Easter Morning Crown

After the Ash Wednesday 40 days ago, last week we remembered the Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and yesterday was the big day; Easter Sunday.
Happy Easter for all Christians around the globe.
A couple of days ago, I was so excited with my plan to bake 'Hot Cross Bun' for Easter morning. I chose the recipe (the one that I have never tried before) and prepared all the ingredients days before. Since the recipe is using 'active dry yeast' whereas I only have 'dried instant yeast', so I looked some other recipes trying to find the 'formula' for subtitution of both type of yeast.
I found this recipe with title 'Christmas Morning Crown' (that using 'dried instant yeast') from Delicious Magazine. At the end, I changed my mind, instead of bake hot cross bun, I decided to bake 'Easter Morning Crown' :)
Easter, with its theme of renewal and awakening, presents the perfect opportunity for cooking familiar foods and trying new recipe.

Baking this 'cinnamon rolls' is another excitement. I read the recipe many times before starting the preparation, to make sure I really understand the method of this bread making.
Lots of little shocking moments happened later. I was a bit surprised when found the dough was very small at the beginning. During the baking time, another surprise came up... the bread grew so big, out of my expectation. Something must be wrong I thought, but I tried to ignore it. I kept continue all the steps including styling and photographing.

At the last photographic style, I wanted to show the inside part of the bread. Other than cutting the bread, I just grabbed one roll, and bite it.
Oooh ... my eyes were open soooo big while chewing the bread. It tasted sooo good!
I have to say, I'm so proud of myself... I can make a very delicious cinnamon rolls! yipppy...!
Hhhmm... I think the type of this bread is in between cinnamon rolls and sticky bun.
My husband, my children... all of us love it.

Easter Morning Crown
Source : Delicious Magazine, 100th issue (Dec 2010/Jan 2011)
original recipes' title : Christmas Morning Crown
makes 9 scroolls Ingredients: 1 1/2 cup (225 gr) strong (bread) flour +extra to dust
7 gr sachert dried instant yeast
125 gr unsalted butter, chopped +extra to grease
1/2 cup ( 125 ml) warm milk
1 egg, beaten
50 gr brown sugar
2 tbsp chopped hazelnuts (I used 5 tbsp chopped cashews)
1 tsp mixed spice (I used 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1 tsp 'bumbu spekuk'*)
1/3 cup (55 gr) chopped mixed peel -------]
1/3 cup (55 gr) sultanas ----------------------] (I used 150 gr raisins)
1/4 cup (50 gr) glace cherries, chopped ---]
3/4 (110 gr) icing sugar
1-2 tbsp lemon juice (I used 1 tbsp lime juice + hot water + vanilla essence)



Grease a baking tray and dust with flour. Sift flour into a large bowl, add yeast and 1/2 tsp salt. Rub in 40gr butter to form coarse crumbs. Mix in milk and egg to form a dough. Place in a greased bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave for 1 hour in a warm place until doubled in size.

Meanwhile, beat remining butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until combined. Add nuts, spice, peel, sultanas and cherries and stir to combine.

Punch down dough to expel air, knead briefly, then roll out on a floured surface to form a 30 cm x 23 cm rectangle. Spread fruit mixture over dough, leaving a 2 cm border on the long sides. Roll up from one long side, then cut into 9 equal pieces. Place slices, cut-side up, on the floured tray so it forms a circle with a slices just touching. Cover with a clean towel and leave in a warm place for 1 hour or until slightly risen.
[Once risen, you can cover the crown and chill overnight, then bring back to room temperature before baking].
Preheat oven to 180C. Bake crown for 20 minutes until golden. Cool slightly. Mix icing sugar with enough lemon juice to make a soft icing, then drizzle over crown.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

*Bumbu Spekuk; the seasoning is a mixture of ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg and ground cardamom.