HAPPY EASTER!!! I love Easter, in particular, I love the chocolate eggs and most importantly, I LOVE Hot Cross Buns. That smell of spices and sweet fruit in the air when they are baking or being warmed up. Oh gosh, just kill me and send me to Hot Cross Bun Heaven…. My mouth is salivating.
Now, Hot Cross Buns aren’t exactly described as healthy, or even remotely close to clean eating or paleo. Especially when covered (and I mean COVERED!) in butter. I don’t really have Hot Cross Buns with butter, I have some Hot Cross Buns with my butter. You get my drift.
Many years ago I discovered this super easy recipe for Hot Cross Muffins. The lazy persons guide to making Hot Cross Buns, but removing the bread component with all the rising and kneading. I.e. Enter the muffin part. No yeast activation necessary. No kneading. Just delicious spices and fruit smell in the air, still capable of being a ‘butter carrier’. This is the recipe that was my ‘go-to’ each Easter: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/24647/hot+cross+muffins. Now that we try to avoid most of the items in this recipe (i.e. sugar, dairy, gluten), this year I decided that I needed to make a paleofied version so that my husband and I don’t feel ill every time we eat one. Husband gets sick from dairy, I get sick from gluten. We both have crazy dreams if we eat sugar! We are a barrel of fun to be around when we eat these things.
Moving on… Husband convinced me to attempt to make a paleofied version of our favourite Easter treat, so I did. And here is the results. I sort of forgot to take photos until they were out of the oven, hence why there is only a finished picture, but the smell while they were cooking…. Oh dear god, it was worth making these just to start salivating over the smell. They were a pretty successful first try, if I do say so myself. And I must admit, they are more crumbling than I’d like, but after 2 days in an airtight container, they actually held together better than when they were first cooked. So I preferred them after a couple of days. They made a batch of 18 muffins, around the cupcake size (not the big American muffin size) in Australia. So plenty for a couple of days of tastebud heaven 🙂 I reckon you could even be a bit heavier handed with the spices, as I love flavour, but if you like the gentle flavours of Easter Hot Cross Buns, then this is a pretty good recipe. ENJOY! Oh, and Happy Easter!
Ingredients:
3/4 cup of Gluten Free Plain Flour
1/4 cup Tapioca Flour
1/2 – 2/3 cup coconut flour (I used a heaped 1/2 cup)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons bicarb soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2/3 cup macadamia nut oil
1 cup coconut milk (I used a whole tin of Ayam Coconut Milk)
4 eggs
1/2 cup coconut sugar
135g dried cranberries
1 cup currents
2 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 200C. I preheat my oven to 180C fan forced, it is quite a hot oven I think.
2. Place dried fruit in a small bowl and cover with boiling water for 10 minutes or until soft. Then drain and pat dry with a paper towel.
3. Sift all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Whisk all the wet ingredients into another bowl until well combined. Add the liquids into the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Then add the fruit gently by folding the mix together.
4. Place patty cases into a muffin tin (my batch made 18 muffins so I used a 12 hole and 6 hole tins) and fill 3/4 with the muffin mix. Bake for 20-25 mins or until lightly browned and springs back when lightly touched.
5. When cooked, allow to cool of a wire rack – if you can wait that long. Otherwise just break one open and slather in butter. Or if you are like my husband and I, break open at least 3. Each!
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