Vegan hot cross buns (tangzhong method)

vegan hot cross buns
Vegan hot cross buns

Recently, I felt like I have had a breakthrough with my approach to vegan baking thanks to the MsCupcakes book. So I have been leaning into it. The book helped me reevaluate how I approach the free-from baking category. I’ve noticed that many vegan recipes have adapted an existing recipe purely with substitutions for ingredients, like ground flaxseed instead of an egg, or oil instead of butter. Sometimes the ingredient can seem peculiar and unusual, depending on where you live. For example, flax seeds were difficult to get hold of for a while. However, the book helped to start thinking that rather than finding substitutions for things, I should try to think about what that particular ingredient brings and whether I can replicate that texture or flavour in another plant-based way.

I love the spring that the tangzhong brings to the bun

Therefore in the last month, I have been testing out vegan hot cross buns because it’s Easter and because enriched bread should, in theory, be quite simple to adapt. Spare a thought for the family that I live with. They have been through five iterations of a vegan hot cross bun recipe in my quest to perfect them.

The first time, I substituted soy milk for milk and oil for butter and omitted the apples. They were alright but under-proved and missing the freshness from the apple. Next, I made buttermilk, using soy milk and cider vinegar in order to create a softer, rich dough. Buttermilk helps to create a soft texture normally in bread. They were better but the texture was a bit dense. Then I used the tangzhong method to create springy soft buns that would last longer and they were amazing. Why didn’t I stop there? They took 3 rises. One for the dough, then an overnight one with the fruit added in, and a final prove once the buns were shaped. The buns were cracking a bit as if they were underproved. As amazing as they were in flavour and texture, I wanted to simplify and shorten the method. (You can, of course, still do this recipe in 3 rises.) The fourth time, I decided to try reducing the number of rises to two, but they ended up under-proving and cracking at the top. I left it for a week while my brain mulled over it. Do plant-based enriched bread recipes generally take longer to prove than non-vegan recipes? I felt like they shouldn’t as they don’t contain eggs that can slow down the rise. Perhaps it has just been my impatience to get them baked that has resulted in under proved buns. I almost hit publish on the recipe at the end of March but then my perfectionism kicked in. A few days later, I hit on an easy solution – double the yeast in the recipe. It is such a simple answer that you wonder why I hadn’t thought of it earlier. Anyhow, that is what I did and this is what I present to you now.

I adapted this by adding the tangzhong knowledge I learned from last year’s sticky apple and raisin hot cross bun recipe to Paul Hollywood Hot Cross Bun recipe because mixed peel is back in the shops this year. However, I reduced the amount because I think that 50g is just fine. Some more notes on how you can vary the method. I like making this in the stand mixer as the tangzhong makes it a wetter dough. You can knead by hand but it will take longer.

Soft silky hot cross bun dough

I’ve also been trying out different ways of mixing in the fruit with varying degrees of messy success. Method 1 is the put the fruit and the dough into the same bowl and mix it in. A slightly more detailed explanation of this is in my non-vegan version of Paul Hollywood’s Hot Cross Buns. Method 2 is to roll out the dough into a rectangle, scatter the fruit evenly over the top and then to take hold of one of the shorter sides and fold it a third into middle, and repeat on the other side so that it looks like a long rectangle. Next take one short end of the rectangle and repeat the folds again, so that it becomes a more compact rectangle. It is a neater process until the point when I roll it out into a long sausage shape in order to portion out 15 buns. At which point the dough starts breaking and the fruit spills out and away from the dough like runaway gems onto the countertop. Maybe I just need to work on my method 2. Finally, you can also make this with three rises or two, depending on your schedule. If going for three then reduce the yeast to 7g to allow for the overnight rise. The first rise is just the dough, the second as an overnight one after the fruit is mixed in and the third after the buns have been shaped. The method below details it for two.

Ingredients for vegan hot cross buns. This makes 15.

  • 500g strong white bread flour
  • 125ml water for the tangzhong
  • 250ml soya milk (or any unsweetened plant-based one) + 20ml apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
  • 60g caster sugar
  • 14g instant yeast
  • 1tsp (10g) salt
  • 2tsp cinnamon
  • 1tsp mixed spice
  • 70g dairy free margarine (I used vitalite) or vegan butter
  • 1 apple
  • Zest of 2 oranges
  • 150g sultanas
  • 50g mixed peel

