Warm your milk and whisk together with the yeast and sugar until dissolved and then set aside for about 10 mins or until it's bubbling away and looks frothy. I soaked my fruit for about 5 mins in hot water to soften and then drain
Sift plain flour and spices into a large bowl then add in the butter (I cubed it) and then rub the butter into the flour using your finger tips to make it look kind of like bread crumbs
Add the yeast mixture to the flour, then add in the eggs, and the drained, softened fruit and mix with a spoon then transfer onto a floured surface and knead by hand for about 5 minutes. I had to add in quite a lot of extra plain flour as my mixture was quite wet so added extra until I had a decent dough
Transfer into a bowl to prove. I covered mine with cling wrap and placed it in a warm spot until it was double the size (this took about an hour)
When the mixture has doubled in size punch it to let the air out (this is SO much fun) and then transfer back onto a floured bench and knead for a few more minutes then divide the sough into 12 small balls (my buns were quite large in sizes you could definitely make smaller size and probably get about 18 out this amount). Place the buns into a lined or grated baking tin and set them aside to prove again for another 15-20 mins. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees (fan forced)
Make up your mixture to pipe your crosses on by mixing the self raising flour and water, spoon into a zip lock bag and snip the corner when you are ready to make the crosses. Do one line down the centre of each row and turn and do the other rows. Place into the oven and cook for 10 mins at 200 then turn down to 180 and bake for a further 15 mins or until golden brown
Make your sugar syrup by placing the sugar and the water into a saucepan and place over heat until the sugar is dissolved and boil for a min or so then set aside and brush over the buns when they are out of the oven and still warm
Enjoy with lashings of butter and get stuck in right away while they are hot and fluffy!