Hot cross bun help - disaster?

[Wifeabroad]

DH is British and we live abroad. He’s often talked fondly about hot cross buns so I’ve baked some this year! I followed a recipe from BBC/Mary Berry. They look alright but I suspect the texture is off, what should the texture of HCB be? Should they be fluffy, crumbly, or what? I am a fairly good baker and I suspect they might not have risen quite enough (it’s very cold here), so perhaps a bit too dense :( I hope he won’t be too disappointed…

Ideally a bit fluffy but you’ll have the flavour so if they are a bit more dense than ideal I don’t think he’ll mind too much. It’s a really nice thing to do although traditionally they are eaten on Good Friday but I don’t suppose he’ll be bothered by this.

Thank you! They are edible certainly, though I couldn’t find spice mix here or mace so I’m not sure they’ll quite match his
memkry. Hopefully still a nice treat…

I think they are quite 'uncooked', not raw but only just cooked, less cooked than say a bread roll, very moist, somewhere between cookie dough and a roll! The dried fruit will make it like that too but I think perhaps they are cooked covered as you don't want hard crust on the top like a loaf of bread.

They are essentially soft bread rolls, slightly sweet, spicy with dried vine fruit and citrus peel. The cross on top (flour paste) represents the crucifix. They used to only be available in the run up to Good Friday, and eaten only on Good Friday, but now they seem to be available year round - in England at least- with other non-traditional variants (chilli, red velvet, chocolate…) hitting the shelves for Easter.

My DD made that recipe last week and it didn't work for her. They didn't rise and took about an hour to cook.

They are quite dense, not like bread. More like an English muffin.

They are just like fruited and spiced bread rolls.
You should eat them hot so the butter melts.
I always toast them. But if you are baking them fresh you could eat them when still warm out of the oven.
I wouldn't say the texture is dense or like a muffin. More like broche

I suspect homemade ones will never have the texture of shop bought ones. The shop ones are incredibly soft.