Eating her lemon curd & waaaaay too many hot cross buns

HAPPY EASTER ALL!

There was a method to my madness when I decided to make my own hot cross buns on Friday morning. I decided to call up the folks to join us for afternoon tea and hope (with my fingers crossed) that Mum would bring along a pretty little jar of her home-made lemon curd. An absolute favourite of mine and pretty much guaranteed to make an appearance around this time of year. She pulled through, good onya Mum!

If you have a backyard lemon tree bursting with golden fruit you have no idea what to do with, whip up some of your own lemon curd to gift to family or friends this Easter or simply enjoy it all to yourself on a toasty hot cross bun!

Marion's Homemade Lemon Curd

4 large lemons- zest and juice

2 cups caster sugar

4 eggs well beaten

125 g unsalted butter cubed

1. Place the zest and juice of lemons with sugar into a heatproof bowl and whisk to combine

2. Add the beaten eggs to the mixture and continue whisking

3. Place the heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk gently until sugar dissolves

4. Add cubed butter and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until mixture is thick and smooth

5. Remove from heat and pour into hot sterilised jars

6. Store in the refrigerator

Cover lids with a pretty piece of fabric, ribbon or twine and attach any other Easter embellishments you wish

Homemade Hot Cross Bun Recipe

4 cups plain flour

2 x 7g sachets of dried yeast

1/4 cup caster sugar

1 1/2 tsp mixed spice

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups of currants or raisins

40g butter

300ml milk

2 eggs lighlty beaten

Flour Paste:

1/2 cup plain flour

4-5 tbs water

1. Combine flour, yeast, sugar, mixed spice, salt and currants in a large bowl.
2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add milk and heat for 1 minute or until warm. Add warm milk mixture to currant mixture and also add eggs.

3. Use a flat- bladed knife and mix dough until it almost comes together. Use clean hands to finish mixing to form a soft dough.

4. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until dough is smooth. If you're lucky enough to have the luxury of a Kitchen Aid, pop on the dough hook and let it do the 'kneading' part for you for approx 6 mins.

5. Place dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm, draught free place for 1- 1.5 hours, or until dough doubles in size.

6. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Punch dough down to its original size, knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Divide into 12 even portions and shape into balls. Place balls onto lined tray about 1cm apart. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in warm draught free place for 30 minutes, or until buns double in size. Pre-heat oven to 190 degrees C.

7. To make flour paste, combine flour and water in a small bowl until smooth. If paste is too thick, add a little more water. Spoon into a piping bag and pipe over top of risen buns to form crosses.

8. Bake buns for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked through

9. Serve warm or at room temperature with your homemade lemon curd!