Gluten-Free Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns are an Easter classic, especially in the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth, but with their blend of dried fruits, zests, and spices, they make an excellent sweet treat any time of year.

This recipe was provided by our friends at the Gluten-Free Palate.

Ingredients

Hot Cross Buns

• 1 ½ cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
• 5 Tablespoon cornstarch
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoon dry quick yeast
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• ⅓ teaspoon cinnamon
• ⅓ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• ⅓ cup dried currants
• 3 Tablespoon dried cranberries
• 2 Tablespoon crushed almonds
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon orange peel
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup melted butter

Glaze

• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 2 Tablespoon orange juice (or milk)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 360°F. Pour flour, starch, sugar, quick dry yeast, and cream of tartar into a deep bowl, mix with a whisk.
2. Add spices, lemon and orange zest, salt, and mix again.
3. Add vinegar, vanilla, and butter.
4. Add eggs and start mixing everything. As a result, you should get a soft sticky dough, do not add a lot of flour, otherwise it will turn out to be too dense. If you see that there is not enough liquid, pour in some milk.
5. Add dried currants, dried cranberries, and chopped almonds.
6. Stir again, cover the bowl with cling film and leave for half an hour in a warm place. During this time, the dough will increase slightly in size and become even softer and fluffier.
7. Divide the dough into 6 parts.
8. Form each piece of dough into a small bun about 3 inches in diameter. Transfer the buns to a baking sheet lined with parchment, cover with cling film and leave for another 15 minutes.
9. On top of each bun, make an incision in the shape of a cross.
10. Grease each bun with sweet water made from a teaspoon of powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons of water. Put the buns in the oven and bake for about half an hour. Remove the buns from the oven and let cool slightly.
11. Make a glaze with orange juice and powdered sugar. If you want the glaze to be perfectly white, use milk or water instead of orange juice. Lemon juice is also suitable.
12. Apply glaze to the cross-shaped cuts on the buns and leave to dry. Hot cross buns can be tasted as soon as they have cooled down a bit.