Today’s gorgeous recipe comes once again from the lovely Nicole Maree of Nicolemaree.com
This girl is a WHIZ when it comes to making everything YUMMY, healthy! In perfect alignment with my philosophy, there is never any need to deprive! With a little creativity and innovation you can make all your favourite foods good for you too 🙂
With it being Easter time, Hot Cross Buns are EVERYWHERE 🙂 And whilst a Hot Cross Bun here and there will NOT hurt you, some people like to know how it is they can make something that is usually a treat food, a HEALTH food! 🙂 So, today, you will learn just how that can be so! 🙂
Thank you so much to the beautiful Nicole Maree for sharing this one with us 🙂 Be sure to check out her website! You will especially love her Food Junkies ebook which is an essential when learning how to do this Healthy Lifestyle thing for the long term! Enjoy and please send feedback to [email protected]
Over to Nicole! 🙂
Growing up, Easter was always celebrated with some Hot Cross Buns. We would visit the closest bakery and purchase these freshly cooked small cinnamon spiced yeast buns only to return home to serve with lashings of jam. Although I have always had a soft spot for Hot Cross Buns, I was always left feeling bloated, sore and sorry for myself after each bite. The gluten, dairy and wheat was hard to digest and I felt lethargic once the plate was clean. For years I felt like the only option was to remove the Easter tradition and miss out…. until now.
I have created a Hot Cross Bun recipe that removes the gluten and dairy bloat and demolishes all those pesky refined sugars. I have substituted the traditional sultana with a burnt orange & fig filling to modernise the Easter bun and allow you to experience a taste sensation. I urge you to give this recipe a try and if you love the taste, share this blog, tweet it, instagram a photo and tag me! The brightest part of my day is seeing you all experience the pure enjoyment of cooking wholesome recipes.
Burnt Orange & Fig Hot Cross Buns
Gluten free – Dairy free – No refined Sugars
Ingredients
Buns
500g gluten free plain flour
75g coconut sugar
7g instant yeast
3g xanthan gum (you can find this in the health isle at your supermarket)
1 tsp himalayan sea salt
2 1/2 oranges (or 100ml of orange juice)
1 cup of unsweetened almond milk
50g coconut oil
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp coconut oil extra
125g dried figs, chopped
50g mixed peel
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp all spice)
Cross
1/2 cup cashews
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp coconut nectar or maple syrup
1 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
Method
Place coconut sugar in a fry pan and add the juice of one orange. Cut remaning oranges in half. Allow the sugar to caramelise and then place 1 and a 1/2 oranges face down into the sugar. Allow them to caramelise and soften. Remove oranges from heat.
For the buns: Sieve the flour into a large bowl and add salt, coconut sugar, yeast and the xanthan gum.
Add the milk, juice from 1 and a half caramelised oranges (enough to make 100ml) and coconut oil to a saucepan. Heat on low until until combined and the milk is warm to the touch.
Make a well in the flour, add the milk mix and the beaten egg and bring everything together with a wooden spoon.
Roll the dough into a large ball and place the dough in a large oiled bowl, cover with cling wrap and leave in a warm place for an hour or until it has doubled in size.
Add the extra teaspoon of oil, figs, mixed peel and pumpkin pie spice to the bowl and mix into the dough. The dough may be quite sticky so you may need to flour or oil your hands to work the fruit into the dough. Cover again with cling wrap and leave in a warm place for 1 hour or until it has again doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 200C.
Flour your hands and shape the dough into 12 small buns or 6 large buns and place on a baking sheet.
Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for approximately 25- 30 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. At the half way point if they are getting too golden and still aren’t cooked, cover the pan with foil and place back in the oven.
Meanwhile for the cross: Combine the cashews, vanilla, coconut nectar and milk in a blender until smooth. Place mixture into a piping bag with a round tip.
Once the buns are cooked, pipe on the cashew cream icing and place the buns back in the oven to set for 20 seconds.
Remove from oven. Allow to cool slightly and serve warm with fruit jam.
Happy Easter!
**NB I, (BridgetJane), recommend a 100% fruit spread- such as St Dalfour– to serve atop your Healthy Hot Cross Buns 🙂 Enjoy xo