Delicious & Light Hot Cross Pies (Iceland) By @SpectreUK

Hot Cross Bun season is upon us and we've already had a few strange buns, one resulting in melted chocolate pieces in the toaster. Stepping outside of the box are these Mr Kipling Delicious & Light Hot Cross Pies. I suppose they could be a substitute for mince pies, for those that really miss them.

I noticed on the box that these Delicious & Light Hot Cross Pies were reduced in sugar. Sounding pretty good for you is one thing, and some people like that, whereas, I like sugar. So, the reduced sugar worried me. I've stopped buying certain biscuits because the manufacturer decided to reduce their sugar. This is a treat, it's a snack, we know we're buying something naughty and nice, don't reduce the sugar and spoil it.

Apparently these Delicious & Light Hot Cross Pies have "real fruit pieces" in them, as opposed to those plastic ones you see on tables in IKEA. I'm in with that, I want a bit of fruit, fruit is good for me. I just want the sugar that goes with it.

The most depressing part about these Delicious & Light Hot Cross Pies was when I opened the box and noticed there was no sugar on the top of them. On taste they were full of mildly spiced fruit reminiscent of hot cross buns. They were light with melt in the mouth pastry. They were a little underwhelming, but probably didn't need much more sugar. They went perfectly well with my afternoon mug of tea, but come on, Mr Kipling, please give me some sugar on top.

Information on the box; Each pie has 192 calories, with 7.3g of fat, 9.4g of sugar, and 0.11g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Exceptional Tiramisu Hot Cross Buns (Asda) By @Cinabar

These hot cross buns are part of Asda's luxury range for this year, featuring an unusual and intriguing flavour combination. As we usually see fruit-based varieties, the Exceptional Tiramisu Hot Cross Buns caught my attention.

Upon opening the pack, I was immediately struck by the abundance of chocolate chips in the buns. While a traditional Tiramisu dessert often has a sprinkling of cocoa powder, it’s not usually the dominant flavour. I also noticed that the buns were generously sized and had a lovely, plump appearance.

I decided to toast them, though I’ll admit it turned into a bit of a messy affair. The melted chocolate from the buns got everywhere, and I found myself wiping down the counter and trying to clean up the chocolate-covered butter (yes, there was chocolate in the butter too!). It was a level of mess I hadn't anticipated, though I’ve certainly toasted chocolate-filled buns before, it just wasn’t quite this chaotic.

Taste-wise, though, these buns were a delight. The chocolate flavour was rich, complemented nicely by a strong coffee taste. While they might not have fully captured the essence of Tiramisu, the coffee was a lovely touch. As a fan of chocolate and coffee together, I’d definitely buy these again, despite the mess!

Choccy Hot Cross Bun Bites (M&S) By @Cinabar

Today is Good Friday and a bank holiday (public holiday) in the UK, so we have a long weekend for the Easter break. Apparently I’m not allowed to open any chocolate eggs until Sunday, just so you know what kind of mean environment I’m in. Until then, I needed to find something seasonal but sweet that I could munch on.

We recently popped into M&S as I had some birthday vouchers to spend, and along with a nice new top, I got us a few treats from the food hall. I picked up this bag of Choccy Hot Cross Bun Bites and thought today seemed like the perfect day to give them a try.

In the bag, the chocolates are a little plain-looking. I was hoping they would be round like a hot cross bun and have an iced or decorated cross, but there are just small rectangles. The taste was good, though; the milk chocolate coating was a decent thickness; the filling was sweet, buttery, and sugary; and it had a really good blast of spice. The flavour was stronger than I thought it would be; there was quite a punch of nutmeg and ginger, which was lovely. There were also raisins dotted around, giving it a nice bit of texture and sweetness. The flavour was good of these Choccy Hot Cross Bun Bites, but I do think they were missing a treat by decorating them with a cross.

Hot Cross Buns White Chocolate and Lemon (Waitrose) By @cinabar

I’m still enjoying finding new Hot Cross bun varieties, and as we needed a top-up grocery order, I decided to have a bit of a splurge and found myself doing a Waitrose order. This is their own brand Hot Cross Buns with White Chocolate and Lemon. They certainly sound like a nice twist, and here's hoping they work.

