Hot Cross Buffins
Because I'm too lazy to wait for buns to prove (plus yeast makes me feel awful) I made these 'buffins' - a cross between a bun and a muffin for Easter. They are SO much nicer than any bun I think and a whole lot healthier too.
Servings: 6 buffins
Ingredients
- 200 g wholemeal spelt flour (1½ cups) or if you'd prefer, white spelt will give a more commercial result
- 125 ml milk (½ cup)
- 85 g rice malt syrup, honey or maple syrup (¼ cup)
- 60 g butter, ghee or macadamia oil (¼ cup) melted
- 1 free-range or organic egg/s
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- ½ tsp vanilla -powder, extract or essence
- 80 g currants (½ cup) or sultanas or raisins (or a mixture) preferably preservative and vegetable oil free
For the glaze (optional)
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp rice malt syrup, honey or maple syrup
- 1 tsp water
Pastry crosses (also optional)
- 2 tbsp wholemeal spelt flour
- Water
Apple crosses (recommended)
- 1 apple/s -julienne (personally, I’m too lazy for crosses as they don’t improve the flavour at all). My recipe testers mum suggested cutting strips of apple for the crosses which I absolutely love and it tastes better too. Your call!
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 160℃/320℉ (fan-forced).
- Place your flour in a big bowl and make a well in the middle.
- In a blender, food processor or by hand, beat your milk, sweetener, butter, egg, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, acid, cinnamon, mixed spice and vanilla for about a minute until well combined and a little frothy (Thermomix melt your butter, 1 minute, temp 80, speed 4, then add the milk, sweetener, egg, rising agents, spices and mix 1 min, speed 5).
- Gently mix in your dried fruit (Thermomix reverse blade, 10 seconds, speed 2).
- Add this to the flour and fold through gently until just combined. Don’t over mix it.
- For the crosses, mix 2 tablespoons of flour with enough water to form a dough. Roll it into little sausages to lay over the buns in a cross. This is a great job for the kids.
- Alternatively, julienne apple to make quick, easy, delicious crosses.
- Spoon into the muffin cases and place your cross.
- For the glaze, mix all ingredients together.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through (firm to touch in the middle). Brush over the glaze whilst hot.
- Enjoy hot out of the oven or to reheat, toasted in a sandwich press.
Store
- Can be frozen in an airtight bag or container.
Notes
Gluten and grain-free
Substitute the flour with 130 grams of buckwheat (or sprouted buckwheat) flour and 70 grams of almond meal. They may need an additional 5-10 minutes in the oven too.Dairy-free
Substitute the butter with melted ghee or macadamia nut oil. Replace the milk with an unsweetened nut milk or coconut milk (I have only recipe tested the coconut milk and macadamia nut oil at this stage).Low-fructose
Choose rice malt syrup as your sweetener and omit the dried fruit or replace with cacao nibs.Chocolate hot cross buns
Add 1 tablespoon of cacao powder to the wet mix and replace the dried fruit with approximately 50g of cacao nibs. If you tolerate fructose, you might like to replace the fruit with chocolate chips.Would love your feedback so please post a comment below (or even better rate this recipe).
"They are just wonderful. The apple cross worked fabulously! I was only reading the ingredients of the supermarket ones the other day and was overwhelmed by all the nasty stuff in them!" Sally