Jamaican Easter Bun Recipe A delectable tradition

BY NOEL CUNNINGHAM

In Jamaica whether you celebrate the reason for the season or not, it’s just not Easter without bun & cheese. My family doesn’t celebrate Easter, but I believe we had the most bun in the community.

Spice bun with cheese is a must in almost every Jamaican house during the Lenten season. I’m not sure who taught Caribbean people to store bun on the refrigerator top but that’s where you could find ours. We would start eating bun and cheese as of Holy Thursday, it’s a must-have on Good Friday and would serve as Dessert on Easter Sunday, and definitely it would be part of our breakfast on Easter Monday. Some people like to pair their bun with avocado, or better yet fried fish (sprat).

Easter bun tradition, however, dates back to Babylonia where cross buns were offered to Ishtar (the queen of heaven) on the day we now celebrate as Good Friday. Similar cakes were made by the ancient Greeks to honor the four quarters of the moon. The tradition made its way to England and when the British colonized the Island it later became a part of our rich food culture.

We adopted the cross bun and made it uniquely ours; similar in flavor but modernized from a roundish shape to a loaf. Hot cross bun has the shape of a dinner roll mark with a cross on top which represented the four quarters of the lunar cycle, made from a sweet glaze. The British believe the cross represents the crucifixion.

Here is an easy and tasty recipe to make your own Easter bun this season.

Chef Noel’s Spice Easter Bun

This Easter bun recipe is my favorite go-to bun recipe every year. Its lightly spiced with a blend of nutmeg, cinnamon, and mixed spice flavored with stout and studded with fruits.

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 1:15 mins

Total time: 1 hour 30 mins

Yield:  2-2lb loaves

Ingredients

Liquid

• 2 tbsp. melted margarine
• 1 cup Guinness stout
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp browning
• 1 medium egg (beaten)
• 11/2 cups dark sugar
• 1 tsp Molasses (optional)

Dried Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon powder
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1tsp mixed spice

Fruits

• 2oz glace mix (mixed peel)
• 2oz raisins, soaked in water
• 6 glace cherries to top the bun

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 150ºc /300ºF. Grease a loaf pan with baking spray or margarine; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs until foamy, add vanilla, molasses (if use) browning, stout, melted butter, and sugar mix until the granules dissolve.
3. In a large mixing bowl combine all dry ingredients with fruits (leave some for the top)
4. Slowly add liquid to dry ingredients and stir thoroughly to combine. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan halfway leaving room for the bun to rise (top with cherries if desired).
5. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
6. Glaze and leave to cool before slicing.

Glaze

Combine 2 tablespoons honey with 1 tablespoon melted butter and bring to a boil. Use a pastry brush to apply over the surface of the bun.

To Serve:  Serve with slices of cheese.