a small gap between each one and making sure the open end of the scroll is facing inwards to prevent them springing open as they cook. Cover loosely and leave somewhere warm to prove for 1 hr or until almost doubled in size - the buns should be just touching.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Brush the buns with a little beaten egg. Mix the remaining 140g flour with enough water to make a thick, smooth paste, then transfer to a piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle (or use a sandwich bag with a corner snipped off ). Use the paste to pipe crosses over the buns, then bake for 25 mins until deep golden brown and cooked through.
• Leave to cool for 10 mins on the tray. Meanwhile, mix the cream cheese and icing sugar, then brush the mixture over the warm buns. If you have any excess, you can serve this on the side for spreading over. Eat the buns warm from the oven or leave to cool. Will keep for up to two days in an airtight container.

HOT CROSS BUNS

Steps:

• Make the dough: Heat the milk in a small saucepan over medium until steaming. Remove from the heat. Transfer 1/4 cup/60 grams hot milk to a small bowl and let cool to 110 to 115 degrees if needed, about 1 minute. It should feel lukewarm if you stick your finger in it. Stir in the yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. If the yeast doesn't foam, it's dead and won't help the dough rise. (You'll have to buy some more and start over if this happens.)
• Meanwhile, whisk the remaining 1/4 cup sugar with the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and salt in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the butter to the milk in the saucepan and stir until it melts.
• When the butter has melted and the milk mixture is lukewarm, pour it into the dry ingredients, along with the yeast mixture and egg. If using a stand mixer, beat with the dough hook on medium-low speed until a smooth elastic ball forms, scraping the bowl and hook occasionally, about 10 minutes. The dough should feel sticky but not stick to your hands. If working by hand, mix the ingredients with your hand until a shaggy dough forms, then knead in the bowl to form a shaggy ball. Transfer to a work surface and continue kneading until smooth and elastic, about 15 minutes. You shouldn't need to flour your surface, but, if the dough is sticking to it, lightly flour as needed.
• Add the raisins and candied orange peel to the dough and knead them in until evenly distributed. Form the dough into a ball.
• Generously butter a clean large bowl and transfer the dough ball to it. Turn the ball to coat with the butter, then cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Butter a 9-by-13-inch cake pan. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and divide into 12 even pieces (90 to 100 grams each) with a bench scraper, sharp knife or your hands. Form a piece into a ball by folding it over itself and pulling the stretchy dough over the fruit bits so they're not sticking out. Once you have a smooth ball, pinch the seam at the bottom shut and place seam side down on the surface. Cup your hand over the ball and move your hand quickly in a circular motion to tighten the ball into a perfect round. Place in the prepared pan. Repeat with the remaining dough and arrange the balls in a 3-by-4 grid, spacing evenly apart. At this point, you can cover the pan tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 1 day.
• Open a large, clean unscented produce, recycling or garbage bag and slip the pan into it. Fill a tall glass with hot water, place next to the pan in the bag and tie the bag shut. (This creates a warm, steamy environment for the dough to rise.) Let the balls rise until their sides are touching, about 1½ hours (longer if the dough has been chilled).
• When the dough is almost done rising, heat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Prepare the topping: If using orange blossom water, stir 1½ teaspoons into ¼ cup/60 grams water in a small bowl. Add the flour and stir into a smooth paste. Transfer to a pastry bag or resealable plastic bag and snip a ⅓-inch hole in one corner. Pipe lines across the centers of the balls in one direction and then again in the opposite direction so that each ball has a cross.
• Bake until risen and browned, 20 to 22 minutes. The internal temperature of a center bun should register 190 degrees. While the buns are baking, heat the sugar and 1 tablespoon water in a small saucepan over medium until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining ¼ teaspoon orange blossom water, if using. As soon as the buns come out of the oven, brush the syrup evenly over them. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

HOT CROSS BUNS

Steps:

• Measure the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and lemon zest into a large mixing bowl or into the work bowl of a food processor.
• Heat milk to boiling in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
• Remove from heat and add the butter.
• Stir until the butter is melted.
• Stir in the eggs.
• Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients, and process or mix with an electric mixer until the dough is smooth but soft, about 2 minutes.
• Mix in the raisins, almonds, and candied fruits.
• Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour.
• Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Turn the dough out onto an oiled surface.
• Dust the dough with flour and knead to express air bubbles.
• Divide the dough into 16 equal parts.
• Shape each into a round ball.
• Place the balls of dough, smooth side up, about 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
• Let rise in a warm place, lightly covered, until almost doubled, for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 400 F.
• Brush the tops of the buns with the egg glaze.
• Slash a cross in the center of each bun with a sharp knife.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden.
• While the buns bake, mix the icing ingredients in a small bowl.
• Place the icing into a pastry bag with a small tip.
• Slide the parchment onto the counter top to cool or transfer the rolls onto a wire rack to cool.
• Pipe the icing into the shape of a cross on top of each bun.
• Serve warm.
• Makes 16 buns.
• Beatrice Ojakangas.
• The Great Holiday Baking Book.