Ingredients for the crosses

  • 45g plain flour
  • 2-3 tbsp cold water

Ingredients for the orange glaze

  • 1.5 tbsp granulated sugar
  • Juice of half an orange

Method

  1. First, make the buttermilk. Mix 250ml of soya milk and 20ml of apple cider vinegar in a measuring jug. Stir and leave to coagulate.
  2. Next make the tangzhong. Weigh out 500g of bread flour into a mixing bowl and from it take 25g (about 1 heaped tablespoon) of flour and put it in a small saucepan. Add 125ml of cold water, put it on the hob at medium heat and whisk or stir to combine the flour and water together in order to make a roux, or a paste. Keep stirring until it comes together and your whisk or spatula leaves a line. It’ll take about 1.5-2 mins. Leave to cool while measuring out the dry ingredients.
Your tangzhong is ready when you can leave a line in it
  1. In the mixing bowl with the flour, add in the yeast, sugar, salt and spices. Stir to mix.
  2. In the saucepan with the tangzhong, add the margarine and buttermilk and stir to combine. The margarine won’t melt completely and the buttermilk will make it look bitty and curdled but that’s okay. It will all get mixed in.
  3. Now add the wet ingredients to the flour and knead. I knead it in the stand mixer. I start at low (1) until all the ingredients are mixed in and then continue at medium (3) for about 9-10 minutes until the dough is stretchy and smooth. Take the dough out of the mixing bowl to form into a ball. Put a bit of oil in the bowl and place the dough back in there and cover. Leave for about an hour or until doubled in size.
  4. In the meantime, chop the apples, zest the oranges and stir to combine in a small bowl with the sultanas and mixed peel. Line two baking trays (or one large one).
After the first rise
  1. When the dough is ready, lightly flour the surface and turn the dough out onto it. Gently make it into a rough rectangle using your fingers to gently knock the air out of the dough. Take one long end, fold into the middle and press down with the heel of your hand. Repeat it with the other side. Then fold it in half and gently roll. The dough should feel stronger.
  2. As you know, I’ve been trying out a new way to incorporate the fruit with varying degrees of messy success. Here, I’m going to say to go with the second method because I think that with practice and tweaking, it will be easier. Roll out the dough into a rectangle, scatter the fruit evenly over the top and then take hold of one of the shorter sides and fold it a third into the middle, and repeat on the other side so that it looks like a long rectangle. Next, take one short end of the rectangle and repeat the folds again, so that it becomes a more compact rectangle. Then roll it out into a long sausage shape, divide into 3 equal parts, and then each part into 5. Each piece of dough will roughly weigh 90g. Cover the little portions with a tea towel as your form the buns.
  3. Add more flour to your surface. I like to have a little mound of it to dip into. Form the buns by taking each corner into the middle so it is a tighter round shape. Then flour the palm of your hand, or dip the top of the bun into some flour. With the dough in the middle of your hand, make your hand into the shape of a claw and move it around quickly in a circular shape. I’ve included a video of it below because it’s easier to show it.
How to shape a bun.
  1. Then put each bun onto the baking trays, leaving 2-3cms between each bun. Cover and leave to rise.
  2. As you wait, make the paste for the crosses by mixing the flour and water together. Put it into a piping bag and snip a little hole off the end.
  3. The buns will have finished their second rise after about an hour, when most of them will be almost touching each other or if you press down slightly on them, they will spring back gently but leave a small indent. Of course, this depends on the weather. In a hotter climate, this will take about 30 mins. About 15 mins before you think they’ll have finished rising, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.
The buns ready after their second rise
Piping crosses. Also, the consistency for the paste is like this
  1. Pipe crosses on them by piping a line along each row of buns and then repeating in the other direction.  The crosses want to hug the sides of the buns.
  2. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 10 mins and then lower the temperature to 180°C. Bake for another 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. My oven has hot spots, so I turn the tray around after the first 20 mins.
  3. As they bake, make the orange glaze. Measure out the sugar and juice from half an orange into a small saucepan and melt the sugar over a gentle heat. Then turn it up to a medium heat for a few minutes so that some of the water evaporates and it thickens slightly.  Brush the sugar syrup over the warm buns and leave them to cool.

The verdict? I can’t resist one, still hot from the oven, sticky with the glaze and too hot for my mouth. They are full of flavour from the orange zest, fresh apple, spices and dried fruit and the kitchen smells delicious as you’re making them. The texture is springy and soft and they stay like that for 3 days. I love the sticky glaze on them. They are yummy toasted and buttered but honestly, I prefer to just eat them as they are. So, after day 3, when they are a little hard, I will heat them on high (800W) in the microwave for 15 seconds and they’re perfect.

Finally, everyone who has tried them tells me that they can’t tell that they are vegan.

Christmas Cranberry Mincemeat (vegan)

chopped cranberries and dried fruit in two jars
Last minute cranberry mincemeat

One Christmas back in 2010, my friend Andrew introduced me to a cranberry mincemeat recipe using very fresh ingredients that is quick to make and can be used on the same day. There is no suet or butter, nor gentle cooking or baking of the ingredients so the trade off is that it will not last as long as more traditional mincemeat recipes. It was a game changer for me in two ways. Firstly, I loved how the lime zestiness and cranberry tartness cut through what can be the overly rich sweetness of mincemeat. Quite a few people, who object to the richness of traditional mincemeat, like this one. Secondly was the fact that it could be made last minute and used immediately. At that point, I don’t think it registered with me that it was also vegan.

I realised that I hadn’t noted down exact quantities when I went to make it the following year and the internet helped me to find a Delia variation of it. Then I moved to Cambodia, where I couldn’t get cranberries so I created another version of it using local dried fruit. However, when I discovered frozen cranberries in Thai Huot, I happily reverted back to using what had now become my own version of Andrew’s original recipe. When I returned to the UK, I took a 2 year hiatus from making this to try out Delia’s more traditional versions because suet was available. However, this year, when my Christmas holiday plans got derailed by the Omicron variant and I suddenly had a week at home, I decided to cheer myself up and make mince pies with this last-minute mincemeat.

This recipe will make about 650-750g of mincemeat. I sterilised a 500g beetroot jar and 330g jam jar to store them in. When I want to bake a lot of mince pies, I double this recipe and prepare more space in the fridge.

Ingredients for Cranberry Mincemeat, adapted from Andrew.

  • 225g fresh or frozen cranberries
  • 1 large green apple – preferably Granny Smiths or Bramley, but any tart apple will do
  • 100g currants – can be substituted with raisins
  • 100g sultanas
  • 100g mixed peel
  • zest and juice of 1 lime
  • half a fresh nutmeg, grated
  • 65g dark brown sugar

Method – also in the photos below.