I opened up the pack and could smell the lemon, which is a good sign. I split them in half, and I could see a small amount of white chocolate, but there weren’t a lot of chocolate drops that were visible. As always, I popped the two halves in the toaster on a low setting, and after a very short while, I could hear a drip and sizzle. Perhaps toasting these wasn’t my best idea! Still, once they popped, they looked okay, but they were a little sticky to get out of the toaster. On the bright side, this meant that the white chocolate was more prominent than I thought they were. 

I buttered the sticky buns and gave them a try, and the flavour was lovely. There was a good balance of sweet and creamy white chocolate and a nice, sharp edge from the lemon. The buns were fluffy too and had a good texture. If I found myself doing another Waitrose order, they are definitely something I would pick up again, as they are a lovely edition. 

Caramelised Biscuit Hot Cross Buns (Aldi) By @Cinabar

I am very much enjoying Hot Cross Bun season. I’ve been trying quite a few traditional ones, but I do like picking up some of the flavoured ones too. Although there are savouries around, my heart is drawn to the sweeter varieties. I picked up a pack of these Caramelised Biscuit Hot Cross Buns which I found in Aldi. 

I split them in half and popped them in the toaster. As I was waiting, I looked at the back of the pack, and it suggested adding biscuit spread as a topping. I wish I had noticed that in the shop. I thought the best plan was to just add some butter and try the Caramelised Biscuit Hot Cross Bun without the addition of any jam or other flavours that may affect it. 

I gave them a try and could definitely pick up on the biscuit taste, but these were much milder than I thought they would be. They are sweet, but not sweet enough for my tastes. There are patches of biscuit spread in the mix, and these are nice, but not every bite has that flavour hit. The conclusion is that I should have bought a jar of biscuit spread, but these should have been okay without it. 

Strawberries and Clotted Cream Hot Cross Buns (Tesco) By @Cinabar

Oh my word, here we have pink Hot Cross Buns. How fun do these look? I thought that the pink was just the cross on top, but when I split the bun to toast it, the inside was pink too. I haven’t tried the Strawberries and Clotted Cream Hot Cross Buns yet, but I can assure you, I’m loving the novelty already. 

So these new fruity-flavoured hot cross buns are part of Tesco’s Finest range and look like a fun twist on the classic. They have the most amazing aroma, and once they were toasting, they just filled the kitchen with the scent of strawberries. They seemed even pinker once cooked! Oh my.

I added butter and gave them a try, and they were delicious. Firstly, they did have some spice, like a regular hot cross bun, but instead of raisins, there were juicy bites of strawberry, which was lovely. There were also creamy elements, like a melting bit of white chocolate, which was a delight. These are seriously yummy Strawberries and Clotted Cream Hot Cross Buns and as much as I like trying all the new varieties, I’m so going back for another pack of these. 

Hot Cross Bun Ratings 2023 By @Cinabar

We are very much in Hot Cross Bun season, and I have been writing about a few of the fun limited edition flavours that have been out this year already. This article is for the traditionalists, those of us who like the original recipe and simply want to know which ones are the best. I went to a selection of supermarkets , picked up Hot Cross Buns and completed a taste test with a panel to rate them for 2023. And the results are in:

 

5) Co-Op Hot Cross Buns 4 Pack: Average Rating: 60%

In fifth place, we have these Co-Op Hot Cross Buns. Admittedly, they are good value and did make a tasty snack. The taste was nice, but they felt small and didn’t seem to have as much fruit as some of the others that we tried. 

4) Aldi Hot Cross Buns 4 Pack: Average Rating: 70%

These Aldi Hot Cross Buns 4 Pack are a decent size but don’t feel as fluffy as they could. The spice is also quite mild, and we felt it needed a little more. There was a decent amount of fruit.

3) M&S Hot Cross Buns 4 Pack: Average Rating: 81%

The M&S Hot Cross Buns  were very good, they had plenty of fruit, good spice, and a nice feel. They did seem delicate though, and they fell apart a bit when buttering, but generally, these were very good.

