Hot Cross Buns

Enjoy making and eating these healthy wholemeal Hot Cross Buns this Easter! Using wholemeal flour, skimmed milk, low fat spread and half-spoon sugar, this recipe reduces the fat and sugar content compared to shop-bought buns.

Hot cross buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday, and are marked with a cross on top to represent Jesus’ crucifix. Did you know that traditionally, the cross was made using short crust pastry, but in modern times is now made from a flour paste? Interesting!

For the buns: 

• 500g wholemeal flour 
• 60g Silver Spoon half spoon 
• 7g (1 sachet) fast-action yeast 
• 75g sultanas 
• 25g dried mixed fruit 
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon 
• 1 tsp mixed spice 
• 300ml skimmed milk 
• 30g low-fat spread 
• 1 egg 

For the crosses: 

• 75g plain flour 
• 75ml (about 5 tbsp) water 

For the glaze: 

• 3 tbsp apricot jam 

1. Add the flour, half spoon, yeast, sultanas, mixed fruit, cinnamon and mixed spice to a large mixing bowl and mix together. 
2. Add the milk and spread to a small saucepan and bring to a slight simmer before removing from heat. 
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg. 
4. Create a well in the flour mixture and gradually stir in the wet ingredients to form a dough. 
5. Transfer to a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. 
6. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with cling film or a clean tea towel and leave to rise for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size. 
7. Transfer the dough onto a floured surface and squeeze out the air. Split the dough into 15 equally sized pieces (about 70g each). Shape each piece into a bun and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. 
8. Cover the buns with cling film or a clean tea towel and leave to prove for 1 hour. 
9. Preheat the oven to 200C. In a small bowl, mix the flour and water to form a paste to create the crosses. Transfer the paste into a piping bag or sealable food bag (you can cut off a corner of the bag to act as a nozzle) 
10. Once the buns have proved, pipe crosses onto the top of each bun. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden. 
11. Gently heat 3 tbsp apricot jam in a pan and glaze the buns while they are still warm. If you don’t have a pastry brush to glaze with, you can just use the back of a spoon. 

This recipe serves 15, each serving contains: 

Energy: 193kcal
Fat: 1.9g
Saturated fat: 0.4g
Carbohydrate: 34.7g
Sugars: 11.5g
Fibre: 3.6g
Protein: 7.4g
Salt: 0.07g