Cures for homesickness: Hot Cross Buns

Easter Monday made me miss South Africa a little bit, I missed being able to go to church, lunch with my family , those white candy and chocolate Easter eggs and Hot cross buns. Thank heavens though for a Skype talk with my parents and for the Facebook friend who sent me a recipe of Hot Cross buns. The recipe is really simple, and only takes a while because the dough needs time to rise – I altered it slightly to work for me.  My crosses failed a little bit as I don’t have one of those icing things or even a plastic bag (I read somewhere that one can use a strong plastic bag – like the ziplock ones -and make a small hole in  it ). And I spaced them too close to each other, so they didn’t maintain their nice round shapes. Regardless of the rough appearance it tasted delicious, way better than any store bought ones I’ve ever had. 

Cures for homesickness

 I am not really homesick, but I thought it would be a nice section to add to my blog, as usually when I do feel those blues coming, baking or making a dish from home helps to get the mood up. Dinner with the friends also help, and since the other night it was the first time we have seen each other since summer holidays, I whipped up a batch of these. These cupcakes are a classic - they are fluffy, soft and just the right sweetness. With normal icing it reminds of my birthday parties as a child, but they are amazing with this lemon butter icing.  And it is so simple and can be made without electric mixers and fancy things (all things a foreign student lacks in a rented apartment). To view the recipe just click on the image.