With Easter on the horizon, the hunt is on for new and exciting ways to treat your palate, inviting irresistible treats to your table with a little help from us here at Leaf.
The perfect companion to our delicious range of hot chocolates, these Earl Grey and Blood Orange Hot Cross Buns are an easy, tasty addition to your Easter weekend.
Ingredients
For the buns:
Early Grey tea leaves (enough for four cups)
7g of easy bake yeast
3 tablespoons of brown sugar
440g of plain flower
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of mixed spice
2 large blood oranges, 80ml of juice and zest
100g of currants and/or raisins
1 large egg
50g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Vegetable oil for greasing and kneading
For the Crosses:
65g of plain flour
2 tablespoons of whole milk
3 tablespoons of apricot jam
Method
- Brew your loose-leaf earl grey tea for about 15 minutes. Once the tea is lukewarm, mix in the yeast and then beat 60g of plain flour and the sugar.
- Using a large bowl, mix the rest of the flour (380g) with the salt, mixed spice, orange zest and currants and/or raisins. Melt the butter, whisk in the orange juice and the egg, and then mix this with the yeasted tea and the dry mix to form the dough.
- Oil a work surface and knead the dough until it is smooth (this usually takes about 10 minutes). Return to a clean, oiled bowl, cover with cling film, and leave to rise in a warm area until it has doubled in size.
- You now need to shape the dough into 12 buns. Once you have divided them up and shaped them, line them up on grease proof paper on a baking tray. Slash a cross in them using a large knife. Once done, cover the buns once more using cling film and allow them to double in size again. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
- To make the crosses, beat the flour with about 70ml of water to make a paste, then transfer the paste into a piping bag with a 1cm nozzle. Use a brush to apply a coat of milk and then pipe the paste into the cuts.
- Bake the buns for 30-35 minutes until golden. Finally, heat the jam in a pan and apply to the buns, allowing them to cool completely on a rack.
Best eaten on the day they are made, why not enjoy them with one of our hot chocolates?
Check out our website today to see what’s in store for you at Leaf this Easter.
