‘Bun-dles of flavour’: Choice reveals their top picks for hot cross buns ahead of Easter

Despite hot cross buns appearing in stores earlier and earlier every year, the doughy delight continues to be as popular as ever. But choosing the best one amongst so many options can be tricky.

Fortunately, consumer group Choice has done all the hard work to reveal their top hot cross bun buys this Easter.

According to their polls, traditional hot cross buns (move aside Pizza Shapes Hot Cross Buns) are consistently the most popular.

Subsequently, their blind-folded professional panel taste-tested 29 classic buns, toasted and untoasted, across the fruit and chocolate varieties.

Their crucial work revealed that Woolworths’ Luxurious Richly Fruited Hot Cross Buns took the top spot.

These buns received a Choice expert rating, toasted score and a fresh (untoasted score) of 72 per cent. The price was reasonable at $1.25 per bun ($5 for a pack of 4) and it received a health star rating of 3.5.

Choice said it had, “the highest fruit percentage out of all the buns we tested (30 per cent); it contains cranberries, candied orange peel and cinnamon myrtle; and the pack price is the same as last year.”

One expert commented, “The bun had a nice shine with an even cross; well baked and when broken it had a nice aroma; the addition of citrus peel and cranberries was good to see.”

Out of seven chocolate varieties, Bakers Delight’s Choc Chip Hot Cross Bun was the overall winner.

These chocolatey treats received a Choice expert rating of 70 per cent a toasted score of 78 per cent and a fresh (untoasted) score of 71 per cent.

The health star rating was 1.5 and the experts said a good thing to know about this decadent bun was its composition and price. It’s made up of “25% chocolate, baked on-premises, and the pack price is the same as last year.”

The chocolate bun will set you back $1.50 per bun and $9 for a six-pack.

About the tasty treat, the experts said, “Great product – the appearance was pleasing with a nice chocolate cross; when broken open the aroma of spice and chocolate was evident; the texture was light and the flavour was pleasing with the chocolate coming through in both the untoasted and toasted samples.”

Because of a growing need for gluten-free products, Choice gave gluten-free buns their own category with the disclaimer, “Generally speaking the gluten-free buns don’t score as well as their regular counterparts, but the best gluten-free traditional and chocolate buns were both from Woolworths this year.”

The supermarket’s Free From Gluten Fruit Hot Cross Bun was the winner with a Choice expert rating of 64 per cent. The vegan-friendly, egg and dairy-free bun with no artificial colours or flavours received a 4-star health rating.

One of the experts said, “For a gluten-free product this was really good; when toasted this had a pleasing aroma; the flavour profile was quite good; there was a good amount of fruit present; overall good product.”

The gluten-free chocolate bun which received Choice’s top billing was also from Woolworths. Their Free From Gluten Chocolate Hot Cross Bun received a choice expert rating of 67 per cent and a health star rating of 3.

Priced at $1.30 ($5.20 for a 4-pack), this bun features Rainforest Alliance certified cocoa, is vegetarian with no artificial ingredients and is egg-free.

About the bun, the experts said, “Good size and height; lots of choc evident; pleasant choc aroma; good texture that seems crumblier than it is on eating; surprisingly good; even better toasted; toasts well with good texture contrasts.”

Now you know which buns are best, it’s best you hop to it and get down to the store before they run out. And if, by now,  you’re over hot cross buns, then perhaps it’s time to try Easter Paska buns instead.