I love the flavours of hot cross buns. The aromatic zest of the orange, warming spices and studded with plump sultanas. I wanted to incorporate those flavours into some more baked goods.
Muffins seemed like a great idea and so the recipe took form. These are
- Moist
- Delicious
- Zesty
- Fruity
I wanted these to be deep muffins so that I could pack as much flavour in as possible. Soaking the fruit in the juice of an orange for 20 Minutes, not only plumps up the dried fruit making them juicier but gives you a bigger hit of the sweet orange juice.
To keep them looking similar to hot cross buns a cross is piped on top with frosting.
What ingredients do I need to make these hot cross bun muffins
Butter
Make sure your vegan butter is unsalted or your muffins will taste salty
Orange zest
Make sure you zest your orange straight into the bowl of fruit or you will miss out on the lovely citrus oils.
Dried fruit
You have lots to choose from
- Cranberries (lovely with orange)
- Sultana
- Raisins
- Golden sultanas
- Currants
Gluten-free self raising flour
Check the ingredients of your flour. If xanthan gum is not listed, then you will need to add 1/2 tsp. If you want to use wheat flour just use the same amount.
Bicarbonate of soda
You need this to make the cake batter rise and to keep the texture of your baked good light.
Hot Cross Bun Muffins
Description
Chocolate Hot Cross Bun Muffins
Ingredients
To Decorate
Instructions
- In a small bowl add the dried fruit of your choice, the spices, orange zest and juice. Mix and then leave for 20 minutes to soak.
- After 10 minutes preheat the oven to 180C/ Gas Mark 4 and line a muffin tin with 12 cases.
- Add the lemon juice to the milk, stir and set aside to curdle. Mix your flax egg by adding warm water to the ground flaxseed. Stir and leave for 5 minutes.
- To a large bowl sieve the flour, xanthan gum, bicarb and a pinch of salt. Next, add the sugar and mix through.
- To the dry ingredients add the soaked fruit (with juice), the milk, melted butter and flax egg gel. Combine thoroughly using a spatula.
- Fill the cases 3/4 way and place in the oven on the middle shelf. Bake for 20-25 minutes until they are well risen and firm to touch.
- Leave on a wire rack to cool. Once completely cooled pipe a cross onto the tops using some vanilla frosting or dust with icing sugar.
Notes
- Make sure you use nice deep muffin cases for this recipe.
- If you are using a different egg substitute, then just follow the instructions on the packet. If you are not vegan then 1 egg is needed instead.
- Make sure to check the ingredients of your flour to see if it contains xanthan gum, some gluten-free self-raising flours do contain it.
If you decide to give this recipe a try, please don’t forget to tag me on Twitter as @veganalchemist1 or my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/thegfveganalchemist I love seeing your versions of the recipes. I would love to hear your comments too. Feedback is so important.
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