I’m a big fan of seasonal bakes – there’s something special about a treat reserved for a short window of time. Their rare appearance makes them something to look forward to, and to relish. Supermarkets like to push the limits of these seasons, though, and these days hot cross buns are available for a surprisingly long time – often appearing on shelves as early as January.
I know that, for many people, serving hot cross buns toasted is the only way to go, but for this test, I tried them straight from the packet, plain and with a little butter, so the toasted flavour didn’t hide any of the differences between the buns. To be honest, a lot of them tasted pretty similar and the spicing was almost universally far too subtle for my tastes. The differences mainly came in the quality of the dried fruit, the level of citrus and how dry some of the buns were. Even so, and while nothing beats a hot cross bun bought from a traditional bakery or one made at home, there were a couple of supermarket versions that are worth buying.
The best supermarket hot cross buns
Best all-rounder
Waitrose richly fruited hot cross buns
£1.95 for 4 at Waitrose
★★★★☆
A good amount of fruit, but what really makes these stand apart is the flavour of the fruit, which is plumper and richer than most of the other buns. I like these a lot, but wish they had a touch more spice.
Best splurge
M&S luxury fruited hot cross buns
£2 for 4 at Ocado
★★★★☆
A very good, classic hot cross bun. Generous with the fruit, light on spices and with just a hint of candied peel. If you like dried fruit, these are a great choice.
Best bargain
Aldi Specially Selected luxury fruited hot cross buns
£1.09 for 4 at Aldi
★★★☆☆
Possibly the least spiced of the entire bunch, but they are very generous with the fruit and have a gentle citrus flavour. Equally as good as some of the other supermarket offerings, but a pretty basic classic bun.
And the rest …
£1.43 for 4 at ASDA
★★★★☆
These have the highest percentage of candied peel and are very nice hot cross buns. Traditional in flavour, too, with a nice citrus finish.
£1.80 for 4 at Morrisons
★★★☆☆
I’m a little conflicted about these. They’re very pale and oddly wrinkly, as if something went wrong when they were made, although that might be just the batch I received. But they also have a really high percentage of dried fruit, a wider variety of spices and a pleasant combination of orange oil and zest, although the orange flavour is much more present than the spices. Overall, a nice flavour and texture, but not a looker.
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Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference fruity hot cross buns
£1.80 for 4 at Sainsbury’s
★★★☆☆
For a premium range, these are on the lower end of fruit and, interestingly, they use citrus zest instead of candied peel, so the buns don’t have that hint of bitterness that peel can give. I don’t think the flavour is particularly special, but the texture is lighter than many of the others, so I’m sure some people would like these. I would buy again, but not my first choice.
Co-op Irresistible richly fruited hot cross buns
£2 for 4 at Co-op
★★☆☆☆
A good amount of dried fruit, but a tad dry. There’s a hint of lemon from the mixed peel, but overall these are a bit forgettable. A pass from me.
£1.80 for 4 at Tesco
★★☆☆☆
These may be labelled as extra fruity, but they have a lower percentage of fruit compared with many other buns in this roundup. The bun itself is very soft and the fruit plump, but these don’t stand out from the contenders. Average.
Ocado hot cross buns
£1.35 for 6 at Ocado
★★☆☆☆
Not very sweet or very flavourful, and also quite dry. Low on dried fruit, but with more candied peel than most of the others. If you’re a fan of candied peel and don’t like things too sweet, these might be for you.
Lidl Deluxe luxury hot cross buns
£1.09 for 4 at Lidl
★★☆☆☆
Unfortunately, these are just boring and a bit on the dry side. Inoffensive, but forgettable.