  1. Cut the cranberries in half and put into a medium sized bowl*. If they are very large cranberries, then cut into thirds or quarters. If they are very small cranberries, then you can leave them whole. Very small cranberries are difficult to cut and are more commonly found, in my experience, in the frozen packets.
  2. Add in the currants, sultanas, mixed peel, the zest and juice of 1 lime.
  3. Grate the apple with the skin on, into the bowl. Then add in the sugar and grate in half a fresh nutmeg. Give it a good mix to combine it all and use straight away.

Top Tip: I halve cranberries this way because I think it’s slightly faster. Lay one hand down firmly on the cranberries so that they don’t move. With your other hand, use a sharp knife parallel to your palm and carefully cut the cranberries horizontally. I haven’t got a video of this – but if you search for how to halve cherry tomatoes, you should be able to see it.

From experience, you can store this in sterilised jars or tupperware for up to 4-6 weeks in the fridge. Sterilise jars by washing them and putting them in an oven (140°C and above) until they are dry. This normally takes less than 10 minutes.

As well as the usual mince pies (bottom photo), I’m planning to use it to make a stollen babka wreath using a challah dough that was far too chilled out to rise over the weekend, and now finally is ready to be used.

cranberries cut in half in a bowl
1. Cut the cranberries in half
2. Add in the dried fruit
3. Grate in apple, the zest and juice of a lime, sugar and grate in half a fresh nutmeg. Give it all a good mix.
The first of this year’s mince pies

Sticky Apple, Raisin and Cinnamon Hot Cross Buns and my introduction to Tangzhong

Apple, Raisin and Cinnamon Hot Cross Buns

I wanted to make hot cross buns. Every year, for the past 9 years, I have made my version of Paul Hollywood’s Hot Cross Buns. However, mixed citrus peel hadn’t been available in the Asda online shop for almost a month and we had, actually still have, a surplus of green apples in the house. So I decided to think of it as an opportunity to try out a new hot cross bun recipe without mixed peel but using green apples and a new method. One that I’ve been hearing about and seeing on my social media feeds for a while: the tangzhong method.

I’ve been really intrigued by this method, which originated in Japan and was popularised by Taiwanese cookbook author Yvonne Chen, and how it helps to create a soft fluffy texture that lasts longer than a couple of days. This is useful for something like this as this recipe makes between 17-18 buns. I don’t think anyone or any family could consume them all in one day. I researched a few other posts and found these really useful by way of introduction to using it:

The chemistry of it is quite precise. When flour is cooked with a hot liquid, it can absorb more water. You mix it together and cook it until a roux or slurry forms (pictures below), which is when the temperature of the slurry reaches 65°C/149°F. It pre-gelatinises the the starches in the flour meaning that it can absorb more liquid more, thus creating a dough that has a higher percentage of water.

Mix the flour and liquid
Heat until a thick slurry forms

To make a tangzhong, it suggests that you use 5-10% of your flour. Thus in the recipe below 560g x 0.05 = 28g

  • 1 part flour to 5 parts cold liquid. e.g. 28g flour to 140g liquid.
  • Whisk to combine until no lumps remain.
  • Heat, whilst stirring, until a roux/slurry forms to 65°C/149°F
  • Allow it to cool before adding to the dough

As it holds a higher percentage of water, the hydration level is important too. When you’re not a natural mathematician, like me, then you may spend a fair chunk of time adding the wet ingredients out loud and dividing it by the flour in order to figure out the hydration ratio. King Arthur Baking says that you’re looking for a hydration ratio of 75%. When I calculated it for this recipe, the result was 67%. Hmmm… my next question was whether eggs add hydration to a dough. The internet answer is yes. I learnt that eggs are 75% water. Therefore, an unshelled UK large egg weighs about 60g, so 60g x 0.75 = 45g. This recipe uses 2 eggs, thus adding 90g of water to the recipe. When I did the maths again, with the addition of the water from the eggs:

(375+90)/560 = 0.83 = 83% hydration level.

Does it matter that the hydration is far above 75% and is 83%? By this stage I’m hoping not and just wanting to get on to baking the hot cross buns. On a related tangent, in my research I also learned that the weight of a large egg differs depending on the country. A large egg is bigger in the UK than the US or Australia. Did you know that? I did not.

I’ve heavily adapted this recipe from Not Quite Nigella’s Apple and Cinnamon hot cross buns, who is an Australian food blogger. Do you remember that in my previous blog post, I highlighted that US cup measures differ from Australian ones? This was a useful titbit of information to remember whilst converting her recipe into grams. I decided to add raisins because I wasn’t ready to move on from not having dried fruit in my hot cross bun. Sultanas or currants would work too. The first time, I added in 100g and I felt like they could do with more. If you don’t like dried fruit then you could omit them completely.

I adapted her method too by simplifying some of the steps and adding in an extra rise. I almost forgot to add in the salt the first time I made the recipe. I realised just as the dough was finishing proving a second time (I’d decided to prove the dough three times) and so I sprinkled it in hoping that it would be absorbed. Sadly not. I had a mouthful of salt in the first hot cross bun that I ate. Thus, I decided to add the salt in at the beginning when I made these a second time. I don’t think that it made a noticeable difference but it improved the flavour of the bun, as one didn’t randomly get a mouthful of salt, and there’s less chance of forgetting the salt at a later step. I also added all the wet ingredients and the butter into the roux and whisked it together before adding it all into the flour. I gave the dough three rises, rather than two, so that the dough would be less sticky and easier to work with when shaping them. One rise before adding the fruit, another afterwards and one more time after I shaped them into buns.

Both times, I made this using a stand mixer. If you were wondering how to knead it by hand, then my iced buns recipe explains how add the ingredients slightly differently in step 2. My earlier hot cross bun recipe for a step by step visual explanation on how to shape the buns.

