Sticky Glazed Hot Cross Buns

In a bowl of a stand mixer add the flour, mixed spice, nutmeg, and citrus zest. Mix on low just to combine everything.

In a small saucepan pour in the milk and add the sugar. Mix together, then gently heat until the milk mixture reaches body temperature; 37°C. Watch this, as it doesn't take long to warm. If it's too hot, the yeast will become inactive when it's added. Remove from the heat and then stir in the yeast. Leave it to the side for around 5 - 10 minutes, until it looks frothy.

Meanwhile, prepare the fruit mix. In a medium-sized saucepan add the raisins, chopped figs or mixed peel, marmalade, vanilla extract, and cognac. Place over high heat and cook until the alcohol has evaporated and the fruit has absorbed some of the liquid; there should be no residual liquid at the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and set it aside in a seperate container to aid the cooling process.

By now the yeast-milk mixture should be frothy. Add this to the stand mixer along with the beaten egg and mix on low. Scrape the sides, if necessary, and increase the speed to form a ball of dough. Continue to mix on medium speed for about 5 - 8 minutes to develop the gluten. When the dough looks smooth and is pulling away slightly from the sides, begin to add the cubed butter in small additions. Keep slowly adding in the butter until it is all well incorporated and there are no visible lumps of butter. The dough should be sticky, look tender, and most importantly, glossy and shiny. Add the fruit mixture and mix again until all the fruit is evenly distributed throughout the dough. Scrape down the sides, dust lightly with flour, place a tea-towel over the top, and prove in a warm spot (I use the hot water cupboard) for around 30 - 45 minutes until the dough has doubled—or thereabouts—in size.

When the dough has risen, punch it down and remove from the bowl onto a clean floured surface. Bring together to form a ball and then cut into 16 even balls of dough. Roll each piece of dough into a ball then place on a large oven tray lined with baking paper and sprinkled with flour. Arrange them around the entire tray with a gap between them; they will rise and come closer to each other. This is what we want. Place a tea-towel over the tray and, again, leave to prove in a warm spot for another 30 minutes until enlarged.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6 or 200°C fan-forced. In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and water until smooth. Transfer into a piping bag or zip lock bag with a small bit of the end cut off. Set aside for later.

Into a small saucepan, heat together the treacle, sugar, vanilla extract, and juice. Bring this to a boil and continue to boil for about 2 minutes or until the liquid takes on a slight viscous quality. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Once the buns have risen, pipe crisscrosses on each one. Then place into the oven for 15 minutes. Be careful with the placement of the tray as some of the outer buns may begin to burn—centre-low of the oven works best. After 15 minutes, remove from the oven and then using a pastry brush glaze each bun. A couple coats should do the trick. Then place back into the oven for a further 5 minutes until the buns look shiny, glossy, and golden. Remove from the oven and then immediately brush with another coat of glaze. Leave them for 10 minutes to cool, then rip in!

Cut them in half and—without care—lather with butter and sandwich together. Enjoy warm with a cup of tea and loved ones.