Hot Cross Scones

So it’s coming up to the time of year of the chocolate bonanza.
Where we will gorge ourselves on a variety of cocoa confectionary until we lay back with our distended stomachs in the air and call for the next instalment of Easter, the Hot Cross Bun.
Now, I’m a big fan of this versatile little bun. Whether it is un-toasted, smothered in butter and jam and snaffled, toasted with a slice of cheese, (go on, try it, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the taste sensation), or any combination of the above. The sweet and savoury potential of this bun makes it, in my opinion, a King amongst simple snacks – well, a Prince at least.
So this year I decided to have a go at making my own.
I searched a number of recipes and all seemed very similar, but I wanted a yeast free recipe and decided to give one a go that I found on bestrecipes.com.au
It seemed very quick and easy, (which I need as I’m only just finding my baking feet), so I gave it a bash.

The recipe was as follows;

3 cups self-raising flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon mixed spice
½ teaspoon cinnamon
60 g butter
4 tablespoons sugar
½ cup sultanas and raisins
1 egg beaten
1 cup milk

Crosses
½ cup plain flour
⅓ cup water

Glaze
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon gelatine
1 tablespoon hot water

Method

Preheat oven to 220°C.
Sift dry ingredients into a bowl.
Rub in butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Stir sugar and egg into dry ingredients, and enough milk to form a soft dough.
Turn onto a floured board, knead lightly.
Pat out to approximately 1 cm thickness and, using a 5 cm round cutter, cut into buns.
Place onto lightly greased oven tray.

Crosses: Mix together flour and water to make a soft paste. Using a piping bag and small plain tube, pipe a cross on each bun.

Bake at 220°C for 12-15 minutes.
Remove from oven and brush buns with glaze.

Glaze: Dissolve sugar and gelatine in hot water, mix

Having already fallen fowl of not following a brownie recipe to the letter I meticulously followed the method of this one to the letter.
HOWEVER, what I was left with was a very wet batter that just stuck to the bowl and my hands.
Frustrated I cleaned myself up and made a cup of tea.
“Where did I go wrong??”
I decided that I would try to form a round shape with the mixture using two large spoons and see what happened.
Like some sort of cookie dough I spooned the mixture onto baking parchment and put them in the oven for 15 minutes.
The bell of the timer chimed to let me know that my creations were ready and with trepidation I opened the oven door.
What I was presented with was pleasantly surprising. The little balls had puffed up nicely and resembled something between rock cakes and scones.
I tapped the bottom and the slightly hollow sound told me that whatever I had actually created was cooked.
I broke one of the little rocks open to find a delightfully fluffy centre, from which emanated the most delicious smell of hot cross bun.
The sweet aroma of the mixed spice and cinnamon filled my olfactory system and I raised a morsel to my mouth.
I had managed to created a cake type snack rather than a bready one, that looked like a scone but tasted like a hot cross bun.
This was kitchen alchemy at its best, a culinary mistake that had a great end result.
The following day, hoping that it wasn’t a fluke, I made the mixture again – adding slightly more fruit and spice and tried again.
They turned out exactly the same way, deliciously light scone like texture, but with the heady spiced aroma of hot cross buns.
Where I went wrong was adding too much milk and having the mixture too wet, but to be honest, I don’t mind that I failed in making the buns, what I had created was something quite tasty and as far as I know, unique.
Welcome to the world my Hot Cross Scones.

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