Homemade hot cross buns

These come with a warning on a few levels:

• They taste amazing so be careful you don't eat the whole tray!

• They take a lot of effort and patience to make - much, much more than simply picking up a packet from a supermarket.

• I wouldn't call them 'simple' to make and wouldn't usually post a recipe with this much effort but since it is Easter, many of us are wanting to do something special and this recipe is exactly that, special!

• If you are going to try it - you MUST use 'bakers flour' - not plain flour.  I have made this rookie error a few times because I was just being stubborn but don't waste your time with plain flour - they don't turn out any where near as good. 

I certainly don't blame you if you look at this recipe and think "NO WAY"  but I just wanted to try it and judging by the comments on my earlier post, some of you may want to as well. 

I found this recipe on the Thermomix recipe community website and adapted it to try and cut down a few steps.  (http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/baking-sweet-recipes/best-hot-cross-buns-light-fluffy/152095)

I have included both TMX and non-TMX versions depending on what equipment you have at home. 

Happy Easter and goodluck!!

Amanda xx

INGREDIENTS

Dough

• 4 tsp dry/instant yeast
• 620 g bakers flour - not ordinary plain flour
• 50 g sugar
• 380 g milk
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp mixed spice
• 60 g Butter
• 1 egg
• 250 g sultanas

Paste for Crosses

• 90 g bakers or plain flour
• 100 g water
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Glaze

• 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp sugar

THE THERMOMIX WAY

1.  Add milk and yeast into TMX bowl and heat for 3 mins, 37 degrees, speed 1. 

2.  Add in all other dough ingredients (excl sultanas) and mix for 15 seconds, speed 7. 

3. Knead for 2 mins.

4. Add sultanas and knead for a further minute. 

5. Place in a large bowl, cover and allow to sit somewhere warm for 1 hr or until doubled in size. 

6. Once risen, punch dough down then turn out onto a floured surface and knead with your hands for a few minutes to bring it all together. 

7. Divide dough into approx 18 small balls and place close together on a lined oven tray.

8. Set aside for approx 20 mins and allow buns to rise.

9. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.  You can now pipe the crosses onto the buns or skip this step altogether.  To make the crosses, mix together flour, water, salt and oil.  Mix for 30 seconds, speed 4. Scoop into a zip lock bag and snip off the end.  Pipe the crosses onto the buns. 

10.  Place in preheated oven for 20 mins or until golden and cooked through. If you feel they are browning a little too quickly, cover the top with baking paper. 

11.  Remove from the oven and make the glaze.  Add water and sugar into TMX and cook 2 mins, 100 degrees, speed 4.   Brush buns with hot syrup. 

AND FINALLY.... EAT!

THE NON-THERMOMIX WAY

I will be honest when I say that I haven't tried this method yet.  I have just converted the TMX version for all of you who don't have one.  The process is the same but you need to use your microwave and electric mixer instead. 

1. Warm the milk in the microwave for 2 mins.  Pour into a large mixing bowl.  Add yeast.  Whisk until combined. 

2.  Add in all other dough ingredients (excl sultanas) and mix together using the dough hooks of your electric mixer. Knead until it is a smooth dough consistency.

3.  Add sultanas and continue to knead until sultanas are incorporated into the dough. 

4.  Cover and set aside somewhere warm for 1 hr or until doubled in size. 

5. Once risen, punch dough down then turn out onto a floured surface and knead with your hands for a few minutes to bring it all together. 

6. Divide dough into approx 18 small balls and place close together on a lined oven tray.

7. Set aside for approx 20 mins and allow buns to rise.

9. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.  You can now pipe the crosses onto the buns or skip this step altogether.  To make the crosses, mix together flour, water, salt and oil in a bowl.  Whisk until it forms a smooth paste. Scoop into a zip lock bag and snip off the end.  Pipe the crosses onto the buns. 

10.  Place in preheated oven for 20 mins or until golden and cooked through. If you feel they are browning a little too quickly, cover the top with baking paper. 

11.  Remove from the oven and make the glaze.  Add water and sugar into a small bowl and stir to combine. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir until the sugar has dissolved. You may need to microwave again.  Brush buns with hot syrup. 

AND FINALLY.... EAT!

Step by step guide to making a Christmas pudding

For me, Christmas pudding is the most important food item on my table on Christmas day.  Since enjoying a homemade pudding many years ago, there is no going back and even though they take a bit of effort and a whole lot of time to boil away on the stove, when you smell and taste it -  it is worth every minute!

You can make them months in advance or days in advance and I made our Christmas pudding today.  It is actually really easy but does involve a few steps so I have tried to list them in detail below with photos to make it easy to follow.

I am not sure if many of you can be bothered going to this effort when you can pick one up from the shops but if you are thinking about it, I would definitely urge you to give it a go for Christmas this year and I promise you won't be disappointed.  It feeds a large group (approx 12) and served with brandy sauce, custard or icecream (or all 3) it will be the hit of the day.

