Last week my bestie and I had a brain wave, and simply had to implement it on the weekend. I mean we were seeing so many hot cross buns in our new area in Melbourne, and we wanted to try all of them, but how could we justify eating so many delicious treats? Solution: a hot cross bun off! We decided that we were as good a people as any to try all the hot cross buns in our area we could find, and decide on a winner. It was a difficult task, but we were willing to take one for the team and try them so you don’t have to!

It was actually really fun walking around Richmond and South Yarra trying out some of our local bakeries. We knew a few that we wanted to try and were able to get quite a selection! We could have done even more, but decided to keep it to the ones that had stood out to us while we were walking around. There really is a lot of choice, even just in one small area of Melbourne! I hate to think how many hot cross buns we would have had to consume if we were trying hot cross buns from everywhere, or would that have been even more amazing? Probably. We will just need to try again next year! Honestly, Melbourne is foodie heaven. There is so much choice, it’s so hard to know where to start! That’s why trying a whole heap of hot cross buns was such a good idea, because it meant we could try all those that we wanted to try, and see which one reigned supreme!

So we collected the hot cross buns on Sunday morning, and went back home to try them all out. We decided on some important criteria to compare them against, just so that we could score them to work out a winner! The categories were:

• How they tasted fresh – You won’t always have an oven on hand to toast your hot cross bun, or butter available to smear it with. So we figured it was important to try the hot cross buns fresh as sometimes you just can’t wait. So this category was scored based on how good the hot cross bun tasted fresh without being toasted, and without butter.
• How they tasted toasted- The best way to enjoy hot cross buns, when they’ve been lightly toasted and warmed in the oven, and served with melted butter. This was the ultimate score of deliciousness, and my favourite category.
• Texture- How nice it was to eat the hot cross buns. We were looking for one’s which weren’t too dry, had a good mix of fruit or other filling, and were nice to eat.
• Stickiness – How lovely and sticky the hot cross buns were when you were eating them. We all love the delicious sugary glaze on hot cross buns, so we figured scoring against this was important.

We scored each category out of five, making notes of particular comments we had about each on the side. We tried 7 different hot cross buns in total, and each were scored in this way. We first tried all of them fresh, and then toasted them with butter. We made comments about the hot cross buns when they were fresh, and then toasted to see the difference between the two. So without further ado, here are the different hot cross buns:

Pana Chocolate

Price: $14.99 for 6

Pana Chocolate on Church Street in Richmond serves up delicious, healthy chocolates daily. I love this place because I don’t have to feel the least bit guilty about eating their treats. My friend had noticed that they were selling hot cross buns in packs of 6, and even though they aren’t necessarily a traditional hot cross bun, we thought it would be fun to add them into the mix.

On first look, they are quite small and bite sized. I have no idea what they were made out of, but they were full of delicious dried fruit. Although they weren’t full of delicious bready goodness, I felt like I could eat a couple of these (or the whole packet) without feeling the least bit guilty. So I guess that’s a factor.

When we tried these raw, we felt like they were a little dry. Even though we knew we couldn’t add butter because they were vegan, we really wanted it. That being said, it didn’t taste healthy, so you wouldn’t know you were eating something that has no nasties. The hot cross bun was delicious, full of spices and had a great aftertaste.

After toasting, the flavours of the hot cross bun was incredibly. It took on a real orange taste, and had a beautiful aroma. It also made it take on a bread like texture, and was deliciously crunchy. Toasting these definitely brought this hot cross bun to the next level, even without the addition of butter.

Overall, this hot cross bun was delicious, but I could have used a little bit of a better texture. But given that it wasn’t a traditional hot cross bun, it held up quite well against the other hot cross buns we tried.

Score

Taste Fresh: 3.5/5

Taste Toasted: 4/5

Texture: 2/5

Stickiness: 3/5

Prahran Market – Paddlewheel

Price: $3.50 per bun

We were at the Prahran market on Saturday and saw some delicious looking hot cross buns that we had to try at Paddlewheel. This bakery has beautiful bread, and was serving hot cross buns that you could buy either on their own or in packs of 6.

