Easy hot cross buns recipe

– Preheat the oven to 200°C. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake flour, salt, muscovado sugar, ground cinnamon, mixed spice and ground nutmeg. Cube the butter and add it to the dry ingredients.

– Rub with your fingers until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the instant dry yeast and chopped mixed dried fruit. In a small saucepan, heat the milk and the water until the liquid is lukewarm and add it to the flour mixture. Mix to form a dough. On a lightly floured work surface, turn the dough out and knead until soft, about 5 minutes.

– Divide the dough into 20 pieces and roll to form balls. Place the balls in a row on a lightly greased baking tray and slightly flatten the tops. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise until double in size, about 2 hours. For the topping, combine the other 50ml cake flour and 20ml (4 tsp) water. Stir to form a paste. Spoon into a piping bag and pipe a cross onto each bun.

– Bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Place on a cooling rack to cool slightly. To glaze the buns, heat the golden syrup until it has slightly melted and brush it over the buns.