Dan Lepard's recipe for hot cross buns, plus frumenty custard tart

Hot cross buns Spiced yeast bun dough has to be kept warm, as spices have a tranquillising effect on yeast. One trick is to put the covered tray of shaped buns in a very cool oven, about 90C (70C fan-assisted) for three to four minutes, to boost surface temperature slightly. 150ml cider at room temperature 1 7g sachet fast-action yeast 75g wholemeal flour 150g double cream 4 tsp mixed spice 2 medium eggs 50g honey 300g mixed dried fruit 400g strong white flour 25g cornflour 1 tsp salt Oil for kneading For the cross 150g plain flour 50ml sunflower oil 125ml water For the spice glaze ½ tsp mixed spice 25g caster sugar Mix the cider, yeast and wholemeal flour in a bowl and leave to bubble for 30 minutes. In a saucepan, whisk the cream, spice, egg and honey, put over a low heat and stir until just warm, about blood heat. Pour into the yeast mix and add the dried fruit. In another bowl, stir the flour, cornflour and salt, add the yeast mixture, combine to a soft, sticky dough and leave for 10 minutes. Lightly oil a worktop, and gently knead the dough for 10 seconds. Return to the bowl, cover and leave somewhere warm for an hour, until risen slightly. Divide into 12 roughly 100g pieces, shape into balls and put on a tray lined with nonstick paper. Cover and leave to rise somewhere warm until almost doubled. Mix the cross ingredients and spoon into a piping bag with a plain 0.75cm nozzle. Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan-assisted)/425F/gas mark 7, pipe crosses on the buns and bake for 15-18 minutes. Remove and leave until almost cool. Boil the spice, sugar and 25ml water until syrupy, brush over the buns and they're ready to roll. Frumenty custard tart Semolina is simply a nib of wheat traditionally leftover from stone milling. Boiled with milk, and enriched with butter and eggs, it makes a superb tart filling. This is good with poached fruit and cream. For the shortcrust 125g plain flour 25g icing sugar 1 pinch salt 75g unsalted butter 1 egg yolk (use the white in the filling) 2 tsp vanilla extract For the filling 300ml milk 25g semolina 25g unsalted butter 50g caster sugar 25g honey 4 eggs, plus the egg white from above 25ml dark rum Grated nutmeg or ground mace For the pastry, put the flour, icing sugar and salt in a bowl, rub in the butter, then work to a dough with the egg yolk and vanilla and leave to chill for 10 minutes. Lightly flour a worktop, and roll out the dough thin enough to cover the base and sides of an 18cm, round, deep tart case. Trim off the excess pastry, then blind bake with nonstick baking paper and baking beans for about 30 minutes at 170C (150C fan-assisted)/335F/gas mark 3, removing the paper and beans for the last five minutes (or longer if you prefer pastry to have a crisp texture). For the filling, whisk the milk and semolina in a saucepan, bring to a boil, then leave covered for 10 minutes. Whisk in the butter, sugar and honey, beat the eggs then stir them through with the rum. Check your pastry case for holes and block up any with spare dough. Put the pastry case on a tray, pour in the filling, sprinkle with nutmeg and bake at 170C (150C fan-assisted)/335F/gas mark 3 for 25-30 minutes, until set at edges and a tiny bit wobbly in the middle. danlepard.com/guardian