A recipe from Laurèns: the perfect Hot Cross Buns

Every Easter, our talented in-house pastry chef Laurèns bakes the most delicious traditional Hot Cross Buns for our guests (and our team!) to enjoy. While we may not be able to serve them to you this year, Laurèns has kindly shared his special recipe for the perfect Hot Cross Buns so you can bring a little bit of Walwick magic to your homes this Easter. The perfect balance of sweet and spicy, we promise you’ll be craving them long after Easter is over. Read on for the full recipe…

Ingredients

For the buns
– 50g unsalted butter
– 50g caster sugar
– 450g strong white flour, plus extra for dusting
– 2 eggs, beaten
– 230ml milk
– 24g fresh yeast
– 200g mixed dried fruit
– 2 tsp mixed spiced
– 1 tsp ground cinnamon
– 1 lemon, finely grated zest only
– ½tsp salt

For the topping
– 2 tbsp flour
– 5 tsp water
– Golden syrup (to glaze)

Method

Step one: Preheat the oven to 190°c.

Step two: Place the flour, sugar, spices and lemon zest into a large bowl and mix together. Then add the salt and yeast, placing them on opposite sides of the bowl.

Step three: Melt the butter in a pan with the milk and add to the dry ingredients. Add the egg and use your hands to bring the mixture together, incorporating the flour from the edges of the bowl as you go to form a soft, pliable dough.

Step four: Tip the dough out on to a lightly floured work surface. Knead by hand, incorporating the mixed dried fruit as you go. Lightly knead for 10 minutes until silky and elastic, forming a smooth ball.

Step five: Put the dough into a bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rest in a warm place for about 35-40 min (or until doubled in size).

Step six: Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide into balls. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place the balls on the tray, arranging them fairly close together and flattening them slightly. Cover with cling film (or clean towel) and leave to the side.

Step seven: For the topping, mix the flour and water together to make a paste and spoon into a piping bag.

Step eight: Once the buns have risen, remove the cling film (or towel) and pipe a cross on each bun. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until pale golden-brown, turning the baking trays round halfway through.

Step nine: Melt the golden syrup in a pan and brush the still-warm buns with a little syrup to give them nice shine. Set aside to cool on a wire rack and enjoy!