In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk until just below boiling, then remove from heat and leave to cool until warm to the touch.  Stir in the yeast and set aside.  In a separate small bowl, add the apricots and juice from the orange.  Pop in the microwave for 30 seconds, give it a stir and set aside.

Mix the flour, sugar, salt, and spices together in a large mixing bowl.  add the orange zest and coat with flour breaking up clumps, then mix in well.  Make a well in the center of the flour and add the yeast mixture, melted butter, grated ginger and egg.  Using a fork, start to bring in flour into the wet ingredients, and stir together until a soft and sticky dough is formed.

Add the apricots to the dough and begin to knead, for about 10 minutes, or until the dough comes together, and is relatively smooth.  The dough will be wet, just keep kneading and it will come together.

Grease the bowl with some oil, knead the dough a couple of times to get some oil on it, then form into a ball. Top with some greased parchment or wax paper, followed by a tea towel. Leave the dough to prove for one hour or until doubled in size.  We use the oven to prove, as it is draft free, and we can add a bowl full of boiling water underneath for some steam.

Grease a 9×13″ baking pan.  Divide the dough into 12 even pieces.   Roll each piece into a ball and place into the pan, leaving space between the rolls. Leave prove an additional 30 minutes to 1 hour, until doubled in size.

To make the icing, beat cream cheese in a bowl with the icing sugar.  Transfer to a plastic baggie and cut off the tip to pipe the crosses.  Place in the fridge to cool. Once proving is complete, pipe a cross over the top of each bun.  You may need to squeeze the bag with the cream cheese to get it workable again, the heat from your hands will be enough, but you still want it cool going in the oven, to prevent it from burning.

Preheat oven to 400F.  Place the buns in the oven and immediately down the heat to 375F. Bake the buns for 17-22 minutes or until nicely browned. Remove from the pan (a spatula works well) to a cooling rack, then brush with butter and leave to cool.  Serve with additional cream cheese frosting or honey, if desired.