Berry and Cardamom Hot Cross Buns

OK so right now I am drinking my morning coffee and waiting, rather impatiently, for a batch of these delicious Berry and Cardamom Hot Cross Buns to bake. These are the benefits of waking at 4.45am on a Saturday. At least it means I can have fresh Hot Cross Buns for breakfast!

Have you ever tried making hot cross buns from scratch before? I promise you once you do you will find it hard to eat store brought ones again. There is nothing that beats the smell and taste of freshly baked hot cross buns. And this recipe for Berry and Cardamom Hot Cross Buns is a good one. Deliciously spiced and low in sugar the flavours are a gorgeous alternative to the traditional buns.

Have you baked with yeast before? If you haven’t, or have  but to little success, do not fret! These are really quite easy to make. And I find the more you make dough the more you get the feel for when you have kneaded enough. I love to get the kids helping me with the dough. They love getting their hands dirty and it doesn’t matter so much about over-mixing so I can let them have more free reign!

Berry and Cardamom Hot Cross Buns

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• Author: Bernadette
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hours 45 minutes
• Yield: 12 buns 1x
• Category: Breakfast
• Cuisine: Seasonal

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Ingredients

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• 2 1/4 tsp yeast
• 1 cup of warmed milk
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 cups of plain flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp cardamom
• 50g butter
• 1/2 cup dried blueberries
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup self raising flour
• 1 tbsp honey (for the glaze)

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Instructions

1. Whisk together the warm milk, yeast, honey and vanilla and leave for 10 minutes
2. Meanwhile in a large bowl mix together the flour, cinnamon and cardamon and with your fingertips rub the butter into the flour. The flour will become breadcrumb like in texture. Add the berries and stir through
3. Mix through the milk mixture and eggs with a spoon until a dough forms
4. Turn out onto a well floured bench and knead for around 5 mins until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky. Form a ball with the dough
5. Clean the mixing bowl and grease lightly with olive oil. Roll the dough to cover lightly with oil and cover with glad wrap or a clean tea towel and leave to rise in a warm room for 45 minutes
6. When risen, punch down and knead again on a lightly floured bench for 5 minutes
7. Cut into 12 even peices
8. Shape the dough into buns by pulling down the sides and tucking them underneath the bottom of the bun. Repeat this 2 or 3 times per bun
9. Preheat the oven to 200c
10. Arrange the balls in rows of three on a lined baking tray, cove again with the glad wrap or towel and leave for a further 15 minutes
11. In a small jug mix together the self raising flour with 1/4 cup of warm water and mix together. Pour into a small ziplock bag and carefully cut a hole in one of the bottom corners of the bag. Use this to pipe the crosses onto the bun. It is easiest to pipe in long lines across all the buns in the row.
12. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes before reducing the temperature to 180c and baking for a further 12-15 minutes
13. Remove the buns from the oven and immediately glaze with the honey thinned with a teaspoon of warm water
14. Cool slightly then devour!

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Notes

I make mine quite low in fruit and this is totally just personal preference, you could add another cup of dried fruit to this recipe. 

I hope you enjoy these delicious Berry and Cardamom Hot Cross Buns as much as we do! If you are looking for some other Easter recipes you could always make these delicious Carrot Oat Cookies for the Easter Bunny!

Bernadette x