Hot Cross Buns Recipe and Happy Easter

There’s nothing better than the smell of fresh homemade Hot Cross Buns wafting through your kitchen. Warm bread + fragrant spices = heaven! The best part is that they are easier to make than you think and taste heavenly. I hope you get to try this out! Its so therapeutic to bake these gorgeous buns! You can even try out without piping the cross on these buns and skip that step all together.

I know nothing much has changed since last Easter... its around the same time when Covid started and its been a year... and we are still fighting this pandemic... and we all should be grateful that we have come this far.

Easter reminds us that hope must never be lost for as dark as the road may seem, there always lies light at the end of it. I hope this Easter will fill your home with peace, faith and joy! Wishing you all a Happy and Blessed Easter!

Here is the recipe to make these hot cross buns:

INGREDIENTS

Buns

·         2 packets dry, instant or rapid rise yeast, 1/2-oz. or 14 grams (just over 1 tablespoon)

·         1 1/2 cups warm milk (375 ml)

·         3/4 cup superfine sugar (130 grams)

·         4 1/2 cups bread flour or plain/all purpose, (645 grams) PLUS up to 1/4 cup extra if needed

·         2 teaspoons  mixed spice

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1 cup raisins, (5.4-oz. or 155 grams)

·         zest of an orange 2 tablespoons

·         1 large egg 

·         1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly (2.1-oz. or 60 grams)

To draw the Cross

·         1/2 cup all purpose or plain flour, (2.6-oz. or 75 grams)

·         5 tablespoons warm water

·         1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Glaze

·         1 tbsp jam, (orange marmalade or apricot jam – I used orange)

·         2 teaspoons boiling water

 

Method

1.       Mix yeast, milk and 2 teaspoons of the sugar in a small bowl to activate. Set aside until frothy on top, about 3-5 minutes.

2.       In a large bowl and combine flour, remaining sugar, all spice and salt. Give those dry ingredients a light whisk to combine, then add in the raisins and orange zest.

3.       Create a well in the centre of the dry ingredients; pour in the yeast, cooled melted butter and egg.

4.       If you are using a standmixer, Mix until a smooth elastic dough forms, about 5 minutes on low speed (setting 2). Add extra flour, 1 tablespoon at a time while mixing, ONLY if needed, until the dough JUST pulls away from sides of bowl (not too sticky). Or if you are using your hand to mix, knead the dough for about 10 minutes.

FIRST RISE

Lightly oil the same mixing bowl you worked with. Place dough inside bowl, cover with plastic cling wrap and place a dry tea towel over the top. Leave in a warm place to prove for 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Shape into Buns

1.       Line a deep 9 x 13-inch (31cm x 23cm) baking tray with baking paper. You want a piece long enough to create a slight over-hang for easier lifting once baked. Set aside.

2.       Remove cling wrap and punch down dough with fist to deflate and knock the air out. Transfer dough to a clean, lightly floured work surface.

3.       Knead dough for an additional minute or two to get remaining air out. Shape dough into a log and divide into 12 equal pieces (each piece should weigh about 4-oz. or 116-119 grams). Briefly roll each piece into a ball, evenly spacing them out on the tray as you go into rows of 3 x 4.

SECOND RISE

1.       Preheat oven to 180°C.

2.       Cover tray with plastic wrap; place dry tea towel over the top and leave in a warm place for an additional 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Pipe the Crosses

1. Mix flour and water to a thick-ish paste (like a thick pancake batter)
2. Grab a sandwich-sized ziplock bag. Snip corner to measure a 3mm hole (0.1-inch). Spoon paste into bag; carefully press the air out and SEAL the top. (Test hole is big enough by squeezing out some paste into a bowl first. If you can create a small straight line, you're ready to make your crosses. At this point you can add a little extra water to the paste ONLY IF needed).
3. Remove cling wrap and slowly pipe crosses onto buns. You want some paste to fall into and hug each roll/crevice so while they bake and rise up, the crosses don't break).

Bake

Place buns into preheated oven and bake for 22-25 minutes, or until deep, golden brown on top.

Glaze

1.       Transfer buns to a wire cooling rack.

2.       Mix jam  and boiling water together in a small bowl. Brush buns over with glaze, then leave to cool. 

3.       Allow to cool to just warm to the touch before serving.

Image copyright Tickled by Inspirations

Recipe Time: Poached Pears Recipe

If you want to make a sophisticated dessert that looks amazing, has no calories, packed with tons of flavour and easy to make then you should try this out. Poached pears are one of my favourite where my kitchen and home smells of aromatic spices. A treat that every family loves. I hope you enjoy making this for your friends and family and enjoy the countdown to Christmas!

 More recipes coming up for you to try!

Ingredients:

Vanilla Bean 1 stick

Zest and juice from a lemon

125 gm granulated sugar or half cup honey

Dried Hibiscus Flowers 20gm (you can subsititue this with wine)

Cinnamon Stick 1

Bay leaf 1

Star Anise 1

Cloves 2

4 small pears, peeled with stalks left on

Method

Put the hibiscus flowers in a saucepan with 600ml of water, lemon zest and sugar or honey, along with all the spices and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for ten minutes until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup has a deep red colour. Strain the liquid through a sieve and add lemon juice.