Extra things you will need - some calico cloth (approx 70cm x 70cm).  You can buy this from Spotlight, Lincraft or other haberdashery store.  You will also need some string to tie up the pudding.

Let me know how you go,
Amanda

Christmas pudding

• 250g butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 5 eggs
• 2 Tbspn golden syrup
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• ½ cup brandy or sherry
• 250g sultanas
• 250g currants
• 250g raisins
• Pudding cloth 70cm x 70cm
• string

1. In a large bowl, add sultanas, currants & raisins. Pour brandy over fruit. Cover & leave
overnight.

2. In a large bowl, beat butter & sugar for 5 mins or until creamy. Gradually add eggs & beat
well. Add golden syrup & beat to combine. Don't be alarmed if the mixture is very sloppy.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, spices &bicarb of soda. Add this to the butter mixture
& beat to combine.

4. Add breadcrumbs & beat well.

5. Add fruit & brandy mixture & beat well.

6. Dip pudding cloth into boiling water & spread out into the inside of a large empty bowl.
Sprinkle the cloth with sifted flour to prevent the pudding sticking to the cloth.

7. Tip mixture into cloth. Pull each side of the cloth up to fully enclose the mixture. Approx
3cm above the top of the pudding, tie up the cloth as tightly as possible with string.

8. Fill a large pot, half way with water & bring to the boil. Place wrapped pudding into pot.
Reduce to medium heat & gently boil for 4 hrs. *Optional - pop half an orange into boiling
water & leave during cooking time. Check water level during cooking time & top up
water if required.

9. Remove the pudding from the water & hang on a coat hanger hook until the cloth dries
(usually overnight).

10. Refrigerate or freeze until required.

11. Just prior to eating, boil the pudding for an additional 1 hr.  Serve warm or cold with custard or ice cream.



NOTES:

• For the pudding cloth I used calico which can be purchased from haberdashery stores such as Lincraft, Spotlight etc.

• In step 7, ensure you leave 3cm between the top of the pudding & the
string as the pudding expands during cooking.

How to decorate a pirate ship cake

I have decorated a lot of kids cakes over the years but haven't attempted a pirate ship.  That is until my 3 year old decided that he would like one for his 4th birthday. I googled a few images and came up with one I loved and thought I could do.  I had neither the time or patience to replicate it exactly so I improvised and ended up with this:

My kids loved it as did all the kids who came to the party.  It was actually pretty easy to decorate and took approx 2 hrs.

I admit that I didn't actually bake the cake... I know, I know but I feel that if I am spending 2 hrs decorating it, that is enough time spent for me.   I cheat a little with my kids cakes and buy a half slab cake from the Woolworths bakery.  At the time of writing this, half a slab of sponge cake (with no icing) is $20.  You can get it in chocolate or vanilla sponge cake.  You can also get a mud cake with no ganache on it for just a little extra ($28).

What you need:

• Half slab cake or equivalent home baked cakes (you might need approx 4 square cakes).

• Lots of butter cream or icing that you prefer.  I used 200g butter, 4 cups icing sugar (sifted), 3 tsp vanilla & 2 Tbspn milk. Add enough cocoa to make the icing dark chocolate.  You will also need blue food colouring.

• 4 x Curly wurley chocolate bars

• Chocolate bullets

• Licorice strap

• 2 Oreo biscuits (or anything you have in your cupboard)

• Chocolate coins

• Black cardboard

• Wooden skewers

Step 1 - Start by making a batch of icing.  Take a little out into a separate container (which you will tint with blue icing later) and add cocoa to the large batch to make chocolate icing.

Step 2 - Cut out a rectangle with a pointed end out of the cake. This will be the base of the ship. See picture below. Ensure you cut it from the edge of the cake to leave enough room to cut out another shape the same size. You can vary the size of the ship depending on the amount of people you have coming to your party.

Step 3 - Cut out another shape, identical to the one above and place it on top of the bottom shape - to make 2 layers.

Step 4 - Using the left over cake, cut out a rectangle and a triangle to make the 3rd layer as shown below.

Step 5 - Cover the entire cake with chocolate icing. I used a chocolate cake with chocolate icing so if pieces of cake get mixed through the icing, it wasn't too noticeable.

Step 6 - Decorate the cake.  I used the curly wurley bars as railings of the ship.  I trimmed the bottom off so they didn't stand up too high and fall over in the heat but you can do whatever you like.

I also used licorice strap cut into small slices and stuck to the side of the cake to look like some rope. The licorice is already curled because of the way it is stored in the package so cut off a thin slice and it is perfect on the side of the ship.

I used Oreo biscuits (halved) for the port holes and chocolate bullets to look like a ladder.

