One-a-Penny, Two-a-Penny

Hot Cross Buns!

As ever, apologies for my pathetic attempts at photography. They actually looked quite pretty in real life.

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I am a great believer in Hot Cross Buns. Firstly, they have a fixed season, and a short one too- it makes you appreciate them all the more knowing they're only around for a few weeks. Secondly, bread products. Nom nom nom. With raisins in them. OM nom nom nom nom.

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(Incidentally, the Woodsettes scored a major victory the other day- we managed to get both our parents to use the word "nom" in the course of one meal. Virtual high five? Yes, I think so).

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Thirdly, there's all the symbolism. The cross bit is pretty obvious. But there's also the fact that you wait three hours for them to rise (spot the Easter parallel...) and that they're traditionally made in batches of 12, like the 12 disciples.

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Home-made hot cross buns, however, have always been a bit of a problem. Firstly (yes, I'm in a numerical listing mood, can you tell?) they tend to be a bit dense, veering towards the cannonballesque. Secondly, they're practically inedible within six or seven hours as they get even harder. Thirdly, even fresh out of the oven, eating the traditional flour-and-water cross bit is in itself something of a penitential experience.

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This year, I decided it might be time for a new recipe. Normal bread without chemical treatment goes stale very quickly, a fact anyone who's tried to eat a baguette more than a day old can attest to. Brioche, on the other hand, is much softer to start with and keeps a bit better because of the fat content. It also gets eaten faster because, well, it's tastier. The obvious solution to the hot cross bun problem? Adapt a brioche recipe! It proved fairly straightforward, actually, and the test batch I made last week (just to check, you understand) all got eaten before they went stale. The only problem was the crosses on top, which were still quite painful to eat. Now, I could have gone down the icing route, but that just wouldn't feel right- a hot cross bun should be cooked with its cross on, adding the cross later is somehow cheating.

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The answer?

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MARZIPAN!

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Had I been organised, I would have bought marazipan. I wasn't, so I made some instead. It's very straightforward, actually, and for once I wasn't left with half a packet of marzipan drying out at the back of the fridge. For reference, the recipe is as follows:

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4 oz ground almonds

4 oz icing sugar

1 egg white

pinch of salt

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Mix everything together. If it's too sticky, add cornflour little by little until it behaves itself. Knead and leave in fridge overnight to harden up a bit. Keep the egg yolk for glazing your hot cross buns.

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That's it! Being disorganised can be awfully tasty, you know.

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Back to the cupboard with a dozen or so hot cross buns, methinks. Om nom nom.

(Incidentally, I'm having a couple of formatting problems, so please excuse the slightly peculiar layout).