Hot Cross Buns

Last week when I went shopping my first stop was the day old bread rack.  Sometimes there are some pretty terrific bargains there.  Lots of breakfast goodies, and some very expensive bread at half price.  Boy, do I stock up. 

Stopping by there, I discovered a rare treasure...a container of Hot Cross Buns.  Yummm.  Hot Cross Buns are to Easter, what Fruit Cake is to Christmas.  Both, however, seem to be an 'acquired' taste.

I'll eat any kind of Fruit Cake, it's kind of hard to screw up that recipe.  Although I do prefer mine to have a good helping of rum in it...not the rum flavoring, but rum...a good, healthy cup of rum.  Ohhhhh buddy!

However, Hot Cross Buns are more tricky. Therefore I must confess, I've only had one that was 'melt in your mouth delicious', and that was when I was a young teen and was invited to a friends home for brunch after the Easter Sunday church service.  Up to that time I had never even seen a Hot Cross Bun, and only knew about them via the little rhyme

Hot Cross Buns,
Hot Cross Buns,
One a penny, Two a penny,
Hot Cross Buns.

Oh, those buns looked so inviting, all nestled together, just out of the oven.  And, they smelled heavenly.  Each one had a white icing cross etched across the top.  The hostess broke them apart and passed the plate around the table.  I debated about taking one, trying one, (should I not like it), would be difficult to dispose of, and further, having it left on my plate could be embarrassing and offending to my friend's mother. 

Curiosity, over rode fear and I took my first bite.  It was not cake-like, nor was it bread like, it was sort of in between.  And it was delicious.  Rather than having colored Citron Fruit in it, these had candied cherries and pineapple.  Is your mouth watering?  Mine is.  I could have devoured every single one of those buns all by myself.

Since that first encounter, I have spent most of my adult life trying to find those wonderful Hot Cross Buns.  I've found NONE!  So far, not ONE to come even close.  But, I keep trying.

Don't get my wrong, I 'like' the ones I find in various stores, and will heartily down them to the last smidgen, however, the real Hot Cross Buns continue to elude me.  Somewhere...out there...is that perfect Hot Cross Bun...someday I will find you, won't I?