Hippety Hoppity!

It's Easter! Time for chocolate hangovers and hot cross buns coming out the wahzoo. So here's an easy recipe for hot cross buns (guess what we're having for breakfast??).

Hot Cross Buns
(makes 12)
Ingredients:
1 tbsp dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm milk
1/2 cup sugar (I use raw sugar)
4 1/2 cups plain flour
2 tsp mixed spice
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup dried cranberries
1 egg
50g melted butter

Method:
In a large bowl add the sugar, flour, yeast, mixed spice, cinnamon and dried fruit. Mix until combined.

Make a well in the centre and add the melted butter, egg and milk.

Use a butter knife to mix then tip out onto a lightly floured bench and knead for 8 minutes or until smooth and elastic (add more flour or milk if dough is too sticky or dry).

Place dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (I left mine overnight so the dough would be ready to bake for breakfast).

Take dough out and knead lightly then portion into 12 segments of roughly equal size.

Roll into balls with your hands and arrange on a greased baking tin (I prefer a tin for buns and rolls as the heat up the sides gives a more even cooking).

Allow to rise in a warm place for another 40 minutes. Use this time to preheat the oven to about 200C and make up a mixture for the crosses.

Crosses: mix flour and water till it is a wet paste and pipe over the buns.

Glaze mixture: 1/4 cup hot water, 3 tbsp of caster sugar.

Bake for 10 mins then turn oven down to 180C and cook for another 20-25 mins or until springy to touch.

Brush glaze over them as soon as they are out of the oven. Eat hot or allow to cool!

Blueberry Breakfast

I thought I'd make French Toast Cups this morning and fill them with blueberries and maple yoghurt for breakfast. I thought that's what I'd do.... till I discovered that all the bread in the house had gone mouldy! The unexpectedly humid weather we've been having recently has taken it's toll. So with PlanA so obviously dashed against a mouldy wall, I had to come up with a PlanB. So here it is...

Blueberry Muffins with Maple Yoghurt and Mango:

(makes 12)
Ingredients:
1 cup self-raising flour
1 tbsp sugar
4 eggs
2 - 3 tbsp milk
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 punnet blueberries

Yoghurt Dressing:
1 1/2 cups plain yoghurt
1 - 2 tbsp maple syrup (use the good stuff not the maple flavoured syrup... you don't need much)

Mango diced
Spray oil for greasing muffin tin

Method:
Preheat oven to 190C. Grease muffin tin.

Beat eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the flour a little at a time and mix. You should have the consistency of pancake/hotcake mix.

Pour into muffin tins (only fill to 3/4). Add blueberries (I added about 8 to each muffin... the more blueberries, the juicier!). Bake for 20 minutes (or until golden brown and a skewer inserted comes out dry).

While the muffins are cooking, peel and dice the mango (I used one R2E2 which was more than enough) and mix the yoghurt and maple syrup.

When muffins are done, allow to rest 5 minutes (this makes it much easier to remove from the muffin tin - remember there are no liners or patty pans).

Arrange muffins in bowls, pour over maple yoghurt and sprinkle with mango. Yum.