Dreamy recipes for baby cakes, slices, tarts and other small sweet morsels from the creator of the international bestselling Plain Cake Appreciation Society

Here is to the little luxuries that make life all the sweeter.

Tilly Pamment, author of The Plain Cake Appreciation Society, returns with a new collection of more than seventy irresistible recipes for bite sized bakes. These little treats are meant to be eaten warm from the oven with no plate required, shared around a table or tucked away for a rainy day. Every recipe is designed to bring a handful of sweet joy to any moment, and who could not use a little more of that.

What you will find inside

Homemade Sunbeams and Slices of Joy
Bars bright with lemon and passion fruit, squares of rich chocolate and marmalade, and sour cream brownies with a crackly top.

Baby Cakes and Buttery Bliss
Buttery and fruit studded, sticky and chocolate filled, these are tiny treats made for pure pleasure.

Pantry Keepers and Postable Love
Bakes that last, perfect for packing up and sharing with someone you love. Think cinnamon stars, gingerbread and a heavenly rocky road.

Spread a little sunshine by whisking together a batch of homemade sweetness and sending a bit of shareable love out into the world.

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Apricot & Sultana Hot Cross Buns

It’s a slippery slope, that first hot cross bun of the season – a steep descent towards carbohydrate-induced haze, but one I happily slide down (earlier, and earlier) each year! Now, I think my mum makes the best hot cross buns; I’m sure I am biased, but they really are good. She uses an old Nursing Mothers’ Association recipe, which works every time. This is my adaptation of that recipe – updated to suit my tastes, using a combination of tart dried apricots, sultanas, currants and plenty of cinnamon. No mixed peel in sight!

Like most yeasted bakes, this is not a recipe to make if you are in a hurry. This is a recipe to make when you have time; time to watch the mixer knead, time to watch the dough rise. Time to make pot after pot of tea and puddle around the kitchen, inhaling the heady scent of cooking buns.

MAKES 16 BUNS

50 ml (9 fl oz) full-cream (whole) milk

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground mixed spice

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

2 teaspoons Earl Grey tea (or other black tea)

250 ml (9 fl oz) boiling water

150 g (51/2 oz) dried apricots, roughly chopped

100 g (31/2 oz) sultanas (golden raisins)

100 g (31/2 oz) currants

500 g (1 lb 2 oz) bread flour

80 g (23/4 oz) caster (superfine) sugar

10 g (1/4 oz) instant dried yeast

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

80 g (23/4 oz) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra to grease

1 egg, lightly beaten

Salted butter, to serve

First, place the milk, cinnamon, mixed spice and vanilla in a small saucepan. Place over low heat and bring to just below a simmer. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool until just warm.

While the milk is cooling, brew the Earl Grey tea in the boiling water. Leave to steep for 3 minutes. Place the chopped apricots, along with the sultanas and currants in a mixing bowl. Strain the brewed tea and pour it over the dried fruit. Cover and leave to soak.

When the spiced milk is just warm, start the dough by placing 100 g (3½ oz) of the bread flour, 1 tablespoon of the sugar and the yeast in a medium mixing bowl. Add 125 ml (4 fl oz) of the warm milk mixture to the bowl and stir to a smooth paste. Cover and set aside for 45–60 minutes somewhere warm, until the mixture is bubbly and light. What we’re doing here is a type of pre-ferment, which improves the flavour and texture of the cooked dough, making it softer and lighter. It also makes the dough less sticky and easier to work with when shaping. You can skip this step if you are short on time, but I think it’s worth doing if you can.

When the pre-ferment is ready, place the remaining 400 g (14 oz) of bread flour, the remaining sugar and the salt in the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook. Add the remaining spiced milk, as well as the pre-ferment, the melted butter and egg, and mix on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue to mix for 8–10 minutes until the dough is elastic and pulling away from the side of the bowl.

Transfer dough to a well-greased bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap and place somewhere warm until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 180°C fan-forced. Knock dough down and divide into 16 evenly sized balls. Roll each slightly to shape and place in greased baking dish. Cover lightly with greased plastic wrap and allow to rest again until buns are light and risen – about 45 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix ingredients for the crosses together to form a smooth paste. Place into a small piping bag with a plain nozzle, or use a small zip lock bag and snip a small hole in the end. Pipe crosses on the risen buns (or any other pattern that takes your fancy!).

Place hot cross buns in the oven and cook for 15 minutes before lowering oven temperature to 170°C and cooking for a further 10-15 or until golden brown and cooked through.

Whilst the buns are cooking, place all the ingredients for the glaze into a small saucepan, adding 60ml of the reserved tea. When buns have 5 minutes left on the timer, heat the glaze over low heat, stirring until sugar and gelatine have dissolved. Let the glaze mixture simmer on a very low heat until buns are cooked (watch it carefully as it has a tendency to boil over).

When the hot cross buns are cooked, remove from the oven and brush liberally with hot glaze. Let the glaze soak in slightly before giving them another coat for glistening good-measure!

Eat buns warm from the oven with a good slather of butter, or split and toast the following day and serve with butter.

Recipe published with permission from Murdoch Books.