Ingredients for the buns

  • 560g strong bread flour
  • 140g water
  • 14g fast action instant yeast (or two 7g sachets)
  • 3 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1tsp salt
  • 3tbsp runny honey (this is about 80g)
  • 235ml full fat milk
  • 1tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 50g of butter, roughly cubed
  • 1 medium sized, tart, green apple, chopped (I used a Granny Smith). I don’t peel it. I rather like the look of the bright green skin in the buns
  • 200g raisins

Ingredients for the crosses

  • 40g plain flour (about 3 tbsp)
  • 4-5tbsp of water

Ingredients for the sticky glaze

  • 2tbsp water
  • 2tbsp of granulated sugar

Method

1. In a big bowl (I use the standmixer bowl), measure out the bread flour. Then, take 2 level tbsp of the flour and put it into a small saucepan to make the tangzhong. If you want to be more precise than this, then measure out 28g of flour. Next add the water to the saucepan.

2. Use a whisk to mix the flour and the water together for the roux. Heat on a low-medium heat until the roux reaches 65°C/149°F. If you don’t have a thermometer handy then on a low-medium heat, this will take between 1.5-2 mins. Leave to cool while measuring out the dry ingredients. I’ve used both a whisk and a spatula for this. The whisk works much better to mix the water and flour together. (See the photos above for the consistency of the slurry.)

3. Add the yeast, salt and cinnamon to the bowl that has the bread flour. Mix it together with the dough hook. *If kneading by hand, rub in the butter to the flour at this stage. It will make the kneading of the dough much easier.

4. To the tangzhong, whisk in the butter, milk, honey, vanilla extract and eggs. The butter won’t melt and that is okay. It will be incorporated into the dough in the kneading process.

Don’t be perturbed the unmelted butter cubes. They will be kneaded in.
Knead until you get a very elastic dough

5. Use the dough hook to mix the liquid and the flour together so that it roughly combines. Then knead until it is soft and very elastic. At a medium setting (3 on a Kenwood), I let it knead for 7 minutes. Keep an eye on your stand mixer so that it doesn’t walk off the counter. I have let that happen before – a big ooopsadaisy!

6. Then cover and leave to rise until doubled in size for about 45mins – 1 hour. In the meantime, chop up the green apple and weigh out the raisins. Add them into the dough after the first rise. I just add them into the bowl with the dough and use the dough hook to knead it again so that it combines. By doing so, it knocks back the air in the dough and as it rises a second time, will create a more even crumb. Shape into a ball, place in an oiled bowl and cover to rise again until doubled in size, about 45 mins – 1 hour.

7. Whilst the yeast is doing its magic, this is a good time to decide how many buns you’d like. I wanted 18 but did I tell you already that maths isn’t my strongest point? I ended up with 17. If you’re my brother-in-law, this fact may make you laugh. I want the buns to bake evenly, so I will weigh out the dough then divide by the number of buns that I want.

8. Once the dough has doubled in size, lightly flour the surface and turn the dough out of the bowl. Strengthen the dough by shaping into a vague rectangle. Take hold of a longer side, fold one third towards the centre and press down with your thumbs or the heel of your hand. Fold the other third towards the centre and press down. Finally fold it in half lengthways, press down and roll it out a bit with your hands into a long sausage shape. The dough should feel stronger.

9. Divide the dough into the number of buns. If you want 15, then divide it into 3 equal parts, then into 5. If you want 18… well I think that you should tell me what I should do  .

10. Lightly flour the surface in order to roll each piece a smooth ball.  To roll the buns, turn the sides into the middle, then turn over so that the seam side is on the bottom. Make your hand into a claw shape and roll the ball inside your claw and move your hands quickly in circles. Arrange the buns on a baking tray lined with baking paper, leaving just enough space so that buns touch when they expand.  Lightly cover with oiled clingfilm or a damp tea towel.  Leave to rise for a 45mins to an hour.

11. Preheat the oven to 200°C and make the paste for the crosses. Measure out the flour. Add in the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it forms a smooth, thick paste. It needs to be pipe-able, not too thin so that it disappears when it bakes and not too thick that it’s impossible to pipe. Put the paste into a piping bag.

12. Once the buns have risen, pipe crosses onto the buns, by piping a line along each row of buns and then repeat in the other direction.  The crosses want to hug the sides of the buns.

13. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 10 mins and then lower the temperature to 180°C. Bake for another 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. My oven has hot spots, so I turn the tray around after the first 20 mins.

14.  Measure out the sugar and water into a small saucepan and melt the sugar over a gentle heat.  Brush the sugar syrup over the warm buns and leave them to cool.

15. Gently break apart the sticky buns and enjoy.

Verdict? They are fast becoming a favourite and I was surprised that I didn’t miss the citrus flavour of my usual hot cross buns. 3 teaspoons of cinnamon may seem like a lot, but it disperses in this amount of flour producing a flavoured but not heavily spiced bun. If you wanted to experiment and adapt the spicing then please comment below and share.

3 days later, and they are still soft and springy.

Paul Hollywood’s Hot Cross Buns

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The best hot cross buns in Phnom Penh!

If my previous post was months in the making, this has been years.

This time 3 years ago, my friend Rachel posted a beautiful photo of her freshly  baked hot cross buns, complete with twinkly fairy lights in the background.  What got me was that she commented on how incredibly delicious they were, much more than any shop bought variety.  She’d used Paul Hollywood’s Hot Cross Buns recipe from BBC Good Food, which she said was overly long (two rises).  Regardless, I  promptly tried it out and the resulting buns were life changing to say the least.

I will never buy another hot cross bun again.

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The life changing hot cross buns!