I rummaged through the cupboard and came up with a few marshmallows and some chocolate coins which I also added for decoration. You can use whatever you like but the chocolate coins fit perfectly with the theme.

My son had some pirate toys which I used on the cake such as a small chest & pirate figures. Use your imagination and whatever you have lying around. You do not need to spend lots of money, just try and use what you have.

Once you are happy with the cake, tint the white icing with blue colouring and pipe around the bottom of the cake.  To save time you can swipe it around the bottom of the cake with a knife to give a crashing wave effect.

Step 7 - Make the sails of the ship.  I searched Google Images for skull and crossbones and came up with the following image.  I copied it into Microsoft word and resized it a few times.  Then I printed it out and picked the one that was best sized for the pirate ship.

I cut out some black cardboard sails and taped them to some wooden skewers.  I then glued the skull picture to the front of the rectangle sail which will go in the middle of the ship.

Just prior to the party starting, poke the sails into the cake.  I made this cake the night before and covered it overnight without the sails.  I didn't want them to droop or fall over during the night.  

This cake was a big hit with all that came to the party, especially my kids who thought mum was a great cake maker. 

Rainbow cake

This cake is NOT quick & is quite fiddley but I had to share it as the results are AMAZING!! Follow this procedure & you can't go wrong  I made this for my daughters 3rd birthday and she nearly wet her pants when she cut it open. If I am going to be honest, it took me about 3 hrs from start to finish but for special occasions, it is worth it!

This cake features in my eBook 'Kids Party Food' which can be purchased for $5.95.

Enjoy,
Amanda xx

RAINBOW CAKE

• 2 pkts vanilla sponge cake mix + ingredients (eggs, milk, butter)
• Food colouring - red, yellow, green & blue

Buttercream

• 500g butter
• 1 kg icing sugar, sifted
• 3 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 pkts pink musk sticks
• 1 pkt coloured musk sticks
• sprinkles to decorate

Makes cakes

1. Preheat oven to 160 °C. Grease 2 x 20cm round cake tins & line the bases with baking paper.

2. In a large bowl, make up the vanilla cake batter.

3. Separate evenly into 6 bowls (approx 1 cup of batter per bowl) & add colour to each bowl until desired colour is reached. You will need quite lot of colouring to get the bright vibrant colours or the cake might look dull.

4. Pour 1 colour into 1 tin, & another colour into the other tin. Bake in preheated oven for 15 mins. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Refrigerate the cooked cakes which will make it easier to handle when assembling the cake.

5. Repeat with remaining colours until you have 6 coloured cakes.

Make buttercream

1. In a large bowl, beat butter for 10 mins until pale & creamy. Add icing sugar & vanilla & beat until light & fluffy.

Assemble cake

1. Assemble cake by placing purple layer on the plate. Top with 6 Tbspn of cream & evenly cover the top of the layer. Place blue layer on top & another 6 Tbspn of cream. Evenly cover the top. You may need to use extra cream to prop up the edges if they are sagging. Repeat with remaining layers until the red layer goes on top.

2. Cover the entire cake in a think layer of frosting.

3. Place musk sticks around the cake & top with sprinkles.

Novelty cakes - My success & failures

Memories from my childhood include all the novelty cakes that my mum spent hours decorating for my parties which I think is the main reason why I love looking through the old Women's Weekly Kids Cake book.  It brings me back to a time when life was uncomplicated and fun.

Now I am making the same cakes for my own children and realise how long it actually takes to do a novelty cake. A BLOODY LONG TIME!!  I made a racing car for my son's first birthday (from the old Women's Weekly book) and made a total mess of it.  Luckily, my mum was on hand at the time and gave me some great advice "it doesn't matter if you make a mistake - just piece it all together & cover it with icing".   I think the icing was 2 inches thick on this cake.  I was also quite naive and thought I could decorate it on the morning of the party... ha ha!!  Thanks to mum again for insisting that I do it the night before because it took waaaaaaay longer than I thought it would.   The cardboard cut-out still cracks me up when I look at it! I still don't know if you could call this cake a success or a failure as it was a bit of a mess under all that icing...

When my life got busier I started to cheat a little in the cake department. Buying a slab cake was the way to go as it gave me a huge canvas to cut and mould to the shape that I wanted without joining together 4 cakes under a mountain of icing.  I still spend hours decorating them - with lots of love of course!

And the best part is seeing their little faces when they wake up in the morning and peer in the cake box.  It makes it worth the hours bent over the kitchen table sticking on smarties.

My cakes are always much bigger than they need to be - it must be the Italian in me!!

I have attached a few of my favourites which may inspire you (or make you laugh..). Take a look:

I love this cake of 'Bruce the shark from Nemo'.
For some reason I remember it to be better than it looks now but I still love it.  

My littlest man's first birthday cake. 

