BakeRecipes

Giant Hot Cross Scroll with Maple Glaze

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Prep 40min(+30min standing and 1hr 45 min proving time)Bake 1hr-1hr10minMakes 12-15 serves

Hot cross bun meets cinnamon scroll! With all the flavours of Easter plus cinnamon richness, this brings together two all-time favourites… Once you’ve tried it, it will be hard to go back to one without the other.

Ingredients

¼ cup (60ml/2fl oz) maple syrup
3 teaspoons pure icing sugar, sifted
Salted butter, to serve

Dough
60g (⅓ cup/2oz) seedless raisins
60g (⅓ cup/2oz) sultanas
55g (⅓ cup/2oz) currants
560g (3¾ cups/1lb 4oz) strong bread or pizza flour, plus extra for dusting
55g (¼ cup/2oz) caster sugar
1½ x 7g/¼oz sachets (3 teaspoons) instant dried yeast
2½ teaspoons mixed spice
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon fine salt
45g (1½oz) unsalted butter, diced and softened, plus extra to grease
1 egg, at room temperature, plus 1 extra, whisked, to glaze
1½ teaspoons natural vanilla extract or essence
310ml (1¼ cups/10½fl oz) lukewarm milk

Filling
60g (oz) unsalted butter, softened
⅓ cup (75g/2¾oz) brown sugar
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon fine salt

Method

  1. Place the raisins, sultanas and currants in a heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water and set aside to soak for 20 minutes until the fruit is plump. Drain well.
  2. Place the flour, sugar, yeast, mixed spice, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl and mix to combine. Add the butter. Whisk the egg and vanilla into the lukewarm milk. Add to the dry ingredients and use a wooden spoon and then your hands to mix to a soft dough.
  3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured bench top. Knead for 8-10 minutes or until smooth, elastic and springs back when you poke your finger into it (see notes).
  4. Lightly grease a clean large bowl with extra butter. Add the dough and well-drained fruit and use your hands to mix through (the fruit doesn’t need to me evenly distributed at this stage). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 1 hour or until doubled in volume.
  5. Grease a 24cm/9½in (base measurement) springform tin with extra butter. Remove the side from the base and then place a square of non-stick baking paper over the base of the pan, allowing it to overhang the edge of the base (do not reattach side of tin at this stage). Set aside.
  6. For the Filling, place the butter, sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl and use a wooden spoon to beat until evenly combined and soft.
  7. Knock back the dough by punching it in the centre with your fist. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 1-2 minutes or until smooth and elastic, the dough has reduced to its original size and the fruit is evenly distributed. Use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll out the dough to a 30cmx40cm (12inx16in) rectangle, about 1.5cm (5/8in) thick.
  8. Spread the filling as evenly as possible over the dough. Use a large sharp knife or a pizza cutter to cut the dough lengthways into 6 even strips. Roll one of the strips into a scroll and place in centre of prepared tin. Wrap another strip around the centre scroll. Repeat with remaining strips to make one large scroll. Clamp side of tin around base to secure. Clamp the side of the pan around the base to secure (there will be about 2cm/¾in between the outside of the scroll and the side of the pan).
  9. Brush the top of the scroll with the whisked egg and cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel. Set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 45 minutes or until well risen, puffy and has increased in volume by about 50 percent.
  10. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C/315°F).
  11. Bake the scroll in preheated oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes or until deep golden and sounds hollow when tapped on the top.
  12. Meanwhile, place maple syrup and icing sugar in a small jug and whisk until combined and smooth. Remove the scroll from oven and immediately brush top with maple syrup mixture. Stand in tin for 10 minutes before removing. Cut scroll into wedges, and serve warm with salted butter.

Baker's Tips

  • This scroll is best eaten the day it is made.
  • It is really important not to add too much extra flour when kneading the dough by hand as this excess will make your dough stiff and hard to knead, and your final scroll will be heavy and dense. Make sure you only lightly dust your bench top and hands and use as little additional flour as you can while kneading. A softer dough at the end of kneading will mean lighter, more palatable scroll.
  • To knead your dough using a stand mixer, place the flour, sugar, yeast, mixed spice, cinnamon, salt and butter in the mixer bowl and use the dough hook to mix to combine. With the motor on low speed, add the milk, egg and vanilla mixture and continue to knead for 5-8 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

    Photography: Nigel Lough
    Styling: David Morgan

    This recipe first appeared in delicious. Australia's April 2023 edition.