These home made hot cross buns had bags more flavour and were so moist compared to any Best, Finest or Taste the Difference version.  That year (the only year I made two batches of hot cross buns), I must have raved about the experience so much, that I talked another friend, Sarah into baking hot cross buns for the first time.  We tried out Paul’s slightly simplified (one rise) version on BBC Food.  Boom!  What a taste sensation.

Sarah piping crosses onto hot cross buns
Year 1: Initiating Sarah into baking hot cross buns

Then of course I moved out to Cambodia where you can’t buy hot cross buns anyway and baking is a bit of an adventure.  My first year, Sarah and Joe sent me mixed peel because it wasn’t available in Phnom Penh then but the yeast had died so the buns were lumpy fruit rock cakes.  The second year, they tasted good but they looked anaemic: I hadn’t figured out how my oven worked.  This year, post-long bike ride, unaware that it was Good Friday (which is easy to do in Cambodia), I baked my best batch of hot cross buns, since moving out to Cambodia.  It wasn’t until my housemate (another) Sarah was sinking her teeth into a hot freshly baked bun and said, “It’s definitely Good Friday.  It’s definitely Easter”, that I remembered again why we eat hot CROSS buns on Good Friday.  Duh – seriously, where has my brain wandered off to?

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“It’s definitely Good Friday! It’s definitely Easter!” – Sarah

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But seriously, I don’t know why I don’t bake hot cross buns more often.  Oh, yeah, I remember.  It’s an Easter thingy.  And it’s in the weird time of Lent where all my friends have decided to fast from sugar and all that, so by the time I get round to baking them, I only manage to bake the one batch.  Well, this year, I’ve decided that I’m going to try out a tropical version with mangoes, ginger and lime during Khmer New Year.

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One way to keep the ants off your food in a hot country – create an island!

I’ve adapted Paul Hollywood’s recipes a wee bit to add a bit more spice and replace the apricot jam glaze with an orange syrup one.  No reason really, except this last time, I was too lazy to buy apricot jam didn’t want another jam jar cluttering up my fridge.  I reckon it works pretty well.

And I swear that at one time, I watched a Bake Off Masterclass, in which Paul Hollywood baked these and recommended mixing the fruit into the dough inside the mixing bowl.  It’s much more efficient and you don’t have any bits of fruit trying to escape.  It’s not very explicit in his instructions so I’ve changed that too.

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Paul Hollywood’s Hot Cross Buns, adapted from his recipes on BBC Food and BBC Good Food

Ingredients for Hot Cross Buns

For the buns

  • 300ml/10fl oz whole milk
  • 500g/1lb 2oz strong white flour
  • 75g/2½oz caster sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 7g fast-action yeast
  • 50g/1¾oz butter
  • 1 free range egg
  • 150g/5oz sultanas
  • 80g/30z mixed peel
  • 1 apple, cored and chopped
  • 2 oranges, zest only
  • 2tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1tsp mixed spice or 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/8 tsp ground cloves, 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/8 tsp ground coriander, 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
  • sunflower/vegetable oil for greasing

For the cross

  • 75g/2½oz plain flour
  • about 5 tbsp of water

For the orange syrup glaze

  • 1 tbsp sugar – caster or granulated
  • juice of half an orange.

Method

1. Bring the milk to the boil and then leave to cool until it’s hand hot (i.e 37°C) .  Heating the milk creates a softer dough.

2. In a bowl, measure out the sultanas, mixed peel, cinnamon, mixed spice, orange zest and chopped apple, and then mix them together.

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3. In a large bowl, mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt.  Then rub in the butter to the flour, like you’re making short-crust pastry.  Then add the egg and slowly add the milk until you form a sticky dough.

4. Knead the dough for about 10-20 minutes (by hand always takes longer) until it becomes smooth and elastic.

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5. Now mix in the fruit.  Add the fruit into the large bowl and then spread the dough on top of the fruit so that the fruit is fully covered by the dough.  Then gently try and wrap the dough all around the fruit so that the fruit is fully enclosed.  Don’t worry if you can’t entirely.  Then gently massage the fruit into the dough so that the two are thoroughly combined.  Empty it out onto the side.

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6.  Grease the large mixing bowl using a tablespoon of sunflower/vegetable oil, add the dough back in the bowl and cover it with cling film.  Rest the dough for about 1-2 hours until it has doubled in size.

7. Line a baking tray with baking paper.  Once the dough has risen, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and strengthen it.  Bring one side into the middle and press firmly with the palm of your hand, do the same with the other side, then both sides together and press firmly.  Roll out a bit to so that it’s easier to divide.  Divide into 3 equal parts and into 5 again, so that you have 15 pieces altogether.  Lightly flour the surface in order to roll each piece a smooth ball.  Arrange the buns on a baking tray lined with baking paper, leaving just enough space so that buns touch when they expand.  Lightly cover with oiled clingfilm or a damp tea towel.  Leave to rise for an hour.

Top tip: to roll the balls, turn the sides into the middle, then turn over so that the seam side is on the bottom.  Make your hand into a claw shape and roll the ball inside your claw and move your hands quickly in circles – et voilà, smooth balls!

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8.  Pre-heat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas Mark 7.

9. Meanwhile, prepare the mixture of the crosses.  Measure out the flour.  Add in the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it forms a smooth, thick paste.  It needs to be pipe-able, not too thin so that it disappears when it bakes and not too thick that it’s impossible to pipe.  Put the paste into a piping bag.

10.  Once the buns have risen, pipe crosses onto the buns, by piping a line along each row of buns and then repeat in the other direction.  The crosses want to hug the sides of the buns.

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11. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

12.  Measure out the sugar and orange juice into a small saucepan and melt the sugar over a gentle heat.  Brush the orange syrup over the warm buns and leave them to cool.

