Hot Cross Muffins

Tasty muffins with all the fruit and flavour of Hot Cross Buns, topped with an icing cross

Course Snack

Cuisine British

Keyword Muffins

Prep Time 40

Cook Time 25

Total Time 1 5

Servings

Calories 355kcal

Author thebakingexplorer

Pre-heat your oven to 160C Fan/350F/Gas Mark 4, line a cupcake tin with paper cases
Mix together the light brown soft sugar and the butter. Add the eggs and almond extract and whisk well
Gently mix in the apple, then whisk in the self raising flour, mixed spice, cinnamon and nutmeg
Fold in the mixed dried fruit
Divide the mixture between the cases
Bake the muffins for 25 minutes until golden brown, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean, place on a cooling rack to cool completely
To make the icing mix the ingredients together, add the water slowly as you may not need it all. You need a thick, pipable paste
Put the icing into a piping bag and pipe crosses onto each muffin
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in a cool place and eat within 3 days

Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the butter and eggs) are at room temperature before you start baking.
You can use a baking spread or unsalted butter for the muffins.
If you can't get hold of light brown soft sugar, you can use caster sugar instead.
I used a gala apple for the muffins as I think they are the sweetest, but any eating apple will work well.
I used dried mixed fruit which includes lemon and orange peel. Some people aren't a fan of peel, so instead you can use the same weight of dried raisins or sultanas, and add the zest of one orange to the batter if you still want that citrus flavour.
Mixed spice is a British spice blend typically containing cinnamon, coriander seed, nutmeg, clove, pimento and ginger. If you can't get hold of it, you can use a Pumpkin Spice mix instead. Or try 1 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp ground nutmeg and ¼ tsp ground cloves stirred together.
Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales*. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons* and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.