My Hot Cross Bun Recipe & Setting the Spring Table

A recipe for cardamom and lemon buns and a simple Spring tablescape 🐣

Making hot cross buns is one of my favourite Spring rituals: the bringing together of simple ingredients to make something special, the warming scent of spices and citrus zest emanating from the oven, the first bite of a still warm bun slathered generously in butter. I hadn’t made any yet (or eaten enough of them!) this year - so I decided to rectify that this week. Baking them was a timely reminder of how something like making bread really makes you slow down: for it to work properly, it simply can’t be rushed. And while time is one of the main ingredients here, I’ve made my recipe as simple as possible with an overnight prove - slow baking for busy people, meaning you can make them at tea time on Saturday to bake fresh on Sunday morning. These are traditional buns with sultanas and mixed spice with a wee twist that makes them just a little bit different - aromatic cardamom and a lift from lemon zest.