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13.  Gently break the buns apart and enjoy.

Verdict?  They were the best hot cross buns in Phnom Penh!

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The perfect easter breakfast – coffee and hot cross buns!

Making Mulled Apple Juice for 100

Mulled Apple Juice

How have I ended up posting about how to make a mulled Christmas drinks for the masses again, this year?  When I left the residential life team in July this year, I thought that I’d also left my mass mulling days behind.  But apparently not.   I’m trying to remember the last time that I made a mulled concoction for like 4 (drinks with friends) or 10 (a gathering) or even 30 (a wee party)… I think that it was maybe 3 years ago for Cryfield Subwarden housewarming?

IMG_3751
Having peeled the first orange the traditional way and spent 10 minutes removing the pith from the peel, I decided to attack the next one with a knife.

 This time it was for our church’s annual Christmas Celebration.  Simon had asked me whether I wouldn’t mind being in charge of the catering side for the event.  He wanted to try out a different way of serving food at big events, so did I think that I could do a drink and some traditional english christmas goodies for 100 people within a $100 budget?  Well, it’s definitely a different scale from what I was used to at Warwick, but I took up the challenge.

Top tip: stick the cloves in the orange peel and then you won't have problems fishing them out later
Top tip: stick the cloves in the orange peel and then you won’t have problems fishing them out later

A bit of online research, excel spreadsheets and visits to various shops ensued and this is  the menu, that I came up with:

  • Mulled Apple Juice
  • Mince pies
  • Iced Christmas biscuits
  • Snow topped Spiced Cake.

The day before the big event, I hailed a tuk tuk and carted to the church:

  • 20 litres of apple juice
  • 12 oranges and some lime peel
  • 140 cloves
  • 80 pieces of cinnamon bark (my mum’s friend had kindly sent me cinnamon bark
  • 600g sugar
  • 1 very large sieve ladle

Unfortunately my pre-arranged mulling helper got the dates mixed up and forgot to turn up.  Just when I was wondering how I was going to make 20 litres of mulled apple juice with my poorly knee, help came in the form of various others who tasted, carried vast quantities of liquids, peeled oranges and decanted many cartons of apple juice.  What a Godsend! 2.5 hours later we were all done.

Mesa, can you see what's going in?
Mesa, can you see what’s going in?

 So, say you fancy mulling a non-alcoholic drink this christmas time.  Then, this one is a definite winner.  It went down really well at our Christmas Celebration tonight.  In fact, I had quite a few people asking me what the ingredients were but unfortunately I still have holes in my khmer vocabulary for words like cloves, cinnamon and peel.

I adapted the mulled apple juice recipe from BBC Good Food because it was the simplest and still garnered good reviews.  Most reviewers said that they didn’t bother adding in the sugar because it was already sweet enough.  It was sweet enough but slightly tart (which I like) for me when I tried it.  But my Khmer tasters said it was ‘jjoo’ (sour).  So, in went the sugar.

Here’s the recipe for mulled apple juice for 8 people, adapted from BBC Good Food.

Ingredients

  • 1 litre apple juice
  • peel of 1 orange
  • peel of 1 lime/lemon
  • 7 cloves
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • golden or white sugar to taste – for the khmer tastebuds, I added 2 tablespoons.

Top Tip: Stick the cloves into orange and lime peel.  That way, it’s really easy to fish out the cloves later and you won’t get unwelcome ones ending up in your drink.

Method

1. Stick the cloves into the orange and lime peel.  I used a knife to peel the fruit so that I could get as little of the bitter pith as possible.

2. Decant the apple juice into a pan, add in the orange and lime peels with the cloves, the cinnamon sticks and bring to a simmer on a medium to low heat.  Leave to simmer for 10 minutes.

3.  Sweeten, or not, according to taste.

Chakriya - one of my happy helpers
Chakriya – one of my happy helpers

Kat’s mum’s apple cake

Apple cake baked in Phnom Penh
The apple cake that I baked living at Simon and Becci’s in Phnom Penh

I recently found out that these apples are really tasty and cheap, compared to the other varieties of imported apples that they sell here.  So, when I woke up, I realised that the one thing that I really wanted to do today was to bake Kat’s mum’s apple cake.

applesapples slices 2
Remember how I confessed to being a baking addict?  Since moving to Cambodia, I’ve limited myself to baking once a week and I think that’s as far as my baking addiction allows me to go before I get my next fix.

That need fuelled my first ever visit to a fruit stall in the Russian market, where I bought 8 pomme for 8400 riel (the equivalent of $3.50).    I may have overpaid for my apples: I haven’t learned yet how to bargain for food in the market.  But, I didn’t mind paying a bit extra if if meant that I could bake.  However, I wasn’t quite prepared to pay $3 for 250g of palm sugar (the only raw sugar they had available), when what I really wanted was demerara sugar.  Let’s bake together at a later date, palm sugar.  I think that you’ll be delightful in a cookie.

This apple cake goes down in my baking history as the third ever cake I made on my own.  I was 21 at the time.  Kat’s mum baked this apple cake for us when Kat invited a few friends to her Devonshire home for a holiday during our final year at university. The cake tasted wholesomely delicious and I found myself asking Kat’s mum for the recipe. I was no baker in those days so what convinced me to attempt making this cake was her reassurance that the recipe was really simple.

And it was.  Once it entered into my baking repertoire, it was then pretty much the only cake that I baked for the next 2 years.