Pour the hibiscus flavoured liquid into a large saucepan in which the pears can lie in a single layer. Bring the liquid to simmering point and cover with a lid. Cook the pears until they are tender. This could take between ten and twenty minutes depending on the ripeness of the pears. Check how well the pears are cooked by piercing the flesh with a sharp knife. Keep turning the pears while they are cooking to get an even colour.

Once the pears are cooked remove them from the pan with a spoon and lay them on a serving dish. Boil the cooking liquid until you have about 200ml left. Please check for sweetness and flavour adding a little more lemon juice or sugar if required. Leave to cool before serving the pears with the syrup.

Serve it on a bed of vanilla flavoured yogurt and crushed pistachio and serve.

Tip
If you have time leave the pears in the cooking syrup overnight for a deeper colour and flavour.

Aboves pictures are copyright Tickled by Inspirations 

Lemon Blueberry Cake

This easy lemon blueberry cake is a burst of beautiful flavours and I call this a sunshine cake. Its moist, tender and bursting with lemon flavour and blueberries. It’s a great combo of flavours and a great show stopper dessert. I am going to share this recipe which didn’t fail me in my first shot. Try it out and do let me know how it turns out! This cake goes well with cream cheese frosting or buttercream. But I love it with Chocolate… because nothing can go wrong with chocolate!

This recipe is adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction

 

Serves 10 to 12

Ingredients

1 cup softened unsalted butter
1 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour 
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 Tablespoons lemon zest
1/2 cup lemon juice (3 medium lemons)
1 and 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour (to coat blueberries)


Method:

Preheat oven to177°C. If you want to make a layer cake grease three 9-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper, then grease the parchment paper. I used one 12inch pan.

Make the cake: Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high until creamy – about 1 minute. Add granulated and brown sugars and beat on medium speed until creamed, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until everything is completely combined, about 2 full minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Beat on low speed for 5 seconds, then beat in the milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice, just until combined. Toss the blueberries with 1 tablespoon of flour and gently fold into the batter. Batter is extremely thick. So do not over-mix as over-mixing will lead to a dense textured crumb.

Spoon batter evenly into 3 prepared cake pans. If you are only using 2 cake pans or 1 cake pan, your bake time will be longer. Bake the three layers for about 21-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan before assembling and frosting.

You can frost it with cream cheese frosting or buttercream or chocolate. They all work well with this cake. 

Above pictures are copyrighted Tickled by Inspirations.

Nutella and Orange Swirl Buns

I recently discovered that Nutella and Orange are a deadly combination and super addictive. These buns are so delicious and fun to make… and they are so pretty to look at! The dough for this recipe was so soft and moist and it came out so perfectly! And I must say that it is easy to make even though the process seems long. Please do try. This is a huge hit in our home and I look forward to baking more of these soon...  

This recipe is adapted from Anna Banana and I added my twist to it... 

Yield : 8 to 12 buns depending on the size

Ingredients

·      60 g unsalted butter cubed

·      250 ml milk 

·      15gm yeast

·      500 gm flour

·      100 gm caster sugar

·      1 egg

·      1 tsp salt

·      Nutella 5 to 6 tablespoon or more (please be generous with it!)

·      Orange Zest 1 to 2 tablespoon

Instructions

1.    Heat the milk in a small saucepan until lukewarm. If you are using dried active yeast, transfer about 150ml of lukewarm milk into separate jug and add 1 tsp of sugar. Stir to dissolve sugar and add active yeast. Stir it and set aside for 15 minutes to activate it. 

2.    Add cubed butter to your lukewarm milk, swirling the saucepan every now for the butter to melt and set it aside.

3.    In a bowl of a freestanding mixer fitted with hook attachment, mix the flour, sugar and salt. Once its mixed, add yeast, egg, milk and butter mixture. Mix together for 2 minutes on low speed. Increase the speed to high and mix for further 6-8 minutes until the dough is not sticking to the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough onto lightly floured surface, roll into a ball and place in a clean, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with clingfilm and let it rise somewhere warm for 2 hours or more until its doubled in size.

4.    Remove the dough from the bowl into a lightly floured surface. Gently knock out the air from it and stretch it into rough rectangle shape. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into large rectangle.

5.     The longer edge of the rectangle should be facing you and spread the Nutella over 2/3 of the rectangle, leaving 1/3 clean. (please be generous with the spread). Then sprinkle the orange zest over the Nutella spread. Fold the clean part of the rectangle towards the middle, then fold the other end of the dough on top of that. Using a rolling pin, roll it over the rectangle to flatten it out and to stretch the dough a bit. (please head to my Instagram page @tickled_by_inspirations, to see the process, it is saved in the highlights)

6.    Use a pizza cutter or a sharp knife to trim the edges of your rectangle. Slice the rectangle in half, then each half in half again, and again until you have 8 long strips of the dough. Starting at one end of the strip, rolling, tucking the end underneath. Place the rolled bun into baking tray lined with some baking parchment. Repeat the same process with all of the remaining strips.

