Hot X Buns

I love hot cross buns, preferably from Asda because theirs are the squishiest. I used to freeze some so we can have them later, but now we just buy the. When I was younger, we had them as part of the Easter celebrations. Now Easter is more to do with church celebrations and eggs and hot cross buns are just one of the delicious, but commercial seasons of the year.

The Tesco gluten free finest were certainly a bit dry. It's made me start looking through gluten-free recipes in tinternet all morning.

Many years ago I got up early on Good Friday and realised I had forgotten to buy hot cross buns. I always eat them for on Good Friday so I found a recipe and having all the ingredients I made my own. They were delicious but I have never been able to make them as nice since. I have often tried to make them for one of my GS as he likes them all year round. Today I made some and they were just okay.

Love HCBs and eat them all year round, but only the traditional ones, not the 'fancy' ones. Sainsbury's 'Taste the Difference' are pretty yummy.

I agree rosesare red. We had some of the Tesco Finest ones and they were very dry - only fit for toasting really. Must try the M&S ones.

Traditional always. Making mine now - make them too early and they're gone in an instant and you're baking again!

A bakery I know does the real deal in HCBs. They are only sold in Holy Week as they should be. The dilemma I have is that I am trying to stick to a low carb diet and those HCBs are not the small kind.

We are fortunate, we have a proper bakery in our village. I intend to buy a dozen of their HCB tomorrow, half for DD, who we will be visiting, the rest to be popped into the oven first thing on Friday for us - and that will be the end of HCB until next Easter, I will, of course, be buying their spicy fruit buns that taste exactly the same for the next 52 weeks.

My husband is travelling a lot for work at the moment and hot cross buns are his staple 'emergency' food. He always keeps a pack or two in the car and eats them straight from the pack with no butter. Sometimes he arrives home and realises that he's eaten a whole pack in the car!

I had a stem ginger one this morning. They are scrummy!

I saw the stem ginger ones advertised, so when my DD1 brought me some home-made hot cross buns today, I chopped stem ginger up and spread it over the butter. They were gorgeous!

Went to M&S today and bought two packs of hot cross buns for £2.50 I bought one normal pack and one which has stem ginger in as well, and they were extremely yummy.

Rose thank you for the gf info! We don't have a Waitrose but I'll go to M&S.

I'm going to have to have a real hot x bun this year, and blow the tummyache afterwards, if the gluten free ones are vile. I love them. REALLY love them - but refused always to buy them or make them other than during Easter week. I shall make some, just one batch of 12, as usual.

Luckily that is something I have never liked. I have only tasted the traditional ones and that was many years ago. I agree, where I live, Wiatrose seems to have them on the shelves just after Christmas.

Waitrose cinnamon and raisin are nice although I can never taste the cinnamon!

Had M&S cherry and berry today, absolutely delish.

I think the M&S ones are far and away the best. the Tesco Finest Range are foul.

Last week I got my bread maker out of the cupboard and made a batch of hot cross buns. I even went to the trouble of making the pastry crosses. I put them in the oven and promptly forgot about them. I only just rescued them in time, ( they were only slightly over done).

I found this on the internet:
^The tradition of baking bread marked with a cross is linked to paganism as well as Christianity. The pagan Saxons would bake cross buns at the beginning of spring in honour of the goddess Eostre - most likely being the origin of the name Easter. The cross represented the rebirth of the world after winter and the four quarters of the moon, as well as the four seasons and the wheel of life.

The Christians saw the Crucifixion in the cross bun and, as with many other pre-Christian traditions, replaced their pagan meaning with a Christian one - the resurrection of Christ at Easter.

According to Elizabeth David, it wasn't until Tudor times that it was permanently linked to Christian celebrations. During the reign of Elizabeth I, the London Clerk of Markets issued a decree forbidding the sale of spiced buns except at burials, at Christmas or on Good Friday.^

I think you're allowed to eat them at any time now

They did look strange.

I usually ban DH from having any until Good Friday (how mean I hear you say), but I relented this year.

Hot X Muffins??

Yes in a paper bag rosequartz, they used to put half a dozen in each bag.. and you are right NotTooOld when you can get them every week the novelty has warn off quite apart from the fact I don't know where I could buy them from a bakers..

I saw Hot X Muffins in the M & S at Cambridge services on Saturday. Our favourites are wholemeal ones but I did enjoy Heston's from Waitrose last year even if they were a bit more like Panettone.