Traditionally Lent and Easter must have been a bit of a culinary rollercoaster. Indulgence on Shrove Tuesday followed by fasting from Ash Wednesday through to the Easter Weekend, followed by a feast and chocolate eggs on Easter Sunday.
Easter isn’t Easter without Hot Cross Buns. The smell of the fragrant spices and fruit as you bake/toast them is brilliant. I wasn’t quite sure how Hot Cross Buns fitted in with the fasting during Lent, but Wikipedia came to my aid.
Apparently Hot Cross Buns originated with the Saxons, with the cross dividing the bun into four, with each quarter representing one of the four phases of the moon. Christians, who traditionally eat them on Good Friday, believe the cross is representative of the Crucifixion. Due to their religious connotations, protestant England attempted to ban bakers from selling the buns. However, due to their popularity, the ban was not successful and Queen Elizabeth I passed a law which only permitted the sale of Hot Cross Buns at Easter and Christmas.
Hot cross buns belong on the list of things that you can easily buy, but taste so much better home made, along with mince pies, fresh bread and marmalade. We used Nigella’s recipe, although with some minor tweaks (lots more spices for one thing, and half as many, but twice buns for another). It would have been useful to have a piping bag for the crosses, but all things considered they were a triumph. They had more fruit than the average shop bought bun and a delicious glaze on the top. Next time we will increase the fruit and spice content even more!
