Royal Halls Patisserie

Owner and head baker at our local bakery Royal Halls Patisserie, Church Village, has kindly provided us all with some inspiration for some Easter baking by sharing his secret recipes.

Hot Cross Buns

What you need for the Buns:

454g strong flour, 3g salt, 25g caster sugar, 25g butter, 120g mixed fruit, 35g fresh yeast, ½ tsp mixed spice & 250ml warm milk.

What you need for the Crosses:

5 tbp plain flour & water.

How you do it:

1. 01. Preheat your oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas Mark 6.
2. 02. Place all dry ingredients in a bowl.
3. 03. Warm the milk and add the yeast and let it froth for 10 minutes.
4. 04. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients.
5. 05. Knead for 5-10 minutes until elastic.
6. 06. Put in a greased bowl and cover with a damp cloth and put somewhere warm for 35-45 minutes.
7. 07. Knock back thoroughly with fists and knead for 5 minutes.
8. 08. Cut into 10-12 equal pieces.
9. 09. Roll into round balls.
10. 10. Place on a baking tray and cover with greased cling film. Leave to rise again for 35-40 mins.
11. 11. Mix the plain flour with water until pipeable (not too runny) pipe over the cross buns using a piping bag or simply snip the corner off a food bag.
12. 12. Egg wash gently and place in the oven for around 25mins.
13. 13. Allow to cool on a rack.
14. 14. Brush with a sugar glaze or marmalade.

Carrot Cake

What you need for the Cake:

Butter for greasing, 175g/6oz light muscovado sugar, 3 eggs, ½ tsp salt, 175ml/6fl oz sunflower oil, 175g/6oz coarsely grated carrots, 2 ripe bananas (mashed), 55g/2oz walnuts (chopped), 280g/10oz plain flour, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda & 2 tsp baking powder

What you need for the Frosting:

200g/7oz cream cheese, ½ tsp vanilla essence, 115g/4oz icing sugar & 25g/1oz walnuts (chopped).

How you do it:

1. 01. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.
2. 02. Grease & line the base of a 9in springform cake tin. Place the sugar, eggs, sunflower oil, carrots, bananas and walnuts in a bowl. Sift in the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder. Beat the mixture until smooth.
3. 03. Turn the mixture into the prepared tin & bake in the preheated oven for 1hr 5 mins, or until well risen and golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
4. 04. Leave in the tin for 10 mins, then turn out and peel off the lining papers. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
5. 05. To make the frosting, place the cream cheese and vanilla essence in a bowl and beat well to soften. Beat in the icing sugar a tablespoon at a time, until smooth. Swirl over the cake and sprinkle the chopped walnuts on top.
6. 06. Leave in a cool place for the frosting to harden slightly before serving.