Traditional hot cross buns recipe for Easter (2024)

FAQs

What does a traditional hot cross bun contain? ›

They're yeasted sweet buns filled with spices and various fruits such as currants, raisins, and/or candied citrus. They're decorated with a white cross representing the crucifix, either marked right into the dough or etched on top with icing. Hot cross buns are a traditional Easter food, typically eaten on Good Friday.

Hot cross buns became commemorations of Good Friday, and across Christendom the cross came to represent the crucifixion and the spices symbolised those used to embalm Jesus at his burial. The bun had been blessed.

THE world's oldest hot cross bun has been traced back more than two centuries... to a Good Friday and a house in Essex. Andrew Munson and his wife Dot, 73, were passed the 209-year-old bun by an old neighbour with a note saying it was baked on Good Friday 1807 in a Colchester oven.

Spiced buns were banned when the English broke ties with the Catholic Church in the 16th century. However, by 1592, Queen Elizabeth I relented and granted permission for commercial bakers to produce the buns for funerals, Christmas, and Easter. Otherwise, they could be baked in homes.

And here's the thing – you have a dietitian's word for it – hot cross buns are neither unhealthy nor healthy – they're neutral. They're just a food. And you only eat and enjoy them at one time of the year, so there's absolutely zero point feel guilty about sinking your teeth into the perfect bun.

HOT CROSS BUNS ON GOOD FRIDAY

They are symbolic of this significant day in the Christian faith when Jesus was crucified. Each bun is decorated with a cross made from flour paste, which represents the cross on which Christ died.

In the Christian tradition, the making of buns with a cross on them and consuming them after breaking the fast on Good Friday, along with "crying about 'Hot cross buns'", is done in order to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus.

The origins of hot cross buns are shrouded in mystery, but historians believe they date back to the pagan traditions of ancient Britain. The Saxons used to bake buns marked with a cross during their spring celebrations to honour Eostre, the goddess of dawn and fertility.

New for 2024 is a twist on the seasonal classic, Extra Special Orange Marmalade Hot Cross Buns (£1.40, pack of four). Created after sales insight found customers buying hot cross buns and marmalade together, the new buns are filled with orange-soaked sultanas, raisins, candied orange peel and Seville orange marmalade.

In America, hot cross buns are called by the same name. As I recall, they are, or were, something served during the religious season of Lent. As a kid growing up in the 60's, our family visited the bakery every weekend.

Why are my hot cross buns tough? ›

DO NOT add too much flour – results in dry dough = tough buns. Sultanas: Some recipes say to add sultanas after the dough has been kneaded or risen.

Most recipes call for raisins and cinnamon, but there are tons of variations out there. Traditionally, hot cross buns are associated with Easter—a Christian holiday and festival celebrating the resurrection of Jesus—and eaten on Good Friday, or the Friday before Easter.

The raisins embedded in the bun represent the body of Christ in the tomb. The cinnamon represents the spices that anointed Jesus' entombed body. The sweet bread and the sugar of the cross as well as the risen yeast dough represent the resurrection. The hot cross bun is an ideal Christian form of evangelism.

Teacakes are often larger and flatter with a slightly harder consistency, meaning they can be enjoyed with a range of condiments, including jams and marmalades. A Hot Cross Bun is softer, with more spices baked in, so is often just enjoyed with butter.

Mix 75g plain flour with about 5 tbsp water to make the paste for the cross – add the water 1 tbsp at a time, so you add just enough for a thick paste. Spoon into a piping bag with a small nozzle. Pipe a line along each row of buns, then repeat in the other direction to create crosses.

Halve and toast the hot cross bun and spread both sides with goat's cheese. Add the fresh fig or spoon over the dried figs. Drizzle the fresh fig with honey or the dried fig with some of the syrup and add some finely chopped fresh rosemary.

The white topping on hot cross buns is typically a mixture of flour and water, which is piped onto the buns before baking. This creates the iconic cross shape and adds a slightly chewy texture to the top of the bun.

Teacakes are often larger and flatter with a slightly harder consistency, meaning they can be enjoyed with a range of condiments, including jams and marmalades. A Hot Cross Bun is softer, with more spices baked in, so is often just enjoyed with butter.