On first look, this bun was a great size and had nice crispy tops. It was quite dense and full of fruit, which is everything you want in a hot cross bun. If I were to think of a hot cross bun, this is what I would think of as the poster child.

Trying this fresh, we didn’t have many words to say. It was so tasty that all we could get out were a couple of ‘mmms’ and ‘mmmhmmms’. This is a pretty good sign when it comes to us, as normally you can’t shut us up! This hot cross bun had a delicious texture and the perfect amount of fruit. It was just yummy! Not much more to say here!

When we toasted this one, it went perfectly crunchy but stayed really fluffy on the inside. The texture was absolutely amazing and the taste was perfectly balanced. The yumminess that we found with the hot cross bun fresh was intensified when warmed in the oven, which made it even more delicious!

Overall, this was an amazing hot cross buns, and delivered on everything you could want. The only thing I could fault is that it wasn’t all that sticky and beautifully gooey as some of the other hot cross buns we tried. But overall I was not disappointed.

Score

Taste Fresh: 4/5

Taste Toasted: 5/5

Texture: 3.5/5

Stickiness: 3/5

Zumbo Chocolate Hot Cross Buns

Cost: $2.50 per bun

We decided to try two hot cross buns from Zumbo, because they had two options: Traditional and Chocolate. We both love the Zumbo patisserie, and so were expecting big things from these hot cross buns. Especially when we realized we could buy a chocolate one! We are both such big chocoholics and so we figured we would be on to a winner here.

On first look, the hot cross bun was nice and firm on the top, and soft on the inside. But we were really disappointed to find that there was barely any fruit or chocolate in the bun, and it was almost like it was missing ingredients. It’s a little depressing when you bite into a hot cross bun to find a serious lack of filling.

When we tasted this one fresh, we were really disappointed. I mean when you are promised a chocolate hot cross bun, you expect to get a really strong flavour. But this hot cross bun was so bland and flavourless that we questioned whether they may have missed some ingredients. It felt like it needed some more chocolate or some more spices, or both!

The flavour was improved a lot by toasting it, however it still wasn’t enough to redeem the hot cross buns. They still lacked flavour, and we felt that even butter couldn’t save these.

It was a real shame that the chocolate hot cross bun was so disappointing because we love Zumbo for everything else. But they just didn’t cut it in comparison to the other buns we tried. What a shame! I was really hoping that these chocolate hot cross buns would be my favourite!

Score

Taste Fresh: 2.5/5

Taste Toasted: 3/5

Texture: 2.5/5

Stickiness: 2/5

Zumbo Original Hot Cross Buns

Price: $2.50 per bun

The second bun we tried from Zumbo was the original hot cross bun. We had the same problem unfortunately with a lack of fruit in this one as well; it was as if they had forgotten ingredients! This one was also almost too sticky, and felt a little bit doughy on the bottom.

When we tried this one fresh, we were still disappointed with the flavour. It needed something and felt like it was missing flavouring. The bun was quite bland in comparison to the others we tried. It was also quite soggy in its texture, so was nothing to write home about!

When toasted, we found this one tasted a lot better than the chocolate version. The sogginess went away a bit which improved the texture, and it had a lot more fruit in it which added to the flavour. But unfortunately there was nothing that stood out as amazing.

Honestly overall we expected more from Zumbo, given how much we love the other pastries that you can buy there. Perhaps they were just having a bad hot cross bun day!

Score

Taste Fresh: 2.5/5

Taste Toasted: 3.5/5

Texture: 2.5/5

Stickiness: 2/5

Rustica Canteen

Price: $3.50 per bun

A new bakery has opened up recently on Swan Street, and after walking past a few times, we decided that it definitely had to be added to our list to try. Rustica Canteen’s selection of pastries is to die for, and I can’t wait to go back and try all of their selection. But I deviate, we are here to talk about their hot cross buns.

