Hot Cross Bun Muffins

TEA-ster is coming and that means one thing (well two!)... Easter themed tea (and chocolate, obvs). Now, we often find ourselves indulging in a little too much chocolate this time of year, so we like to experiment with other things, like cake...

This delicious recipe was created by Tea Rep: Ladyos_cakesandbakes

• 275ml milk
• 3 Perfect Tea Spoons of Hot Cross Bun tea
• 75g raisins
• 300g plain flour
• 2 Perfect Tea Spoons baking powder
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 140g sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 90ml vegetable oil
• 50g butter
• 100g  icing sugar
• A pinch of ground cinnamon

1. The first thing you need to do is put the milk and Hot Cross Bun tea into a saucepan and bring just to the boil. Remove from the heat, cover and leave to infuse for 1 hour.

2. After an hour, strain through a sieve into a bowl, add the raisins to the infused milk and leave to plump up while you make the muffin mix.

3. Now it's time to preheat the oven to 170c and line a muffin tin with paper cases - you should need 10 (depending on the size of your cupcakes).

4. Mix together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre. Then, add the raisins and milk, then finally the oil, mixing everything together well.

5. When fully combined, spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 20-25 minutes until browned and with a slight crust on the surface.

6. Once baked, remove from the oven. Leave in the tin for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

7. Once cool, beat together the butter, icing sugar and cinnamon until smooth. Then, put it into a piping bag either fitted with a round nozzle or you can just snip the end off! Now it's time to pipe a cross on each muffin.!

8. Serve with a hot cup of tea and enjoy!