I told you that I came late into this baking thing later than most foodies.

apple peel

The only step that requires a bit of time is peeling, coring and chopping the apples and this time, Simon and Becci did that bit for me this time round.  Hurrah for happy helpers.  But once you’ve done that, you can pretty much throw the ingredients altogether, mix it around with your hands and pop it into the oven.  There’s no faffing with trying to make it look pretty: part of the charm of baking this cake is that is meant to look rustic.  I’ve made it before when I’ve reserved a few choice apple pieces to make it look prettier, but the detail got lost underneath the topping of sugar and ground cinnamon.  You can also use a loaf tin or a round tin, as you can see from my photos.

Since being here and discovering how expensive it is to bake with butter (the cheapest i’ve found is $3.50 for 227g) I reverted back to using margarine.  The cake tastes better, I think, if you make it with margarine rather than butter.

You can also use any apples.  I really like using cooking apples because of their tartness and size, but it doesn’t seem to matter.

Ingredients for Kat’s mum’s apple cake

  • 8oz/225g self-raising flour
  • 4oz/110g margarine
  • 4oz/110g granulated sugar, preferably golden but it can be white
  • 3 or 4 cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced into 1-2cm slices.
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • a splash of milk

Cake topping – adapt the measures according to taste.

  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp demerara sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.  Grease and line either a 2lb loaf tin or a cake tin, that is deepish and anything between 8-10 inches.
2. Prepare the topping first for ease because your hands will be gloopy by step 5.  In a small bowl, mix together the demerara sugar and cinnamon.
3. Peel, core and chop the apples and put them into a large mixing bowl.
4. In a medium sized mixing bowl, rub together the flour, butter and sugar until they resemble crumbs.  Add this crumbly mixture to the apples.

until the mixture resembles crumbsmixing the apple cake 2throw the cake mixture into the tin

5. Add in the eggs and a splash of milk.  Mix it around with your hands so that it all combines into a gloopy mess.
6. Sprinkle the demerara sugar and cinnamon mix on top of the cake.

Trying to make it pretty apple cake
you can prettify it if you want

7. Pop into the middle of the oven and bake for about 1 hour.  Check after 40 minutes.  If the top of the cake is browning too much  then cover the top with foil.  The cake is ready when a tester comes out clean.
8. Let it cool down and rest before taking it out of the tin.

trying to make it pretty baked apple cake
but the cinnamon/sugar topping negates the efforts

Enjoy while it’s still warm if you can.  I think that it’s worth pointing out, that with this cake you get one portion of your fruit and veg allowance, only if you eat a quarter of the cake.

Herman, the friendship cake.

Let me introduce you to Herman. He’s been living in my kitchen for a few months.

herman growing

If that hasn’t put you off, then read on.

Herman is a sourdough starter cake, aka Amish Friendship cake. David first described him to me, when one of his colleagues gave him a Herman:

David: “So, I leave him out in a bowl on the side for a few days. I have to talk to him! And feed him with milk, flour and sugar.

Me: “Can’t you put him in the fridge? Won’t the milk go off? Why do you have to leave him out?”…

A few days later, David told me that he has gotten rid of Herman. Herman was smelly and had been cluttering his worktop.

If I can be frank with you. I’d suggest that David’s colleague misjudged him in thinking that David and Herman would pair up well. David is a good cook but a ‘meat and 2 veg’ kind of guy. So, this type of cake didn’t stand much of a chance with him.

Well, a few weeks later, Emily asked me if I’d heard of Herman. She had one growing in her kitchen and reported that the herman cake she’d tried was alright. She was still alive, and proof that eating Herman is somewhat safe, even with the souring milk. So, I asked her if she’d entrust me to look after a mini Herman.

By this time, Herman had taken on a personality of epic proportions in my imagination. Naturally, he was german, with spiky red hair, freckles and (as he smells) adolescent.

I duly took care of my Herman and made it through 2 cycles until I went on holiday. I gave him away and thought that was the last of Herman.

Not so. One of my colleagues presented me with Herman at the end of the summer and, as you know, Herman is thriving in my flat. I think that he’s taken to my warm kitchen: he keeps bubbling away. I stir him once or twice a day and cover him with a tea towel so that he doesn’t dry out. As I don’t want to be forced to make a Herman cake every 10 days, I’m fairly relaxed about his feeding and will delay it a day or so, to draw out the cycle. Admittedly, he does smell of yeast. I’m looking forward to this next cycle as his penultimate one with me because I’d quite like to use that plastic bowl and wooden spoon for something else and reclaim the space he takes up on my worktop.

Herman is a great topic of conversation. He is a bit like marmite: people are either allured or repulsed by him. Nevertheless, everyone likes to eat him. Herman adds a tanginess to the cake and he does taste yummy, even if the texture is on the denser side. Below, I’ve given you the most common recipe, a cinnamon and apple version, with a wee makeover. However, my favourite is my carrot, pinenut and sultana cake.

There are a number of different Herman stories out there. This is my favourite one, which I have adapted.

Herman is a friendship cake which you cannot buy but can give away. Herman is alive and grows slowly but surely because of a yeasting process. It takes 10 days before you can eat him.

DO NOT put in the fridge as he grows at room temperature. You do not need a lid, just cover the bowl with a tea towel.

DAY 1: Today Herman is given to you. Congratulations, you must have a friend. Pour him into a big bowl so he can grow.

DAY 2: Stir Herman 2 or 3 times each day using a wooden spoon. You can leave the spoon in the bowl.

DAY 3: Stir Herman and talk to him.

DAY 4: Herman is hungry! You must feed him with:

  • 200ml milk
  • 150g plain flour
  • 200g granulated sugar

DAY 5: Stir Herman

DAY 6: Stir Herman. He really appreciates your visits.

DAY 7: Stir Herman

DAY 8: Stir Herman. Are you still talking to him?

