Place all the ingredients (except the sultanas and currants) in a bowl, in the exact order given in the list of ingredients. This way all the wet ingredients are in the bowl first, with the dry on top. You can mix together by hand or in your kitchen aid fitted with a dough hook, or bread maker on the dough setting. Mix until it comes together in a ball, then knead for 5 minutes until smooth. If the mixture is too sticky, add in a little more flour. It should be a soft dough which does make it a little easier to mix in a machine.

Tip the fruit onto the dough and knead by hand or in your machine, until evenly distributed. The fruit is added at this stage so that it stays intact, which is particularly important if mixing by machine.

Place the dough into a bowl, cover with a tea-towel and let it rise in a warm spot for 2 hours.

To make the cross mixture, whisk together all the ingredients in a very small bowl. Make this just before applying to the buns.

Syringe the cross onto the top of the hot cross buns, making lines down the centre of each row in a criss-cross fashion.

Bake at 170 degrees Celsius for 45 mins to 1 hour or until lightly golden and cooked through.

Take out of the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before turning out onto a board. Cover with a tea-towel and allow them to cool down.

We love these served warm, halved and spread generously with butter and honey or jam. They are also beautiful halved, grilled on top to toast lightly, then dolloped with butter.