2) Asda Hot Cross Buns 4 Pack: Average Rating: 85%

It was very close with these Asda Hot Cross Buns and first place. There was plenty of fruit and good spice, and they were pretty spot on. They were nice, fluffy buns too. The fruit itself was a little tart, and I think that's what pushed these into second place.

1) Morrisons Hot Cross Buns 4 Pack: Average Rating: 87%

These Morrisons Hot Cross Buns were the favourites and do claim first prize in this year's taste test. We loved the fact there was lots of fruit packed in, the texture was right, and the spice was well balanced. They were sweet and indulgent, and they won us over.

Bramley Apple Hot Cross Buns (Aldi) By @cinabar

I do love Hot Cross Bun season, and I have been trying out some of the flavoured ones this year. The truth is, I quite like the classic recipe, so these new Bramley Apple Hot Cross Buns from Aldi appealed as they didn’t seem too crazy or different. The cheese ones we tried were nice, but so far from being an actual Hot Cross Bun they sort of missed the point.

I opened up the pack, and there was a lovely apple aroma that was sharp. We chopped them in half and popped them in the toaster, and again, there were nice aromas while they were heated up. We served them with butter and gave them the taste test. The best thing about these Bramley Apple Hot Cross Buns is that the spices in them very much give them the feel of a classic bun. They have lovely warming spices, and they tasted spot on that way. The apple is a little sharp, but with the rest of the sweetness from the bun, there is balance, and these worked really well. The bread is fluffy, the fruit is plentiful, and the flavours were lovely. I really liked these, I think they are my favourite variation on a Hot Cross Bun so far. They are a twist, but they keep one foot in the traditional camp too. Perfect for people who want the Hot Cross Bun experience but may not be partial to raisins. 

Caramelised Biscuit Flavour Hot Cross Buns (Aldi) By @Cinabar

There do seem to be a lot of interestingly flavoured Hot Cross Buns out this year, and I am on a quest to see if they are worth it. My gut instinct is that I am a bit of a traditionalist, but let's see if these Caramelised Biscuit Flavour Hot Cross Buns can sway me. 

I opened up the packet, and there was a rich caramel scent that hit me, and I have to say it was absolutely lovely. We had these lightly toasted, and again, the aromas while they were cooking were very promising. I added a bit of butter and gave it a taste test.

The flavour was rich, sweet, and tasty. I could pick up a heavy amount of caramel, spices, and that lovely promised biscuit taste. They definitely achieved their mission, and the spiced biscuit worked well in place of the spices you would expect to find in a regular Hot Cross Bun. There was a little voice in my head asking me why there weren’t any raisins in the mix. Apparently, I favour the traditional buns, but these Caramelised Biscuit Flavour Hot Cross Buns are still a delight. 

Cheese & Black Pepper Hot Cross Buns (Asda) By @cinabar

I was struggling with lemon hot cross buns as not being quite traditional enough for me, so as you can imagine, the discovery of Cheese & Black Pepper Hot Cross Buns did make me pull a face. I love hot cross buns, but for me, it is about juicy currants and spices like cinnamon. They are, at the very least, a sweet treat. I have to admit that I enjoyed the lemon version I tried, but I think this may be a step too far. Savoury hot cross buns, what do you even do with them?

Inside the bag are four buns, and once split in half, you could see all the cheese mixed in there. It did look plentiful. We had these Cheese & Black Pepper Hot Cross Buns as a sandwich with a slice of roast beef inside. These flavours worked really well together, the cheese and the pepper were both nice. The mild cheese is lifted by the spice, but none of the flavours are too strong. The buns were fluffy, and they made a fab sandwich. I thoroughly enjoyed the cheese and pepper flavours, they were well balanced and nice and tasty. As a bread roll alternative, these Cheese & Black Pepper Hot Cross Buns are a winner. They just don’t feel like an Easter treat, but they were a nice lunch.

