Easter food usually conjures up images of spicy hot cross buns and sweet chocolate. The idea of combining the two in a sugar and spice, all things nice way was irresistible which led to the idea for this recipe – mini hot cross cupcakes, which marries the spices of hot cross buns with a sweet cupcake. The first time I made these the crosses on top were drawn using melted white chocolate and while the little ones devoured them, I’m actually not a fan of white chocolate and found them to be too sickly sweet for my taste. A quick change to the ingredients list led to this easy Easter recipe which I hope you’ll enjoy making with your little ones too.

tiny & little’s mini hot cross cupcakes

Ingredients

125g butter, softened
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups self raising flour
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 cup sultanas
1/3 cup milk
white icing (your favourite homemade recipe or store bought) – if you’re a white chocolate fan, you can use that instead!
a ‘mini’ sized zip lock bag

Method

Preheat the oven to 160c and line a cupcake/mini muffin tray with paper cases

Beat the butter, caster sugar and vanilla until light and creamy

Add the eggs and mix

Add the self raising flour, cinnamon, allspice and sultanas, and mix until combined

Gently stir through the milk

Pour into the cases in your baking tray

Bake for 17 minutes or until they are golden on top and spring back when touched

Place them on a cooling rack

Optional step: If you’d like the mimic the glaze on top of traditional hot cross buns, you can make a sugar syrup by mixing 2 tbsp caster sugar with 2 tbsp boiling water and brush it over the cupcakes while they’re still warm

Once your cupcakes have cooled you’re ready to add the little crosses. To do this, place your icing inside the zip lock bag and seal it, before snipping a little off one of the bottom corners. This creates a little piping case that you can hold in your hand and squeeze to draw the crosses on top of your hot cross cupcakes. Draw a little cross on each and they’re ready to enjoy.