DAY 9: Herman is hungry again! Feed him as Day 4.

Having been fed, he now needs to be split into equal little Hermans. Give away 4 of the little Hermans and a copy of these instructions.

DAY 10: Your remaining little Herman is absolutely starving after all that!

(experiment with different Herman cake recipes, such as carrot cake, streusel topped herman cake, apple cake – see below for my adaptations on the most common version)

Herman would now like to go to a hot resort, the oven will do. Preheat it to 170C (which is between 3 and 4 on a gas mark oven). With everything mixed in, pour him into a lined deeped baking tin. Leave him at the resort for about an hour. After all this care, attention and nurturing … eat him!!!

herman apple cinnamon cake

Ingredients for Herman Apple, Sultana and Cinnamon Cake (makes between 16-25 servings)

  • 1 measure of Herman (a cup)
  • 300g self-raising flour
  • 150g sugar (tastier with demerara sugar)
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 2tsp cinnamon
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • 100g fine chopped nuts or a mix of dried fruit, such as sultanas, cranberries, cherries, apricots…
  • 2 chopped or grated apples – I think that it’s tastier when chopped to approx. 1.5cm sized chunks because it tastes like an apple cake
  • 100ml oil

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Line a deep 25cm square baking tin. I like to use my pampered chef square stone because I don’t need to bother lining it with baking paper.

Top tip: use a baking tin, it is better than a loaf tin. When I used a loaf or cake tin, the cake took much longer to bake and was a bit heavy. The cake I made in the pampered chef stone (baking tin would do the same) was tastier and lighter. Moreover, it would have taken much less time but I hadn’t misread the oven temperature and baked it at 130C! Oooops-a-daisy.

2. You can add all the ingredients and mix it thoroughly.

or, Alternatively, I found it easier to measure out the dry ingredients, then make a small well in the middle and add the oil, eggs and the mini herman and mix thoroughly. Lastly, add the chopped apples and dried fruit or nuts (or both) to the mixture and combine well.

3. With everything mixed in, pour him into a lined deep 25cm baking tin.

4. Now, to make the sugar/butter glaze. I highly recommend this step. It seems a bit weird thing to do and I had some doubts when I was pouring the melted butter over the cake batter. But the glaze really moistens the cake and enrichensthe flavour.

Ingredientsfor the glaze

  • 50g dark muscovado sugar (demerara sugar also works)
  • 50g unsalted butter, melted
  • sprinkle cinnamon on top (optional)
  • pecan or walnut halves to decorate on top

Crumble the sugar evenly over the top of the cake and sprinkle over with cinnamon. Pour the melted butter evenly over the batter. I tipped the sides of my square stone to ensure an even spread. Decorate the top with the pecan or walnut halves. Last time, I used 16 pecans but the portions were rather on the big side, so I’d use 25 next time.

prebaked herman apple cake

glaze topping

5. Now, it’s time to send Herman on holiday to a hot resort (namely the oven) for 45-60 minutes. Check on him at half time and if he looks like he is browning too quickly on the top, then cover him loosely with baking paper or foil to prevent him burning. I guess it acts like a sun umbrella, if we’re to continue the holiday metaphor. Herman is ready when you test him in the middle with a clean, sharp knife and it comes out clean. Let him cool for at least 10 minutes in the tin before cutting him up into squares.

Enjoy.

herman apple cake

My first solo Bramble (and Apple) Jelly

This is my first solo attempt at making any kind of fruit jam or jelly.  As a child, I’d picked brambles with my family and been involved in the jam making process.  So, I had a vague memory of what was involved:

A big pot.

Simmering sugar and fruit.

Prodding the liquid to see whether the jam has reached setting point.

Fresh bread to mop up the residue in the pot.

So, naturally I had lots of questions.  Lots and lots… and lots. 

While I was in Coventry market, I got chatting to one of the stall holders and discovered someone who reputedly makes scrummy blackberry and apple jelly.  I asked her a lot of my questions.  I hope that she found it all rather amusing.  I’ve promised her a small jar of what I make.  My mum and Delia online answered the remaining questions.

Well, this is what I started with:




the raw ingredients



and this was the finished jelly:




the finished jelly


6 jars of it in fact, of all different shapes and sizes.

I’m definitely not a jam making guru.  Tee hee… But I’ve got a taste for it and answers.

What kind of sugar should I use?

I was making bramble jelly and I used granulated sugar

What’s the sugar to fruit ratio?

1:1

I washed my fruit, can I start when they’re still wet?

My mum suggested that I wait for the fruit to dry first and pat them dry with a kitchen towel.  I considered patting dry 2kgs of brambles and decided that I’d wait for them to sort of air dry.

How long do I need to let the concoction simmer for?

As long as it needs to…. my mum said 15 minutes.  Perhaps the rarified air in Scotland causes the sugar/fruit mix to turn into jam quicker.  Not in my case.  They were simmering for at least an hour.

Do I need to use a muslin cloth?

No, I used a metal sieve and it was good enough.

What quantity of apples do I want to put in for 2kgs of brambles?

Probably equal.  I put in 1.5kgs.

How do I know when the jam is done?

When the liquid has a thin film that bunches up when you touch it gently with a sharp metal implement.  

Like so:

jam set

In contrast to this:

cimg4861.jpg

And the most important question of all, how did it taste?

It tastes a wee bit tart.  Next time I’ll add in some more sugar.  I like it and I hope that Coventry market stall lady likes it too.

ps. Growing up in Scotland, bramble jelly is what we called blackberry jam.  Jelly because the seeds have been strained out of the jam.  I didn’t make a jelly out of the thorns and bushes… but I have plenty scratches on my arms from my summer of picking brambles.

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