Happy Easter! I hope that you are enjoying your long weekend wherever you may be. Today, Vancouver is an absolutely gorgeous city (what’s new!) The skies are azure blue, the mountain peaks are dipped in white frosting and the sunshine is glimmering on down on us all. As I’m writing this I’m basking in my parent’s sunlit flowery backyard garden– in a bathing suit! My iPhone says it’s 17 C. Is that even possible for Van in the month of March? Well, I’m planning on soaking up every drop of this glorious sunshine while it lasts! I hope you are too :)
Earlier this weekend, we were able to zip up to the cabin for a relaxing night away and to say a quick hello to my mom’s chickens. Sometimes it’s the short vacations that get you feeling the most centred again.
At the cabin we read books, had a sunset dinner and on Friday morning I made a batch of hot cross buns. How traditionally Eastery of me!
Hot Cross Buns
yield: 1 dozen- 1.5 dozen buns. prep time: 2 hr 45 mins bake time: 25-30 mins total project time: 3 hr 30 mins bake temp: 350 F
Note: Make sure you give yourself enough time to make these little guys. I woke up at 8 and was able to finish them by 11:30, but was a bit pinched for time. I would recommend prepping the dry and wet ingredients the night before to save time (excluding the warm milk and yeast of course). They are lovely little buns to serve for breakfast, but are also great with coffee or tea as an afternoon treat! So don’t feel rushed :)
Dough Ingredients
3/4 cup 2 % milk, heated to just above body temp (105 F) 4 tbsp instant dry yeast 1/3 cup sugar 3 large eggs, at room temperature 1/2 cup vegetable oil 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest 3/4 tsp salt 1/2 tspn ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp ground allspice 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon ground clove 1/3 cup local organic, dried currants 1/4 cup mixed diced peel
Glaze Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar 3 tbsp water 1 tsp vanilla
Cross Icing Ingredients
3/4 cup icing sugar, sifted 1 tbsp milk, plus extra if needed
Directions
Dough
1. Warm water and add 4 tbsp yeast. Let sit for a bit. Measure the rest of the ingredients for dough (except the currants and peel, yeast and water) into a large bowl or the bowl of a mixer fitted with the hook attachment (eg. Kitchen Aid). Add yeast water. Mix the dough on low speed until it comes together, then increase speed and knead until the dough is smooth, about 5 minutes (the dough is soft and should stick to the bottom of the bowl). If mixing by hand, stir the ingredients with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together, then turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth. Put dough aside and first remove peel from orange and lemon with a vegetable peel, then finely dice peels until they measure together to be 1/4 cup. At final stages of kneading, sprinkle the currants and mixed peel into the dough and knead in. Scrape the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean dish cloth and let rise in a warm location for 75 to 90 minutes, until doubled in size.
Hot Glaze
Icing
1. For the icing, sift and stir the icing sugar and milk together until a thick consistency is formed (add a few more drops of milk, if needed). Pour this into a small plastic baggie with the corner cut out, or into a pastry bag. I just took a knife with a dollop of icing on the end and gently guided two lines across the buns to form the cross. It worked fine! Pipe or draw your crosses on top of each bun, letting the icing set for an hour before serving. Recipe adapted from Anna Olson’s Hot Cross BunsReference: Olson, Anna (2013). Bake with Anna Olson . Food Network.ca Shaw Media: Vancouver, B.C.
The buns puffed up to be golden, citrusy and delicately spiced–a perfect little treat to share with family on a sunny day. After piping on their criss-cross icing, I brought the tray of hot little buns to our cabin’s garden, Fireweed Farm and shared a few with some hardworking gardeners (my mama and co.). How silly is this photo– our little bird brains got super curious! It was too funny trying to keep the birdies away from these tasty treats.
I hope you have a wonderful long weekend! Now go enjoy the gorgeous outdoors :)
Love,
Blue Owl
You may also like:
Braided Rosemary Bread, Cranberry Hazelnut Granola, The Best Ever Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Blue Owl Treats 
yummmmm I really want one! can you teleport one to me please??
FaceTime? 💗💗