Hot Cross Buns

Ingredients
buns...
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar, superfine
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk
4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon all-spice
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 oz) butter, melted
1 egg
1 1/2 cups raisins
glaze...
1/2 cup sugar, superfine
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons powdered gelatin
1 tablespoon water
icing...
1/2 cup powder sugar
1/4 cup marscapone


To make buns...
Place the yeast, 2 teaspoons of the sugar and all of the milk in a large bowl and set aside for 5 minutes. The mixture should start to foam, indicating that the yeast is active. Add the sifted flour, all-spice, cinnamon, melted butter, egg, raisins, and sugar to the yeast mixture and mix using a butter knife until a sticky dough forms. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 8 minutes, add a little extra flour at a time if dough is still too sticky, dough should start to feel elastic. Place ball of dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and set in a warm place for 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size. Divide the dough into 12 pieces, or desired size or number, then roll into balls. Grease a 9 inch square cake tin and line with non-stick baking paper. Place the dough balls in the tin, cover with a tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes or until they rise. Preheat oven to 400F, bake buns for 35 minutes or until well browned and springy to touch. While buns are baking make glaze. Brush buns with warm glaze while they are still hot. Then pipe icing crosses on top of each of them.
Serve hot cross buns warm with butter.


To make glaze...
Place sugar and 1/4 cup of water in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove any sugar crystals from the side with a pastry brush dipped in water. In a small bowl sprinkle powdered gelatin over tablespoon of water. Add gelatin mixture to saucepan and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Set glaze aside until buns are ready. 


To make icing...
In a small bowl whisk together icing sugar and marscapone to a nice thick consistency. Add a little extra powder sugar if mixture is to thin. Place icing in a piping bag or a plastic bag with one corner snipped off, after buns have been glazed pipe crosses on top of each of them.