Hot Crossed Buns

Nothing says spring and Easter to a Catholic like Hot Crossed Buns. I think these sweet, airy, fruity buns are great year round and are a perfect accompaniment to a hot cup of tea in the afternoon. This is a traditional recipe and does require a bit of time to let things rise, but the finished product is delicious. The hardest part is finding the citron!

Hot Crossed Buns

1/4 Cup Lukewarm water
1 tbsp light brown sugar
2 tbsp yeast
1 1/2 cup scaled milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
4 1/3 cups all purpose flour, sifted
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup currants
1/3 cup citron, finely diced

Glaze
Melted Butter
Honey


Icing
2 tbsp hot milk
icing sugar, to thicken
zest of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 400degrees F

1. Add lukewarm water to a small bowl and dissolve 1 tbsp of light brown sugar. sprinkle with yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes, until frothy and be sure to keep away from drafts

2. Scald the milk and add the butter, sugar and salt.

3. beat the eggs until they are light and combine slowly with the milk mixture and the yeast.

4. Sift 3 cups of flour and combine with spices in a mixing bowl.

5. Add the yeast mixture and beat for 4 minutes to form a sponge.

6. toss the currants and citron with 1/2 cup of flour and mix it with the sponge. If necessary, add more flour to make a firm dough. Beat well.

7. Set the dough in a pan of warm water to rise, covered with a towel.

8. When dough is light, push it down and form into 2 dozen balls. Place them in a well greased pan, loosely covered with a towel, to rise again. This will take about 45 minutes.

9. bake in over for about 20 minutes. Remove and brush with mixture of melted butter and honey.

10. mix hot milk with powdered sugar and lemon zest to make a thick icing. fill pastry bag and when buns are cool, form crosses on the top of the buns with the icing.