Posted in Baking, Breakfast, Recipes, Vegetarian
Tags: Easter, Good Friday, Hot Cross Buns, Nigella, Nigella Lawson
Traditionally Lent and Easter must have been a bit of a culinary rollercoaster. Indulgence on Shrove Tuesday followed by fasting from Ash Wednesday through to the Easter Weekend, followed by a feast and chocolate eggs on Easter Sunday.
Easter isn’t Easter without Hot Cross Buns. The smell of the fragrant spices and fruit as you bake/toast them is brilliant. I wasn’t quite sure how Hot Cross Buns fitted in with the fasting during Lent, but Wikipedia came to my aid.
Apparently Hot Cross Buns originated with the Saxons, with the cross dividing the bun into four, with each quarter representing one of the four phases of the moon. Christians, who traditionally eat them on Good Friday, believe the cross is representative of the Crucifixion. Due to their religious connotations, protestant England attempted to ban bakers from selling the buns. However, due to their popularity, the ban was not successful and Queen Elizabeth I passed a law which only permitted the sale of Hot Cross Buns at Easter and Christmas.
Hot cross buns belong on the list of things that you can easily buy, but taste so much better home made, along with mince pies, fresh bread and marmalade. We used Nigella’s recipe, although with some minor tweaks (lots more spices for one thing, and half as many, but twice buns for another). It would have been useful to have a piping bag for the crosses, but all things considered they were a triumph. They had more fruit than the average shop bought bun and a delicious glaze on the top. Next time we will increase the fruit and spice content even more!
Mmm…xbuns. I like them so much, they seem much more of an all year round thing to me. In fact, I totally missed out on any this Easter. Good effort though, our blog has been lacking Eastery-ness, everyone else has been making cakes. Extra fruit in sounds good to me.
How did you make the cross in he end without piping it? It looks almost like the buns opened whilst cooking leaving the cross.
xbuns for breakfast…contentious.
Another great posting! I notice that you seem to use Nigella’s recipes quite a lot for baking. I do have one of her books (Feast) but it’s not usually one of the first I turn to if I’m looking for something. Perhaps I’m missing out?
I’m a big fan of Donna Hay, and would recommend her Modern Classics Book 1 to anyone.
Thanks “Not Delia” – glad you liked the look of these buns.
You’re spot on, we do have several Nigella Books to choose from. Another reason we use her recipes alot is because they’re generally available online, so you don’t need to own the books. I love the way she often sneaks in something that little bit more indulgent than is strictly necessary(!). I’m also a fan of Jame’s Martin – he has some fantastic dessert and cakes ideas, although many are quite intricate.
I will look out for some Donna Hay recipes to try!
Hi Paul
I’m not much of a baker usually, but I’m starting to discover that Nigella’s baking recipes are pretty good. The banana bread was great anyway!
Like everyone, I have my own favourite chefs/cooks. Delia Smith is NOT on that list. I guess that’s a quick way of saying why I’m Not Delia. James Martin is a nice guy – I met him once when I made a TV appearance on Ready Steady Cook in 1997. (In the audience, if you must know. But I was in the front row!)
Cheers
ND