On first appearances, the hot cross bun from Rustica Canteen was everything that you wanted from a hot cross bun. It looked delicious with a beautiful glaze, heaps of fruit and a nice looking texture.

I almost can’t describe how amazing the taste of this hot cross bun was. Even fresh, it was so buttery that we didn’t even feel like it needed to be toasted. The texture was delicious and amazing, and the bun had the perfect amount of stickiness. It was packed full of spiced flavour that was perfectly balanced with the amount of fruit in the bun.

I didn’t think that it could get much better, but it did when we toasted it. This hot cross bun was everything you wanted and more. It was absolute heaven, and all we could both say was ‘Yum’. I could have easily eaten 10 more of them, so it was lucky that we only bought one.

Overall this bun was exactly what I wanted out of a hot cross bun. It was absolutely delicious regardless of whether you toasted it or not. Especially when toasted, this was the perfect hot cross bun.

Score

Taste Fresh: 4.5/5

Taste Toasted: 5/5

Texture: 4/5

Stickiness: 4/5

Burch and Purchase

Price: $3.50 per bun

We actually went into Burch and Purchase to get Easter eggs, but when we saw the delicious looking hot cross buns at the front of the store, we decided that we had to try them.

On first appearance, it wasn’t as fluffy as the other hot cross buns we tried, and was a little smaller. But it came in a cute box which always helps. The cross on the top also wasn’t a traditional one, and looked like it had been painted on which was a little different. The bun looked really sugary and sticky.

When we tried the bun fresh, the texture was quite nice, and it broke apart really easily. However, the dough was quite chewy, and we were left feeling like we needed to cover it in butter to get any enjoyment out of it. The flavours were a little bland as well, which was surprising given how sugary the top was.

When we toasted this one, it went really nice and crunchy, and the flavour and texture was greatly improved. The butter really helped, but it still lacked flavour and fruit overall. There’s just only so much that butter can do when the flavour isn’t there.

Overall I was a little disappointed by this bun, I was excited by the look and presentation of the hot cross bun, but in the end it just didn’t deliver.

Score

Taste Fresh: 2.5/5

Taste Toasted: 3.5/5

Texture: 2.5/5

Stickiness: 3/5

Brioche Bakery

Price: $2.5

The final bun we tried was from Brioche Bakery in Prahran on Commercial Road. This little bakery has a great selection of different types of breads and pastries, and we had wanted to try them for quite some time. So we took this opportunity to give their hot cross buns a go.

On first appearance, the bun was quite small and flat, and didn’t really look as appealing as some of the others. The good thing about this one was that when we cracked it open it was full of a huge variety of different dried fruit, which looked delicious.

When we tried this one fresh, it was full of delicious flavour from a great mix of spices and the fruit. It had a beautifully crunchy top, and tasted nice even without toasting. You could easily eat one of these without needing to toast or butter it.

If you did happen to have an oven and butter on hand however, this bun was delicious toasted. It stayed soft in the middle and on the bottom, and was crunchy on the top. It was a great bun for toasting due to the texture and stickiness, and toasting it really enhanced the flavours already there in the fresh bun.

Overall, this bun was quite good, and a great hot cross bun. However, when compared to some of the other buns we tried, it didn’t quite stack up in terms of flavour and texture. A commendable effort though!

Score

Taste Fresh: 3.5/5

Taste Toasted: 4/5

Texture: 3/5

Stickiness: 3/5

So in the end, the Rustica Canteen Hot Cross Bun was the winner! It was absolutely delicious, and writing this post right now I was I was tucking into another one or 10. I think I’m going to dream about that perfect hot cross bun.

Although each bun was good in its own right, the Rustica Canteen one was the perfect mix of flavour and texture. However, I think the real winner was myself and my bestie, because we found a reason to try all the hot cross buns we wanted to try! It was such a fun exercise, and I think I’ll have to do this more often.

What do you guys think? Would you like more of this sort of stuff out of my blog?

Happy Easter everyone, may it be filled with delicious hot cross buns and chocolate and food wherever you are!

Until next time, happy eating!

Ella xx