Recipe: Diana Chan's triple cheese hot cross buns

With Easter just around the corner, I thought about creating something different from traditional hot cross buns. These treats bring back a lot of childhood memories.

Traditionally eaten over Easter and on Good Friday, the bun represents the end of Lent or fasting period, and the crosses represent the crucifixion of Christ.

Whatever your beliefs, it’s safe to say that hot cross buns are now eaten by people of many religions and races, and are a crowd favourite. The smell of freshly baked hot cross buns is very nostalgic, and they are best eaten straight out of the oven.

The only downside about hot cross buns are that they are sold only over the Easter period, so for those of you who love hot cross buns as much as I do, you can now make them just as easily at home with this recipe –no matter the time of year.

Triple cheese hot cross buns (makes 12 buns)

Ingredients:

700g high protein or bread flour, plus extra 6 tbsp for crosses and dusting

21g dried yeast

500ml warm whole milk

50g aged cheddar, grated

50g manchego cheese, grated

50g Monterey jack cheese, grated

5 tbsp grated parmesan

Method:

1. Mix the flour, yeast and 2 tsp salt in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk. Mix with a wooden spoon, then using your hands, to form a soft dough.
2. Knead for 10 mins, then put into a clean bowl. Lightly cover with oiled cling film and leave somewhere warm until doubled in size. This should take approximately 30 mins.
3. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead in the cheeses. Dust a large, flat baking sheet with flour. Shape the dough into 12 round buns and arrange on the sheet with a 2-3 cm gap between each. Cover with another sheet of lightly oiled cling film and leave to prove until nearly doubled in size.
4. Heat oven to 180C fan. In a mixing bowl, add in the 6 tbsp flour, 6 tbsp water and the 5g of parmesan cheese to make the crosses. Pour mixture into a disposable piping bag and pipe a line along each row of buns, then repeat in the other direction to make crosses. Bake for 20-25 mins until golden.