Lemon & White Chocolate Hot Cross Buns (Asda) By @cinabar

I’m not sure what the exact definition of a Hot Cross Bun is, but if I had to guess, it would be a sweet bread bun marked with a cross and flavoured with fruit and spices. Many supermarkets take a side step and keep the cross and the shape but change the flavours about. Here we have Lemon & White Chocolate Hot Cross Buns from Asda; no spices and no raisins are in the recipe.

The buns do look lovely in the pack, they are a decent size and look quite fluffy. We split them and toasted them, which wasn’t that easy given that they are quite big and fluffy. We have a wide toaster, and we still struggled. After adding a bit of butter, we gave them the taste test, and they were a success. The lemon taste is fairly delicate but still present and fresh, and the white chocolate gave them a sweet, creamy edge after each bite. The flavour reminded me a bit of lemon icing like you might get on a drizzle cake, just that there wasn’t too much of it. I like the Lemon & White Chocolate Hot Cross Buns, they might not be traditional, but they are tasty. Perfect if you aren’t a fan of raisins but still want in on the Easter tradition.

Thorntons Hot Cross Bun Shortcake Bites (Co-Op) By @Cinabar

These are making me cross. There are a couple of things that really annoyed me about these Thorntons Hot Cross Bun Shortcake Bites. Firstly, they are called Hot “Cross” Bun Bites and they didn’t even manage to put a cross on each piece. How simple would the theme for that have been? A cross on top would even have been less icing. These are an Easter treat so I’m not sure how they missed that.

 

Secondly, once you open the packet, there clearly would have been space for nine bites but they chose to space them out and only put eight in. That just seems a bit mean. So, yeah, before I started I was feeling a little grumpy about the product. When I bit in I have to admit my spirits lifted. There is so much cinnamon in these bites I was in heaven just one taste in. Mood reversed.

These bites do tick all the boxes when it comes to the texture. There is a solid shortcake base, chocolate, juicy raisins and a gooey caramel. There are lots of chocolate and caramel flavours all set off by that wonderful, surprisingly strong, hit of cinnamon. Oh my, they are divine. Perfectly seasonally spiced. It is Good Friday, I really hope I haven’t missed my chance to buy a couple more packs of these Thorntons Hot Cross Bun Shortcake Bites before they disappear.

Dairy Milk Hot Cross Bun Edition (Tesco) By @Cinabar]

It is Easter season and in amongst the usual yummy chocolate eggs and goodies I spotted something I hadn’t seen before, this Cadbury Dairy Milk Hot Cross Bun Edition. I’ve seen a few hot cross buns flavoured with chocolate but this bar is the other way around. One of the main ingredients in this bar is cinnamon, my favourite spice, so I couldn’t wait to get stuck in.

The bar looks much like most Dairy Milk chocolate bars, with just some hint of the raisins shining through the chocolate. Inside the pieces you can see some bits of cinnamon crunch too, adding to the mix. I gave the bar a try and, as someone who likes texture, was pleased by the squishy raisins and crunchy cinnamon sugar crystals, they made the chocolate interesting to eat. I liked the flavour too but, and this might just be me, the cinnamon was far too mild. If you got a crunchy bit, the flavour was more predominant but it would have been nice to have had a heavier hit of the spice over all. Everything is better with more cinnamon, right? It would have helped increase the hot cross flavour. There were plenty of raisins. It just needed even more spice too. This Dairy Milk Hot Cross Bun Edition is still good though, and a nice bar for Easter.

M&S Golden Blond Chocolate & Salted Caramel Hot Cross Buns (Ocado) By @Cinabar

The toaster just about survived these M&S Golden Blond Chocolate & Salted Caramel Hot Cross Buns. We have one of those toasters which is wide enough to take things like bagels and it even has a lift lever to cope with smaller items etc. Basically, I like toasting bread-based products. I regularly toast normal hot cross buns, despite the risk from rogue raisins dropping into the bottom of the toaster. It works pretty well, that is why I didn’t think twice about cooking these new ones in there too. I should have thought twice. It sounds obvious now, but Golden Blond Chocolate melts in the toaster, it drips and then it burns. It makes the hot cross bun impossible to pick up as the chocolate bubbles and burns your fingers. I had to wait for the toaster to cool to get them out, and then they were stuck as the caramel and chocolate had re-set. I know this is on me, but yeah it wasn’t the best start.

