TGIGF - Thank God, It's Good Friday

Tis Good Friday. To Christians, Good Friday and Easter is probably more important than Christmas. Christmas afterall is a birthday celebration, (some random date at that, converted from an old Roman Holiday). It's not really a big deal to be born, but it is a big deal to die a humiliating suffering death and then to resurrect. At least that's our belief. Jesus died for our sins and rose again.

So, I wish all my Christian brethren and brethenesses a blessed Good Friday and Easter, as we reflect on God's many blessings and goodness to us.

Ever since I had Nigel's buns LAST easter, I have had a yearning for Hot Cross Buns, but our busy master baker wasn't doing any this year, so, necessity is the mother of invention, and cravings are the mother of ... do it yourself if you cant buy them. Yes, of course you can buy them, but somehow, commercial ones lack soul, and lurve, and I cannot partake of these buns unless they ARE made with lurve and soul.

The buns themselves have a checkered history.... possibly of pagan origins even....contrary to popular belief (I don't know who's), they do not ward off evil, just because they have a glazed cross on their surface. Protestant England even banned them for awhile, until the Virgin Queen decided to allow it for Easter. After all, they didnt want all the Bakers to meet their Maker from dying of starvation.

Hot cross buns! Hot cross buns!
One a penny two a penny - Hot cross buns
If you have no daughters, give them to your sons
One a penny two a penny - Hot cross buns

As with most nursery rhymes, they make no sense, unless you know its usually dark and sinister meaning. Like Mary Mary quite contrary apparently referred to Mary Tudor or Bloody Mary (she was killing of non Catholics during her reign, so how does your garden grow refers to the growing graveyard of protestants), King Henry VIII's daughter. Jack and Jill refers to Louis the XVI and Marie Antoinette respectively, who's head came tumbling after, in the French revolution. Humpty Dumpty was probably a very fat man with high cholesterol.

I digress. So yeah, in the absence of Nigel's buns, I whipped up a batch of my own, taking many shortcuts. Two types, one with raisins, one with candied ginger. I love the ginger ones, as they give a certain zing. Toasted and slathered with butter, they did taste rather good, though texture wise, cannot compare with the Master's.

Want ah? Call me la.

My Sagging Buns - Cold & Crossless

Inspired by Nigel's Buns, I thought I would experiment, as a Good Friday treat to some of my friends, and make my own HCBs. (Hot Cross Buns).

Bread requires patience, and patience, is something I lack tremendously. Just ask the wife. I am as fidgety as an overdosed caffeine addict, and shun anything that requires waiting and watching for more than 5 minutes. Looking at the various recipes for HCBs made me feel slightly faint. All require proofing of the dough, and letting it rise to double the volume, and then knocking down, and then proofing again, and then shaping, and then proofing!!! ARGH!!!! There's more proof required than a criminal trying to get himself acquitted for blowing up people from northern asia.

Anyway, for the love of my friends, and an pent up desire, accumulated over 5-6 years, I decided to attempt and followed two recipes, one by Donna Hay, and one by Nigel Skelchy, both my gurus (except one I've never met)..... truth be told, Nigel's recipe trumps Donna's any day. Even though mine didn't turn out the way his did.

For starters, I felt my buns didnt rise as beautifully as Nigel's.... could be the lack of kneading and stimulation. Also, I added the shrivelled grapes at the wrong time. And then, to my horror, my CROSSes disappeared after baking....

So by the time they got to my friends, they were COLD, CROSSLESS, SAGGING BUNS...

The cross is visible on some of the buns.

Anyway, I decided I simply HAD to attempt them again.

Didn't bother with the Donna Hay recipe this time, and concentrated on the masterbaker's one instead. (with some slight variation...as I couldn't be bothered to get some of the ingredients listed). Okay, 2nd attempt was slightly better, but again, due to lack of patience, which requires weighing each bun to get uniform size, I couldn't be bothered, and used the agak agak method, so my buns weren't all the same size. But aiya, okay la.

But yeah, kneading is not such a bad thing. Neither is proofing, coz you can actually go and watch one episode of Heroes or Grey's Anatomy while waiting....

Anyway, the above picture is taken by the QUEEN OF THE DSLR.... this is why she's the queen...she can make anything look good hor....

Nigel's Gorgeous Buns and Cream (..And They're For SALE too)

PALM SUNDAY...

A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees (presumably palms)* and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
"Hosanna to the Son of David!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Hosanna in the highest!"
- Gospel Accdg To Matthew, Chap 21 vs 8-9

*Italics my own words....

Yeah, so anyway, as I was driving back, in a torrential storm, on a Sunday evening after a massage with the blind fler, I get an sms ...tit tit, tit tit [sms tone]... Despite large billboards saying, DO NOT SMS AND DRIVE, I pick up the phone and read it with one eye, (the other eye on the road), and I could NOT believe the text message:

"Palm sunday, just made hot cross buns. Baked with lurve, so come collect them now" - from my FAVOURITE baker boys, Nigel of Just Heavenly. I take the safer option, and call the fler, and delightfully detour to the Heavenly place.

Nigel is alone, pottering around in the kitchen, his buns on full display, and they look absolutely divine. Hot off the oven, I popped TWO into my mouth in succession. Absoooolutely JUST HEAVENLY!!! Ah, good choice of name hor. And, as an added bonus, he gave me a quarter of his famous VANILLA DREAM, a gorgeous butter cake sandwiching a glorious french buttercream. His fabulous cream isnt as sweet as the usual buttercream with icing sugar, and has a lovely satiny silky smooth texture, that just melts in your mouth, while probably coagulating in your arteries too.








The hot cross buns, absolutely yummy. It contains sweet potato, so the texture is moist and fragrant like potato breads. And fresh out of the oven, it really cant get any better. Inspires me to make some to give my friends at good friday service.

Thanks heaps Nige, you're the best. (and Allan opcors). Big big hug.

BESTEST NEWS OF ALL: Nigel's buns are available for SALE! (for you unlucky sods who didnt get them free). Cake is obviously for sale also la.

Click here for details of JUST HEAVENLY PLEASURES contact details.