Hmmm.. I think you can chalk this next one up as a 'failure'.  My daughter wanted a pink pool but it looks more like a blood bath.  I also didn't have enough room in my fridge and stupidly left it out on the bench for a few hours.  When I looked at it again, most of the jelly was melted and it looked like a wreck.  I quickly made some space in the fridge and salvaged the jelly.  Lucky this cake was for our family only!!

This next cake is one that my mum made for my brother when he was young.  The quality of the photo isn't the best but you can see the little babies floating around.  

My family is MAD Hawthorn supporters so of course I had to fit a few Hawks cakes in here.  These are 2 that I have decorated for the men in my family that have turned 60..

When my dad turned 60, I tried to create a cake that was a replica of his newly purchased caravan.  Ummm.. it didn't turn out exactly like I expected but you can kind of tell what it is... can't you?? Not my best effort but the thought was there!

My daughter picked out this next cake for her 4th birthday.  She had been eyeing it off from the original Women's Weekly cake book for a long time and finally she could have it.  She took it to kindy on her first day and it was a hit with all her new friends.  The castle cake held fond childhood memories for me too as my mum made me one very similar that I got to take to kindy and share with my friends a LONG time ago.

Another one from the archives but how cool is this cake?  There was an old woman who lived in a shoe...  I still remember when I saw this cake for the first time and thought how amazing it was that my mum could actually make this!! Especially the pretty garden around the outside but you can't really see that in this pic as it is a bit blurry. Good on you mum!!  

This next cake I made whilst working on my 'Kids Party Food' ebook.  I had never made one before and it took a long time to get perfect but was worth the effort when my daughter cut into it.  Her face just lit up!!

When my step son turned 18, his present was a sky-dive and of course, the cake had to match.  

It was a massive cake and turned out much better than I thought it would.  I didn't have a plan, I just bought a slab cake and started cutting...

My final cake to share is a dragon cake.  I saw a similar picture on google of a dinosaur and turned it into a dragon with wings that I made from cutting out a cloth carry bag and stuck some wooden skewers in them to make them stand up.  My little man and all his friends absolutely loved it.

I have lots more cakes that I haven't added to this blog but I hope you have enjoyed looking at the ones I have included and that it may give you some inspiration if you are in need. 

How to decorate a fairy cake

I decorated this cake for my daughters 5th birthday and it was a real hit with her and all her friends.  It is quite easy to do and only took approx 1.5hrs to decorate. Here is a step by step list to follow if you want to try & recreate this cake for your child.

I didn't make the cake as I don't have a tin or oven large enough and the thought of baking 4 cakes to join together didn't really appeal to me.  So I ordered a half slab chocolate sponge cake from the Woolworths bakery (cost $19) which saved me a lot of time in the kitchen.

What you need:

• 1/2 slab cake (un-iced) $19.95
• 3 cupcakes
• butter cream frosting (400g butter, 8 cups icing sugar, 2 Tbspn vanilla, 5 Tbspn thickened cream)
• 2 x flake bars
• lollies to decorate
• green & blue food colouring
• cocoa
• small fairy figurines
• licorice strap

Step 1.  Make the butter cream frosting (or any other icing of choice).  

I made quite a lot of frosting as I didn't want to run out and have to make another batch.  I used 400g butter, 8 cups icing sugar, 2 Tbspn vanilla, 5 Tbspn thickened cream.   Beat butter for 3 mins until light & creamy.  Add sifted icing sugar & vanilla.  Beat thoroughly.  Add cream & beat until smooth & glossy.

Transfer some butter frosting in a large bowl & tint with green food colouring. Reserve some frosting (uncoloured) for the stream & hut. Cover the entire cake (top & sides) with the green icing.

Step 2 - Fairy hut

Use some of the uncoloured frosting and stir in some sifted cocoa to make it brown in colour.  Using 2 cupcakes, cover them in the chocolate icing. Break up some flake chocolate bars and place on the roof of the hut. Decorate the hut with lollies. Place it on the cake.

Step 3 - Stream

Using the spare cupcake, cover it with chocolate icing which will be the top of the stream. Place it on the cake.  Colour some of the butter cream with blue frosting.  Using a knife, place the icing onto the cake to make it look like a stream running down from the top of the cupcake.  If you have any white icing left over, swirl a little through the stream to make it look like white water.

 

Step 4 - Garden

Make a fairy garden with the lollies you have.  I stacked them on top of each other with toothpicks to give a 3D effect.

Step 4 - Finish the decorating

Using your lollies of choice, decorate the cake. I used some spare flake bar and placed it around the stream, placed freckles on the path and around the cake etc.  I also used some licorice strap to make a bridge over the stream.  Fairy figurines are a great addition to this cake also.

And there you go, cake is decorated!

For great kids party ideas, check out my eBook 'Kids Party Food'.  Only $5.95 and available from www.foodbefore5.com.au