Make further use of your new poppyseed stash with these savoury onion and poppyseed buns. These bagel-like bialy have all the satisfying chew of a bagel but come without a hole. Perfect for sandwich filling!
Easter baking ideas
After Christmas, Easter is the second most food-focused holiday in my calendar. Arguably the most fun and a perfect opportunity for getting the kids in the kitchen. Over the years I have collected a basket full of Easter baking ideas to do with my two. My favourite is a family tradition started generations ago- baking kulich, a Russian Easter bread. Actually, the recipe is not too dissimilar to a giant hot cross bun! It’s a sweet and pillow-soft loaf of brioche bread frosted with melted white chocolate. I’ve tweaked my grandma’s recipe and swap the original currants and raisins for milk chocolate chips. A more recently established tradition is our own Easter brunch, which used to occur after the much-anticipated egg hunt around the garden. These days with two children on the verge of adulthood, it’s the brunch part that is much anticipated! Featuring lots of eggs, buns and pastries, pick your favourites from my Easter brunch collection. And although it’s not baking, a tradition I have found hard to let go of is colouring Easter eggs. This humble craft activity yields the most beautiful works of natural art and the memories of my children’s tiny, stained fingers wrapped around delicate eggs, will be everlasting.
Hot cross buns recipe
Easter is one of my favourite times of year. I love the appearance of spring flowers, spring lambs and spring leeks, cooking holiday roasts and celebratory baking, for example hot cross buns. Except I don’t really like hot cross buns! And that’s how this lemon and poppyseed glazed hot cross bun recipe came about. In case you are not familiar, hot cross buns pop up everywhere at Easter int the UK. These dough delights are riddled with currants, raisins or mixed peel and heavily spiced. While some people adore a heady spice mix, I find the combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and ginger cloying and heavy. And a bit too Christmassy for Easter! In love with the tradition, but not the bun, I made some changes. My dough is blessed with warm vanilla, lemon zest and faintly nutty poppyseeds, which add texture. Additionally, I have flavoured the glaze. Usually, a simple sugar and water syrup, or egg wash, mine is a sticky and glossy mix of honey, vanilla, lemon juice and icing sugar. Producing a perfectly balanced and uplifting bun. Essentially, I took the flavours of Eastern Europe and wrapped them up in the quintessentially British package. The trademark cross remains the same, so there is no mistaking this bun’s rooted identity.
Serving suggestions
Lemon and poppyseed hot cross buns are a dream served warm and fresh from the oven, and hard to resist! Is that why they make one extra in a baker’s dozen? Or serve them toasted with lashings of real butter and a pot of tea. I drink mine with milk, which is not very Russian of me. But accompanied by a lace tablecloth, dainty glass of hot black tea and a sugar cube would paint a romantic picture of the Orthodox world.
Storage and leftovers
Hot cross buns do not improve with age. In fact, they should be eaten on the day they are baked as they tend to dry out quickly. However, if it is physically impossible to stuff another into yourself or coerce anyone else to, tie them up tight in a bag and keep at room temperature for one more day. Day old buns will need toasting under the grill. It is not advisable to use a toaster due to the glaze. I put mine in my do-it-all air fryer for 1 minute to warm through.
More Easter baking
Carrot Sheet Cake with Pistachio Frosting Rhubarb Slab Pie Chocolate Strawberry Mousse Cake Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Cream Cheese Icing
