In search of hot cross buns

This year marks our 3rd Easter in the USA, but for some reason- this time I am missing South Africa. I miss that Good Friday and Easter Monday are both public holidays. It felt really weird to be at work on the morning of Good Friday yesterday!

And I miss the big family lunch on Easter Sunday, with Gran's ham, and cousins rolling about.

And I miss hot cross buns. We tried in vain to find some today: we did find something labeled 'hot cross buns', but they had no spices, no raisins, and a glossy yellow lemon-looking cross on them... definitely NOT hot cross buns. But my ever-wonderful husband stepped up to the plate and declared that since it would not be easter without hot cross buns - he would MAKE hot cross buns! (This included making candied lemon peel... which took 5 hours before the bun making even started) It's now 9pm, and the yeast is just going into the recipe now... so DV we will have a hot cross bun midnight snack?