I find there's something so nostalgic and cosy about Easter time, and I completely adore it. Maybe it's the shift of the seasons happening at this time of year, the summer warmth giving way to the colder and cosier months. Maybe it's the fond memories that I have of chocolate-fuelled long weekends spent running around my grandparents' home in the mountains (I can't say much has changed…). Maybe it's the understated and easy-going nature of Easter, compared to Christmas, as families come together to spend time with each other, without that seemingly inescapable stress that Christmas time brings. Maybe it's simply that smell of baking hot cross buns, the scent of cinnamon reaching every corner of the house.

As I've grown older, hot cross buns have steadily overtaken chocolate's prime status as my favoured Easter treat (!) and I find myself hanging out for them in the months leading up to Easter. I just can't say no to a freshly-toasted, dried-fruit-studded, cinnamon-spiced, subtly sweet homemade hot cross bun (especially when paired with a cup of tea!). But I think it's their fleeting, transient nature that I love most - with only a few weeks out of every year in which to make the most of their goodness, they take on a somewhat ephemeral quality.

These muffins were very much a trial-and-error experiment. I obviously wanted to bake up some hot cross buns myself, however I've had zero time for bread-making lately, so I thought why not take the whole yeast step out of the mix and see what I end up with? I basically ended up with scones, which were fabulously delicious and hot-cross-bunny (heh) regardless. I then played around with the recipe, remade them, and ended up with these muffins instead. The texture is deliciously soft, and subtly sweet, studded with currants and a hint of citrus, and to top it all off, I made the cross out of raw cacao for extra deliciousness. Plus, they're vegan, gluten free and refined sugar free - much unlike the buns you find in supermarkets.

Hope you enjoy them as much as my family and I did!


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