Hot Cross Bun Cookies

These have to be some of the cutest cookies ever.....and they taste just like hot cross buns.



They are really easy to make and a perfect treat to bake for Easter. Here's what you need:

Ingredients (makes 36)
125g unsalted butter (softened and chopped)
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup mixed peel (roughly chopped)
1/2 cup dried currants
2 cups self raising flour
1 tsp mixed spice
2 tsp skim milk
2 tbsp ground almond meal
50g marzipan
2 tbsp apricot jam (warmed)

Method
Preheat oven to 140C (fan forced). Beat butter, sugar and egg in bowl with electric mixer until mixture is light and fluffy. Stir in peel, currants, sifted flour, mixed spice and milk until everything is well-combined. Roll teaspoons of mixture into balls and place them on a lined baking tray about 4cm apart. Knead almond meal into marzipan then roll the marzipan into thin sausages and cut into lengths about the size of the diameter of the cookies. Brush the cookies with milk then place the marzipan crosses on top. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes until slightly brown. While the cookies are still hot, brush warm apricot jam onto them to make them shiny. Store cookies in an airtight container to retain freshness.

Happy Easter

Marzipan Figures

On Monday, I created a small Japanese scene using marzipan. This is the first time I've used marzipan for modelling, and I have to admit, I think it might be my new favourite medium. Marizpan, which is made from finely ground almonds, can be stuck to itself without edible glue or any other agent. It can also be easily coloured with foodgrade coloured pastes, making it a highly versatile product for creating figures as cake toppers.

Here's a quick tutorial on how I made Japanese geisha dolls using Renshaw marzipan:

1. Stick a flesh coloured ball for the head onto a pear shaped body.

2. Add an inverted triangle onto the front of the body (v-neck of kimono) and 2 triangles of marizpan on either side of the v-neck, as lapels.

3. Make a patterned sash for the kimono. as an example, I rolled black flowers into red maripan.

4. Wrap the sash around the waist of the body, then create a bow at the back to cover the join.

5. Add the arms, by creating two crescents and wrapping them around the side of the body to the front.

6. Create little hands using flesh coloured marzipan

7. Add the hair by creating a black circle of marizpan and draping it over the head. Cut to size and add a fringe and texture using a dresden tool

8. Add a top knot and ribbons, bows, flowers etc as decoration if desired



9. Add features to the face, such as eyes, nose and mouth to complete the doll.

I created 2 dolls and a little table of sushi to complete the scene.

Have fun with marzipan!