Bake tasty cross buns at home with this recipe

Tired of bread and pancakes for breakfast, here is how you can make breakfast enjoyable again by baking cross buns.

Cross buns are basically scones with icing sugar, however, they are sweet and some spices may be incorporated while baking.

The origins of cross buns may go back as far as the 12th century.

The origin of cross buns started when an Anglican monk baked the buns and marked them with a cross in honor of Good Friday. Over time they gained popularity, and eventually became a symbol of Easter weekend.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ Cups Whole milk
• 1/2 Cup Granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp. Instant yeast
• 4 ¼ Cups Flour all-purpose
• ½ Teaspoon salt
• ½ Teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ Teaspoon cinnamon
• Eggs
• 1 Tablespoon melted Butter, Unsalted,
• Raisins
• 1 ½ Cups of water
• 1 Teaspoon baking soda
• Sugar syrup
• ¼ cup of Water

For Icing

• ¼ cup Granulated sugar
• Cream Cheese Icing
• ¾ Cup Powdered Sugar
• ounces Cream Cheese plus 2 Tablespoons, softened
• Tablespoon Butter Unsalted, softened
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• ½ Tablespoon Water

Preparation

Step 1

Warm the milk in a pan and remove the cream then allow the milk to cool to warm.

Step 2

Using a pan, heat the water, baking soda, and raisins until boiling. Drain excess water in the sink, and leave the raisins to cool. Rinse them very quickly underwater to help cool them.

Step 3

Using a small bowl combine the lukewarm milk, sugar and yeast. Stirring gently until it begins to look foamy.

Step 4

In the bowl, add 4 cups of flour, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon, then combine. Add the eggs and butter to the yeast mixture and stir until the butter is melted.

Step 5

Pour the yeast mixture over the flour mixture, and mix well. Ensure the mixture is not sticking to the sides of the bowl.

Step 6

Add raisins and continue mixing for another minute. They will add a little moisture, but they should still start to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Let the dough rise.

Step 7

Coat a bowl with oil and place the dough in the bowl and cover it with a towel. Let the dough rise more for about 2 hours. Shape the Buns.

Baking

Step 8

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees then prepare your baking pan.

Step 9

Roll each bun in your hand to make a dough ball. Place the rolls in the pan and cover them with a clean towel and let them rest for another 30 minutes until doubled in size.

Step 10

Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

To make the syrup; heat the sugar with the water in a pan over medium heat until the syrup thickens very slightly then set aside.

Step 11

Remove the rolls from the oven then brush the tops with the sugar syrup and let rest for 5-10 minutes.

Make icing

Step 12

Combine all ingredients well with a whisk and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Pipe down the centre of each row and then across each row to create a cross on each bun.