These special coconut, goji berry and apple muffins are the perfect Easter feaster. Best made first thing in the morning and enjoyed straight from the oven with raw honey or unsalted French organic butter.
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Gluten Free Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients
Fruit mix
200 grams sultanas
100 grams fresh ginger, grated
60 grams goji berries
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon allspice
1 orange, juice and zest
1 lemon, zest and juice
Batter
700gm coconut flour
2 sachets yeast
375 milk
100 grams butter
1 egg
Flour paste
½ cup GF plain flour or coconut flour
4 to 5 tablespoons water
Syrup
325 grams coconut sugar
½ lemon, juice only
375 ml water
2 apples, cored and roughly chopped
½ lemon sliced into 5mm slices
1 cinnamon quill
4 cloves
1 vanilla bean, scraped
Instructions
- Combine all fruit mix ingredients and macerate 30 minutes. Meanwhile bring sugar, water and lemon juice in a saucepan until sugar has dissolved. Add apples and lemon slices.
- Reduce heat to medium and cook until lemon and apple are translucent (20-25 minutes). Strain, reserving fruit and syrup separately. When cool enough to handle, dice lemon, combine with apple and set aside.
- Combine macerated fruit with flour and yeast, add cooked, strained apple lemon mixture in a large bowl and make a well in the centre.
- Combine milk and butter in a small saucepan, warm over low heat until butter melts and mixture is lukewarm. Whisk in egg, then add milk mixture to flour, stirring to form a soft dough.
- Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (8-10 minutes). Place in a lightly buttered bowl, cover and stand in a warm place until doubled in size (30-40 minutes).
Knock back dough, divide into 20 even pieces, then knead each piece into a smooth ball – about the size of a tennis ball. Arrange dough balls in large round, oval or rectangular baking dishes lined with baking paper, leaving 1cm between each for dough to expand. Cover with a tea towel and stand in a warm place until doubled in size (30-40 minutes). - Meanwhile make the flour paste for the crosses. Mix flour and water together in a small bowl until smooth, adding a little more water if paste is too thick. Spoon into a piping bag and pipe flour paste over tops of buns to form crosses.
- Preheat oven to 220 C. Bake for 10 minutes, reduce oven to 200 C. and bake until golden and buns sound hollow when tapped (8-10 minutes).
- Now combine reserved syrup and remaining ground cinnamon in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until syrupy and combined. Brush thickly over hot buns, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.