7.    Cover the buns loosely with some cling film and set them aside to prove for at least an hour.

8.    Preheat the oven to 175C. Bake in the middle shelf of the oven for about 18 minutes or until golden brown and risen. Enjoy! Eat it warm.

Tips:

You can freeze these buns

You can sprinkle hazelnuts on the buns before baking for a nutty texture.

I hope you will enjoy baking these beauties and do drop a mail or a comment and let me know how it turns out!! Have a great and safe weekend!

Above pictures are copyrighted by Tickled by Inspirations

Churros Recipe to transport you to Spain and Mexico

Churros will always be my favorite comfort sugary snack. It not complicated to make… pretty straightforward. And it’s best to have it fresh and slightly warm! They are made with simple pantry-staple ingredients and fried to perfection…  And don’t let the deep frying scare you. Unfortunately I couldn’t take a video on how to fry it but do check online on how to do so. As long as you have a piping bag, a metal star tip and the enthusiasm to make a great treat, then you can make churros at home without breaking a sweat. So here is the recipe 

Ingredients

·         1 cup water

·         1 cinnamon stick

·         1/4 cup unsalted butter, diced into small cubes

·         1 Tbsp  granulated sugar

·         1/4 tsp salt

·         1 cup all-purpose flour 

·         1 large egg

·         1 tsp vanilla extract

·         Vegetable oil, for frying

For coating

·         1/3 cup to ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar

·         3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Method:

1.       For the coating whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon in a shallow dish, set aside.

2.       Heat about 1 1/2 inches vegetable oil in a large pot or deep skillet over medium-high heat to 360 degrees Fahrenheit. While oil is heating prepare batter.

3.       Add water, cinnamon, butter, half teaspoon of vanilla extract, sugar and salt to a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.

4.       Add flour reduce heat to low and cook and stir constantly with a rubber spatula until mixture comes together and is smooth (a few lumps in it are fine).

5.       Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl and let it cool for 5 minutes.

6.       Add the rest of the vanilla extract and egg to flour mixture then blend immediately with an electric mixer. Blend until mixture comes together and is smooth (it will separate at first but keep mixing it will come together).

7.       Transfer to a 16-inch piping bag fitted with a rounded star tip (no bigger than 1/2-inch). 

8.       Carefully pipe mixture into preheated oil, into about 6-inch lengths, cut end with clean scissors.

9.       Let it fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towels to dry briefly then transfer to cinnamon sugar mixture and roll to coat.

10.   Repeat process with remaining dough (frying no more than 5 at once). Serve warm with chocolate ganache or caramel sauce for dipping if desired.

Above pictures are copyrighted by Ticked by Inspirations

Recipe of the month: Triple Chocolate Trifle

Christmas celebrations are not complete without a trifle. And any kind of trifle will always look smashing on your Christmas table that has layers of goodness and cream! Trifle recipes are great to have in hand especially when you have to feed a large crowd. You can make it boozy or non- boozy which is purely your choice. As always I chose a hassle free and stress free recipe that’s tastes divine and looks gorgeous. This year I decided to stick to Chocolate trifle…. Because you can never go wrong with chocolate!! I was so happy the way it turned out and how it was wiped out clean. So this recipe has layers of brownie and dark chocolate cake, chocolate pudding, crushed chocolate nibbles for crunch and whipped cream. Try and bake the cake and brownie in advance to save time and trust me the rest will fall in place.


 Look no further if you are searching for a dessert recipe for your Christmas table. Here is the recipe for my favorite Chocolate Trifle



Ingredients


Baked brownies (Click here for my recipe) – cut into small squares


Baked dark Chocolate Cake (Click here for my recipe) – cut into small squares


I box of instant chocolate pudding


1 pkt of Maltesers or Mcvities Chocolate Nibbles


2 cups of whipped cream (already whipped stiff and kept aside)

Method

1.       Prepare your pudding as per the package directions.

2.       Crush the Maltesers or the chocolate nibbles but make sure they don’t turn too mushy.

3.       Layer about 1/3^rd of your cake cubes (dark chocolate and brownies) in your favorite trifle dish.

4.       For your next layer add a huge scoop (about 1/3^rd) of chocolate pudding over the cake pieces.

5.       Sprinkle the crushed Maltesers or chocolate nibbles on the pudding.

6.       And then spread whipped cream over it (again 1/3^rd of it).

7.       Repeat this process of layering two more times, ending with whipped cream. And garnish it with Maltesers and Chocolate Nibbles.

8.       Refrigerate it for at least two hours before serving.

Tips

• If you want to make it boozy, drizzle Irish cream liqueur on the cake.
• And if you do not have the time to bake brownies and cake, buy them and use it for the recipe. 
• This recipe can be made a day before and this saves time!

How easy was that?? I hope you enjoy making it! And if you do make, please email me and keep me posted. I always love to hear feedback. I hope you are enjoying the countdown to Christmas!!



Above pictures are copyright Tickled by Inspirations