Journal

An Easter Recipe With Flora Manson

We’ve partnered with Flora Manson to bring you an Easter recipe that reimagines the traditional hot cross bun with a delicious twist.

 

Inspired by the warm, spiced flavours of a classic hot cross bun, this golden beauty is dressed like a cinnamon roll. Imagine cloud-like soft dough, rich with aromatic spices and plump, juicy soaked raisins, wrapped around a luscious, spiced brown sugar crème pâtissière. It’s then soaked in a fragrant orange juice syrup and finished with an irresistibly moorish brown butter cream cheese frosting.

INGREDIENTS

For the soaked raisins


Raisins 100g,
black tea 1 tea bag,
orange peel from 1 medium-sized orange,
hot water enough to cover the raisins



For the dough
(tangzhong)

Bread flour 20g, water 30g, 
milk 60g, water 20g,
milk 130g,
instant yeast 10g,
bread flour 410g,
ground cinnamon 1 tsp,
ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp,
ground allspice 1/2 tsp,
caster sugar 50g,
sea salt 4g,
egg 1 large,
butter soft 45g,
double cream 2 tbsp–optional (to pour onto the buns before baking making them extra soft)

For the crème pâtissière


milk 225ml,
vanilla extract 1 tsp, or seeds from 1/2 vanilla pod,
egg yolks from 3 large eggs,
light brown sugar 50g,
corn starch 15g,
sea salt a pinch,
ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp,
ground allspice 1/2 tsp,
orange zest from 1 medium-sized orange,
butter 40g, soft and cubed



For the soak

Orange juice 50ml, from 1 medium-sized orange



For the frosting


Butter 90g (to make 75g brown butter),
cream cheese 130g at room temperature,
powdered sugar 160g,
vanilla extract 1 tsp,
orange zest from 1 medium-sized orange,
sea salt a pinch

For the soaked raisins

Place the raisins into a bowl with the tea bag and orange peel, then pour over the hot water and allow to soak until ready to use.

For the crème pâtissière

Add the milk and vanilla to a small pot and place over low-medium heat, stirring occasionally.

To a medium-sized bowl, add the egg yolks, brown sugar, corn starch, salt, spices and orange zest and whisk until lighter in colour and smooth, about 1 minute. Once the milk begins to steam and very gently simmer, remove it from the heat and pour a couple of tbsp into the egg yolk mixture and whisk thoroughly to combine. Continue to add small amounts of the warm milk to the egg yolks, whisking well after each addition, until all of the milk has been added. Pour the mixture back into the pot, then place over medium heat, whisking the whole time, until the mixture has thickened, 5-7 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the butter, whisking gently to allow it to melt and combine. Once the butter is incorporated, pour the mixture into a bowl and cover with cling film, ensuring it touches the entire surface of the mixture to prevent it forming a skin. Allow to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then transfer to the fridge to set completely.

For the brown butter (for the icing)

Add the butter to a pot and set over medium heat. Allow to melt, then continue to cook until it foams, stirring often. When the butter smells roasted and has turned a rich golden hue, remove it from the heat and pour it into a bowl, ensuring you scrape out all of the browned bits. Allow to cool and set completely at room temperature.

For the dough


To a pot, add the flour, water and milk and whisk to combine. Place over a medium heat, whisking gently the entire time. Once the mixture has thickened to paste, continue to heat and whisk for 30 seconds then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

To a medium-sized bowl, add the flour, spices, sugar and salt and whisk to combine, then add to the bowl of the stand mixer with the yeast mixture along with the tangzhong. With the dough hook attachment fitted, mix on medium speed for a minute or so to combine, then add the egg and mix to a shaggy dough. Reduce the speed to low-medium and add the butter 1 tbsp at a time. Once all has been added, increase the mixer speed to medium and mix for 8-10 minutes, until smooth and the dough doesn’t stick to your finger when pressed. Drain the raisins, discarding the tea bag and orange peel, and add to the dough and mix for a further 30-40 seconds, until the raisins are well distributed. Shape the dough into a ball, place back into the stand mixer bowl, cover with clingfilm and allow to rise in a warm place for 1.5-2 hours, until doubled in size.


Shaping the buns
Grease the bottom and sides of a 9x9 inch deep baking dish and line the bottom with baking paper.

Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down to release some of the air then remove it from the bowl and place it onto a floured work surface. Push the dough down gently and shape it into a loose rectangle, then dust it with flour and roll it out to measure 48x30cm. Once rolled out to size, remove the crème pâtissière from the fridge and mix it vigorously with a spoon or spatula until smooth. Spread the crème pâtissière across the entire surface of the dough, right to the edges. Cut 8x strips of dough 6cm wide then roll each strip up into a swirl and place into your prepared baking dish, swirl side up, a couple of cm apart. Cover with cling film and allow to rise until doubled in size in a warm place, 1-1.5 hours. Towards the end of the rise, preheat the oven to 160C fan.

Once the buns have doubled in size, remove the cling film and drizzle over the double cream if using. Place in the middle of the oven and bake for 32-35 minutes, until all of the buns are a rich golden brown. While baking, prepare the orange juice syrup by putting the orange juice into a pot and placing over medium heat. Allow to cook until halved in volume, then remove from the heat.

Once the buns have finished baking, remove from the oven and immediately brush the orange juice syrup over the buns with a pastry brush. Allow to cool for 20-30 minutes in the baking tin, then when cool enough to handle, remove from the tin and allow to cool on a cooling rack.

While the buns are cooling, prepare the icing. To a large bowl, add the cream cheese and mix well with a spoon or spatula until softened and very smooth. Add the set brown butter and mix well until fully combined. Sift the powdered sugar into the bowl and add the vanilla extract, orange zest and salt and whisk the mixture for 3-4 minutes, until fully combined and slightly fluffy. Once the buns are only slightly warm to touch, place generous dollops of the icing onto each bun and serve.

The buns keep well for up to 3 days, covered in the fridge. Allow to come to room temperature for 1-2 hours before eating.

Enjoy,

The Horse xx