Spice Up Your Store-Bought Hot Cross Buns

PB & J Hot Cross Buns

If you're a stickler for tradition, this spiced up hot crossie may be just up your alley. All you need are three classic ingredients:

• Your choice of hot cross bun (though we suggest choc chip filled if you can find them)
• Any kind of nut butter
• Raspberry jam

The recipe is just as simple. All you need to do is turn your oven up to 160º, cut your hot cross buns in half lengthways and toast them for about eight to ten minutes. Then spread a generous amount of nut butter onto half of the warm buns and top with a dollop of jam. Sandwich together and enjoy!

Hot Cross Bun Banana Split 

You may have seen a ton of hot cross bun ice cream sandwich recipes, but this one takes the humble bun and turns it into a decadent banana split. We recently came across this recipe on the Foodies of SA Instagram page and gave it a try. After tucking in, we must concur that it is quite delicious.

Ingredients:

• 6 tbsp butter ⁠
• 6 SPAR Freshline Caramel & Chocolate Flavour Hot Cross Buns⁠
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon ⁠
• 6 medium bananas⁠
• 6 scoops vanilla & caramel ice cream ⁠
• Roasted and salted peanuts, roughly crushed
• Raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Method

1. Preheat a large non-stick pan on a medium-high heat and add two tablespoons of the butter.⁠
2. Slice the hot cross buns and add to the pan. Allow to cook until golden brown, one to two minutes, before turning each bun over and browning the other side. Repeat with all six buns, remove from the pan and set aside.⁠
3. In the same pan, add the sugar, the rest of the butter and the cinnamon. Once the butter has melted, stir to combine.⁠
4. Slice the bananas in half, lengthways.
5. When the sugar-butter mixture starts to bubble, add the halved bananas and cook for a minute on each side until the bananas are golden and the sauce has thickened and caramelised. Spoon the glaze over the bananas while they cook. ⁠
6. Place two caramelised banana halves over each bottom half of the toasted hot cross buns and top with generous scoops of caramel ice cream. Drizzle over the caramel sauce. ⁠
7. Sprinkle with crushed peanuts before placing the top halves of the hot cross buns over the bananas. Drizzle with more caramel and sprinkle on some more nuts before serving with raspberries.
8. Tuck in!

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/B9s_0kpIBkN/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link[/embed]

Hot Cross French Toast 

How does a sweet, sticky hot cross bun French toast stack topped with apple compote sound? If you're a lover of apple pie, this recipe is sure to delight.

Ingredients:

Apple compote

• 50g butter
• 4 Granny Smith apples, cored and diced
• 125g dark brown sugar
• 125ml (½ cup) apple juice
• 2,5ml (½ tsp) ground cinnamon

French toast

• 6 extra-large eggs
• 100ml milk
• 6 hot cross buns, sliced in half
• butter, for frying

Method

1. For the compote, heat a large frying pan and melt the butter.
2. Add the apples, sugar, apple juice and cinnamon, and simmer until the apples are just soft and the liquid has turned syrupy, 10 – 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. For the French toast, whisk together the eggs and milk, and soak the hot cross buns for five minutes.
4. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat and add a knob of butter.
5. Fry the French toast until golden brown and cooked through, one to two minutes per side. The centre of the French toast should be custardy but cooked.
6. Top the French toast with the apple compote and serve immediately.

[caption id="attachment_109567" align="alignnone" width="660"] https://www.foodandhome.co.za/recipes/hot-cross-bun-french-toast-with-apple-compote[/caption]

Breakfast Buns

Salty and sweet are a classic breakfast combo. Spice up your breakfast spread by pairing crispy, honey-glazed bacon with traditional raisin filled hot cross buns. Don't knock it till you've tried it! Not sure how to make perfectly sticky, spicy honey-glazed bacon? Follow this recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 packet streaky or back bacon
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Method

1. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Arrange the bacon slices on the paper in a single layer.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the honey, coriander and cayenne and cook over high heat until melted, about one minute.
3. Brush the spiced honey on one side of the bacon and bake for 10 minutes until crisp.

Once the bacon is slightly cooled, sandwich two pieces between a buttered hot cross bun and enjoy! [caption id="attachment_109563" align="alignleft" width="659"] https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/hot-cross-bun-bacon-butties[/caption]

Pickled Fish & Onions

We haven't gone stark raving mad, we promise. Pickled fish and sweet onions are a typical hot cross bun topping enjoyed down in the Western Cape over Easter time. If your taste buds simply cannot adjust to this wacky pairing, you may simply serve the pickled fish with fresh white bread or just tuck into a plain old hot cross bun. But, if you are willing to push boundaries this Easter, follow this recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• Pinch of salt ⁠
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 packs (500g each) Sea Harvest Cape Whiting Steaks, defrosted⁠
• 1 cup cooking oil
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup brown vinegar
• 5 bay leaves
• 2 tsp black peppercorns
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp turmeric
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 5 onions, sliced into rings⁠
• 2 tbsp apricot jam⁠
• ½ cup sugar⁠
• Traditional hot cross buns

Method

1. ⁠Combine the flour, salt and turmeric in a shallow bowl. ⁠
2. Cut fish into halves and coat in the seasoned flour.⁠
3. Heat oil in a pan and shallow-fry the fish in batches for roughly two minutes on each side. Remove from the oil and place in a large dish.⁠
4. Place the water, vinegar, all the spices and salt in a pot over high heat and bring to the boil. ⁠
5. Add the onion rings, apricot jam and sugar and cook for eight minutes. *Chef’s tip: Don’t overcook the onions as it is important that they still have some crunch to them.⁠
6. Remove from the heat and pour over the fish.⁠
7. Allow to cool completely before covering it with cling wrap and placing it in the fridge. Leave it to pickle overnight.⁠
8. Lightly toast hot cross buns and spread generously with butter.
9. Spoon over pickled fish.

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/B9vknJKgbjg/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link[/embed] Do you have any gourmet hot cross bun recipes to share? Let us know about them in the comments below!