Hot Cross Easter Cake Recipe
So you lurrrrve hot cross buns. But you don't want to bake your own. You want to make an Easter cake but don't want it to be chocolate ... or covered in pastel coloured fondant icing with mini eggs on top. You've done chocolate nests to death and want to cook something fun with the kids for Easter. This is the receipe for you.
All the flavour of hot cross buns - spices, currants, mixed peel - but in a moist loaf cake with a hint of banana. Finished with a traditional cross on the top and glazed with sugar, this cake couldn't be more perfect for Easter.
Hot Cross Easter Cake Recipe
A fantastic Easter banana loaf recipe full of fruit and spices.
Gives: 8-10 slices
Timings
Prep Time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Ingredients
8oz/225g wholemeal plain flour
4tsp baking powder
4oz/110g granulated sugar
4oz/110g butter
½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnammon
2 tsps ground mixed spice
1lb/450g bananas, mashed with a fork (approx 3-4; weight is with skin)
2 eggs, beaten
2oz/50g currants
2oz/50g raisins
2oz/50g mixed peel
For the topping
4tbsps plain flour
2tbsps granulated sugar
Equipment
A 2lb loaf tin (approx 23cm x 13cm x 7cm) or 2 x 1lb loaf tins
Piping bag and round nozzle or plastic freezer bag
Please note that the cake photographed is a 1lb loaf, made using half the above ingredients.
Method
1. Switch the oven on to 160 degrees C, Fan 150 degrees C, gas mark 4 or 350 degrees F.
2. Using greaseproof paper or baking parchment, line your tin(s). Alternatively, use a a ready-shaped loaf tin liner.
3. Put the flour and baking powder into a roomy bowl and stir to combine. Add the butter and chop it up into small pieces with a table knife. Using your hands then, rub the butter into the flour using the rubbing in method. For more help with this, see our rubbing-in method step-by-step guide.. The result should be like fine breadcrumbs.
4. Add the sugar and spices and mix in.
5. Fold in the mashed banana and beaten eggs, then the dried fruit and mixed peel.
6. The mixture should be like a batter. Spoon it into your tin(s).
7. If you want to put a cross on the top, mix your 4tbsps plain white flour with just enough water to make a thick paste. Sppon it into a piping bag fitted with a plain round nozzle. Alternatively, you could use a freezer bag with the corner cut off or simply a teaspoon. Squeeze or spoon a cross on the top of your cake. If your paste is thick, you may find it useful to have scissors to hand to snip the paste when you have piped to the tin edge.
8. Bake for approxmiately 45-50 minutes for a 1lb loaf or 1 hour for a 2lb loaf. If you think the cake looks and smells ready to come out of the oven, carefully test with a skewer - there should be no batter on the skewer when you pull it out. See our article How to Know if your Cake is Cooked for more help with this.
9. Towards the end of cooking time, boil a kettle and mix your 2 tbsps of granulated sugar with a little hot water to make a syrup. Once the cake is out of the oven, remove it from the tin and, while the cake is still hot, brush the syrup over the cake to give it a traditional glazed look.
10. Leave your cake to cool on a wire rack. Serve and enjoy, and have a very Happy Easter.
11. This cake keeps well in an airtight tin for up to a week and freezes well.