Hot cross buns Melbourne 2023: Best bakery finds this Easter
Our ultimate hot cross bun taste test pits our city’s boutique bakes against each other to see what bun will rise to the occasion.
Food
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It’s the fruitiest and most chocolatey time of year.
Herald Sun food editor Kara Monssen sampled a selection of traditional, chocolate and flavoured hot cross buns from Melbourne bakeries ahead of Easter so you don’t have to.
CRITERIA
Score out of 5
Appearance: 1 point
Taste:3 points
Toastability: 1 point
TRADITIONAL
Frank and Harri
frankandharri.com.au
Single: $4.9/Half dozen: $24.9/Dozen: $46.9
Shiny glaze, neat crosses, minimal fruit on appearance but a healthy balance to taste. Well made bread, with enough spice to keep it interesting. I suspect more sugar has been used in this recipe: the dough tastes sweeter, I thought the cross was sugary, and it toasts rapidly. Delicious as is, even better toasted.
★★★★
Penny For Pound
penny-for-pound.myshopify.com
S: $4.50/HD: $22
Phwoar, she’s spicy. Clove and cinnamon work in harmony against sweet raisin fruit, regardless of whether you toast or eat straight from the box. I liked the glaze, crusty tops and fluffy inners when eaten at room temp. Appreciate apricot chunks have been used in lieu of at times harsh candied peel. And they look the part.
★★★★½
Ferguson Plarre
fergusonplarre.com.au
HD: $11/D: $20
The flavour is here, yet the texture is off. It’s more squishy and sticky, perhaps not helped by the plastic bag it’s been sweating in. There’s a decent amount of spice and flavour, but more squishy and sticky than I’d like. Moderate distribution of currants, raisins, clove and peel. There’s an improvement when toasted, but overall I’d like to see more texture and crunch factor.
★★½
The Hamptons Bakery
S: $4/HD: $18
Looks the goods; the cross replaced with a piped signature Hamptoms ‘H’. The bread is made from sourdough, the fruit tastes boozy and rich; I’d just like more raisins. Much better toasted than from the pack, as the peel’s more integrated.
★★★
Ned’s Bake
S: $4/HD: $22/D: $44
Talk about big fruit energy. Excellent distribution, helped by smaller currants than massive hunks. They looked the part, a solid glaze, peel wasn’t in your face, works well as is and toasted. Our butter pick is Lardass.
★★★★
STREAT Cafes
S: $4/HD: $19.5/D: $46 (with French butter)
shop.streat.com.au/products/hot-cross-buns-racv
Plump, soft, doughy and not as glazed as others. Loved the noticeable fruit and spice. Softens out when warmed. An un-intrusive crunch. Proceeds help disadvantaged youth.
★★★½
Baker D. Chirico
S: $4/HD: $22
Solid spice, nice textural peel chew. Juicy, fat and sweet sultanas and currants make this bun. A wonderful bread-fruit-peel ratio. Delicious with butter or alone.
★★★
CHOCOLATE
Blackstar Pastry X Koko Black
blackstarpastry.com
S: $4.50/HD: $25/D: $45
Extremely decadent. Shiny glaze and mudcake dark in appearance. Plush bun that’s buttery soft, enriched by devilishly good cocoa and Koko Black dark chocolate buttons. Hot damn. You can tell quality chocolate has been used. Light, bouncy and enchantingly good. Toast and drown in salted butter for ultimate pleasure.
★★★★½
Penny for Pound
penny-for-pound.myshopify.com
S: $4.50/HD: $22
Chocolate fix sorted. Loaded with dark chocolate chunks, folded through a dough which strikes the ideal balance between bun and cake. Dense chocolate distribution makes it a joy to eat from the box or toasted.
★★★★★
Ferguson Plarre
fergusonplarre.com.au
HD: $11/D: $20
More cakey and brownie-like than bread. Tastes like a sweet scone. Appreciated the mix of milk, dark and white chocolate buttons. Excellent toasted. Best of FP batch.
★★★½
The Hamptons Bakery
thehamptonsbakery.com.au
S: $4/HD: $18
Preferred these to the Hamptons’ original, mainly for including tart cranberries to cut through all of that choccie richness. More dense than spongy in texture, with milk chocolate adding a sweetness.
★★★
Baker D. Chirico
bakerdchirico.com.au
S: $4.5/HD: $25
The clever inclusion of chopped hazelnuts added something more to a typical choc bun. Scarce dark chocolate bits keep it breakfast friendly and out of dessert territory. Highly recommended with salted butter.
★★★½
BEST OF THE REST
Ferguson Plarre’s Jam Doughnut
More novel and confusing, than delicious. Cinnamon heavy, very doughy and in true doughnut van tradition; very scant on the red jam. Unsure to eat as is or toast with some butter.
Penny for Pound’s sticky date
Don’t hate the concept or execution. Does what it says on the tin. Nicely spiced. Gooey drops of caramel sauce were a surprising touch – but give me more. Wasn’t sickly sweet as expected.
THE WINNERS?
TRADITIONAL
Penny For Pound
penny-for-pound.myshopify.com
S: $4.50/HD: $22
Phwoar, she’s spicy. Clove and cinnamon work in harmony against sweet raisin fruit, regardless of whether you toast or eat straight from the box. I liked the glaze, crusty tops and fluffy inners when eaten at room temp. Appreciate apricot chunks have been used in lieu of at times harsh candied peel. And they look the part.
★★★★½
CHOCOLATE
Penny for Pound
penny-for-pound.myshopify.com
S: $4.50/HD: $22
Chocolate fix sorted. Loaded with dark chocolate chunks, folded through a dough which strikes the ideal balance between bun and cake. Dense chocolate distribution makes it a joy to eat from the box or toasted.
★★★★★
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