Hot Cross Buns

‘One a penny, two a penny, Hot Cross Buns’ - so goes the old English song about this bun traditionally made just in the week before Easter Sunday, with the pastry cross symbolising the crucifixion of Jesus. Nowadays, people long for these spiced sweet buns not just at Easter and so bakeries make them year round. I tend to make mine from New Year onwards, when I toast them and spread them with a little butter - delicious.