A delicious Easter treat, not too difficult and never better than when home-made. Start a day ahead if possible, mix the dough and leave overnight in the fridge.
300ml milk
50g butter
zest 1 orange
1 cinnamon stick
2/3 cardamom pods
1 egg, beaten
500g strong plain flour
7g ( 1 sachet ) fast action yeast
1 teaspoon salt
50g caster sugar
1 teaspoon mixed spice
75g sultanas
For the cross
75g plain flour
For the glaze
3 tablespoons apricot jam
Heat the milk with the butter to just allow the butter to melt, add the orange zest, cinnamon stick and cardamom pods, set aside for a few minutes. Mix the flour, yeast, salt, sugar, mixed spice and sultanas together. Remove the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods from the milk mixture, split the cardamom pods, remove the seeds, add back the seeds and discard the outer pods. Add the egg to the mixture. Now add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and continue to mix for 5/7 minutes until smooth, tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 2/3 minutes. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film. Leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour or leave in the fridge overnight if more convenient. Divide the dough into 11/12 pieces (approx. 75g per piece) Roll each piece into a smooth ball. Arrange the buns on a lined baking sheet with parchment, cover with a clean tea towel and allow to prove for 1 hour. Set oven 200c gas 6. Mix 75g plain flour with 4/5 tablespoons water to make a paste for the cross. Spoon into a piping bag with a small nozzle. Pipe on to the buns to make the crosses. Bake to 20/25 minutes until golden brown. Heat the apricot jam and brush over the top of the warm buns.
