Hot Cross Buns

An Egg-citing Sunny Queen Recipe Perfect for Easter

As much as we love the excuse of eating chocolate at Easter every year, the season is also very much about eggs, and not just the chocolate kind!

Eggs are a key part of Easter celebrations; whether it be for egg hunts or shell decorating, but as one of the most versatile and healthy natural foods on the planet, free-range eggs can be a scrumptious and egg-quisite addition to your Easter celebration menu.

 

When choosing your Free Range eggs, make sure you select Sunny Queen's Free Range eggs, because not all free range eggs are the same. At only 1500 hens per hectare, the Sunny Queen chooks have six times more space to play all year round compared to most other free range hens.

Sunny Queen Farms' Managing Director, John O'Hara says: "Eggs are so versatile and easy to use, whether your menu includes hot cross buns or meringue for afternoon tea, eggs can fit in anywhere during the Easter meal."

Hot Cross Buns

Serves: 15

Ingredients

300 millilitres milk, plus two tablespoons more
50 grams butter
500 grams strong bread flower
1 teaspoon salt
75 grams caster sugar
1 teaspoon canola oil
7 grams yeast
1 Sunny Queen free-range egg, beaten
75 grams sultanas
50 grams mixed fruit peel

Zest of 1 orange
1 green apple, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cinnamon
75 grams plain flour
3 tablespoons jam of your choice

Method

Heat milk to boil, then remove from the heat and add butter. Leave to cool until it is luke-warm. Combine flour, salt, sugar and yeast into a bowl. Make a well in the centre. Pour in the milk and butter mixture, then add the egg, mixing well.
Lightly flour bench or cutting board and knead dough for 5 minutes. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
With the dough still in the bowl, tip in the sultanas, mixed peel, orange zest, apple and cinnamon. Knead into the dough. Leave to rise for another hour, again covered by some well-oiled cling film to stop the dough getting a crust.
Divide dough into 15 even pieces and roll each into a smooth bowl on a lightly floured work surface. Arrange buns on lined baking trays. Cover with more oiled cling film then set aside for 1 hour.
Heat oven to 220 degrees C. Mix the flour with the 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. Bake for 20 minutes.
Gently heat the jam to melt, then sieve to get rid of any chunks. While the jam is still warm, brush over the top of the warm buns and leave to cool.