I've always been a fan of hot cross buns. As a little girl, I'd beg Mum to buy Hot Cross Buns as soon as they hit the shelves of the grocery store (but I don't remember them being around from Christmas like they are now!) and I would have her buy me "Fruit Buns" from the local bakery as a special treat as I discovered they were hot cross buns just without the cross.
I think it's the mix of fruit and spices that I love the most because I also loveeee fruit cake. Juicy and slightly chewy sultanas, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.. yum yum yum.
Considering my hot cross bun love, it's only natural that I wanted to create my own version for Easter this year.Whilst I've made traditional bread style hot cross buns before, I'm really lazy and hate kneading dough - so I cheated and went for the easy (and perhaps more delicious) route.
I created a Hot Cross Bun Breakfast Bake - because we all know how much this girl loves her breakfast bakes.
They're almost exactly the same as a hot cross bun - just a little softer and slightly more muffin like. On our first batch we didn't add quite enough raisins - so be generous! And I promise you, the cross is waaaaaaaaaaaay easier to make than you might think!
But let me give you the recipe!
Hot Cross Bun Breakfast Bakes
makes 6 breakfast bakes that are low fat, gluten free, vegan and sugar free!
These are slightly sweet, just like regular hot cross buns - but feel free to add in some maple syrup, honey or sugar if you'd like them on the sweeter side!
For the breakfast bake "buns":
1 1/2 cups milk of choice
1 cup (240g) applesauce
1/2 cup (85g) raisins*
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup (120g) buckwheat flour
1 cup + 1 tbsp (110g) gluten free oat flour (oats ground into flour)**
2/3 cup (~65g) almond meal
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp mixed spice
Optional: ~1/4 cup sweetener if you like things sweeter.
For the Crosses: (optional)
~1/3 cup gluten free plain flour
Enough water to make a thick paste
The night/day before, mix together your raisins/fruit, milk, vanilla and applesauce and leave to soak in the fridge until your raisins are softened and juicy.
Preheat your oven to 180C/355F.
Grease and/or line single serve ramekins or baking dishes or an extra large muffin pan.
Mix together your flours, almond meal, raising agents and spices and pour in your wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
Pour into your greased ramekins/baking dishes/muffin pan.
Mix together your cross mixture, adding enough water to make a thick paste.
Pour into a small piping bag or make your own piping bag by spooning your mixture into a small plastic bag or zip lock bag and snipping off an opening at the the end.
Pipe your crosses ontop of your "buns" and place your finished breakfast bakes into the oven.
Bake between 20-40 minutes, or until cooked through and golden and a skewer inserted removes clean. .
*Feel free to use mixed fruit or a mix of raisins and mixed peel for a more traditional flavour if you're lucky enough to tolerate citrus!
**If you can't eat oats (find out more about oats on a gluten free diet here) you may use an equal amount of gluten free plain flour, buckwheat flour (or a combination) or whole wheat flour if you don't need a gluten free version!
**If you can't eat oats (find out more about oats on a gluten free diet here) you may use an equal amount of gluten free plain flour, buckwheat flour (or a combination) or whole wheat flour if you don't need a gluten free version!
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PS: I've been working hard on our t-shirt designs and we realised, after talking with our friends on the weekend, there really aren't enough cute Christian T-shirts out there in the world - so that's what we're working on!On the right is one of our latest designs but we're constantly uploading new ones - so check out the Christian Designs and Apparel Store and like our Facebook page and let us know what you think (or what you'd like to see on the store - the SIL store is coming soon!)
We've already ordered lots from Cafepress and love the quality so we're excited to now have our own designs too! Plus, there are always special coupons available - just check the top banner on the Cafepress Home Page
But tell me, are you a hot cross bun fan?
What food screams Easter for you?
Hey, there is this SUPER yummy recipe that you should try that is carrot... it's called carrot halwa ( spelling? ).
ReplyDelete2 1/2 C. finely grated carrot
1 1/2 C. full fat canned coconut milk or full fat milk/cream
3 T. butter
3 T. chopped pecans or nut of choice
3 T. raisins
2 T. coconut sugar
1 t. cardamon ( or to taste )
Saute carrot and nuts in butter about 10 mins.
Add milk and simmer until the milk is close to evaporated.
Add raisins, cardamon and sugar and continue to cook until it starts getting more caramel-y.
It can be eaten hot like an oatmeal ( in fact, I've added some to oatmeal - YUM ) or pressed into a pan and chilled. My fave is hot....dare you to try and not eat the whole thing! :D
Ooh yum, I'm going to have to try your recipe! I actually had an idea for making carrot halwa and I scribbled down a made up recipe which I've yet to make but this sounds way better!
ReplyDeleteLove these!!!! They look fantastic :)
ReplyDeleteThese look amazing! I have an apple intolerance and was wondering if there's a substitution I could use for the applesauce (that it isn't coconut oil)?
ReplyDeleteWow, these look fabulous!! Hope you have a Happy Easter!
ReplyDeleteI've never tried hot cross buns before - they sound delicious!
ReplyDeleteThey're definitely worth a try! Like raisin toast but a million times better ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks Carol! Happy Easter to you too! :)
ReplyDeleteHey Nicolette,
ReplyDeleteHmm, I'm thinking that pumpkin/sweet potato puree, mashed banana or possibly yogurt could work - you'd just have a bit of a different flavour.
I'd probably try the yogurt first!
Thank you, lovely!
ReplyDeleteyay! :) i hope you like it as much as i do!
ReplyDeleteI can't have oat flour, so what could I use instead???
ReplyDeleteHey Amber, as it says in the recipe you can just substitute an equal amount of gluten free flour or buckwheat flour (or wholewheat flour if you don't need a gluten free version!)
ReplyDeleteInstead of buckwheat flour, do you think something like brown rice flour or millet flour would work?
ReplyDeleteHi Kristi! Brown rice and millet flour have different baking properties so your best bet would be replacing the buckwheat with a gluten free flour blend.
DeleteThat said, there's nothing that says you can't try brown rice or millet! I just don't know what the outcome would be as I haven't tested it.