Laager Hot Cross Buns

Ingredients for the Bun

¼ cup of apple juice

½ a cup of mixed dried fruit

½ a cup of raisins

1 ¼ cup of milk

2 large eggs

1 egg yolk (save the white to use for the topping)

6 tablespoons of butter

2 teaspoons of instant yeast

¼ cup of brown sugar

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

¼ teaspoon of ground cloves (if you prefer, you can use allspice)

¼ teaspoon of nutmeg

¾ teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of baking powder

3 cups of All-Purpose Flour

Ingredients for the Topping

1 egg white

1 tablespoon of milk

Ingredients for the Icing

1 cup of icing sugar

½ a teaspoon of vanilla essence

4 teaspoons of milk

Method

1. Grease a square pan(25cm x 25cm x 5cm pan) and set it aside.
2. Mix the apple juice with dried fruit and raisins. Microwave it for 30 seconds, or until the fruit and apple juice go warm. Set it aside to cool to room temperature.
3. In a large bowl, add in all the dry ingredients as well as the two eggs and 1 egg yolk. Using an electric mixer mix all the ingredients together.On a floured surface, knead the mix untilit forms a soft and elastic dough. Mix in the fruit andany other liquid there may be that has not been absorbed.
4. Place the dough into a clean bowl, cover with clingwrap and leave it to rise for at least 1 hour. At this stage, the dough should become soft and puffy.
5. Divide the dough and roll them into 12 – 14 ball-sized pieces.Place them in the prepared pan you had greased earlier.Cover the pan with clingwrap and let the buns rise for an hour. They need to be puffed up and touching one another.
6. While your dough is rising, preheat the oven to 190°C.
7. Whisk the egg white and milk together and brush the mix over the buns. Place them into the oven and bake the buns for 20 minutes, until they look golden brown. Remove it from the oven and gently turn the buns out of the pan and on to a wire rack to cool.
8. Once the buns have completely cooled down, mix all the icing ingredients together and pipe it in a cross shape on top of each bun.