So let's pretend that I put them under a grill and they toasted up lovely, no hassle, and I’ll just move on. Lesson learned. They smelled amazing while they were cooking lots of rich caramel tones. I added some butter for the ultimate indulgence. The flavour of these buns is sweet. I was pleased that they still had all the spice of a hot cross bun, but the chocolate and caramel added a lovely sweet layer to the taste. These M&S Golden Blond Chocolate & Salted Caramel Hot Cross Buns are indulgent and lovely, and I’d buy them again. They keep enough of the proper seasonal hot cross bun flavour but manage to lightly wrap around it the blonde chocolate and sweetness.

No toasters were harmed during the making of this blog post (well after some substantial cleaning).

Hot Cross Bun Fudge (Co-op) By @SpectreUK

So Cinabar passes me this box of Hot Cross Bun Fudge from the shopping bag and says; "Can you write a blog about these?" I say; "Why?" Then it descends into, "Well, if you don't want them…" It's not that, it's just that why would you make Hot Cross Bun Fudge? I can understand Hot Cross Bun season for Lent, and I've always liked fudge, of course, but putting them both together? Maybe they made too many of each batch and this Hot Cross Bun Fudge got mixed up in the manufacturing process?

I do love Hot Cross Buns, especially with butter and damson jam. This Hot Cross Bun Fudge is fudge candied with orange and lemon peel, with added sultanas and ground cinnamon. As you can see from the photograph on opening the box the chunky pieces of fudge were full of sultanas. This fudge smelt just like Hot Crossed Buns mixed with sweet butter fudge.

On taste this Hot Cross Bun Fudge melted in my mouth, well asides the sultanas of course. Sweet smooth and spicy I could also taste the zesty orange and lemon peel, golden syrup and a little saltiness in the butter fudge. Gorgeous. I managed my calories well enough so I could gorge on the whole packet after my dinner of spicy Singapore noodles and prawn crackers. Oh yes, now I see why they mixed Hot Cross Buns and fudge together.

Information on the box; The 150g of fudge is 108 calories per 2 pieces at 25g, with 2.6g of fat, 17g of sugar, and 0.02g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Carrot Cake Hot Cross Buns (Co-Op) By @Cinabar

What an interesting sounding hybrid, mixing the seasonal treat of the Hot Cross bun with the Carrot Cake. There are quite a few interesting Hot Cross buns out at the minute, many just slight twists on the original (ie using blueberries), others going all out with non-traditional ingredients like white chocolate and caramel. Of all the varieties I have spotted, the ones I most wanted to try are these Co-Op Carrot Cake Hot Cross Buns. I do love a nice piece of carrot cake.

 

I split the Carrot Cake Hot Cross Buns open and could see the bits of orange carrot blended in, exciting. At some point it dawned on me while the toaster was cooking away that carrot cake is all about the spice (specifically mixed spice), as are regular hot cross buns (again mixed spice). I think what I bought are hot cross bun flavoured hot cross buns, with a small amount of carrot mixed in for good measure.

I finished toasting them and buttered them and gave them a try. They taste nice, sweet, and spicy. I loved the cinnamon from the mixed spice. I’m not going to lie I couldn’t pick up on the carrot. Perhaps I should have filled them with a cream cheese frosting for authenticity? They did taste good, genuinely maybe a tiny bit more spicy than some Hot Cross Buns but unless you see the carrot there isn’t much to tell really.

Random thought, I also add mixed spice to Anzac biscuits, so you know, in many respects, these are Anzac biscuit flavoured Hot Cross Buns too.

Cheese and Marmite Hot Cross Buns (Marks and Spencer) By @Cinabar

It is that time of year, the gap between Pancake Day and Easter, when all the Hot Cross Buns hit the shelves. These treats are usually sweet and come in many variations. I’ve tried lots of lovely sweet combinations but I think these Cheese and Marmite Hot Cross Buns from Marks and Spencer are the first savoury ones I will have tried. Yes these contain Marmite too for added fun, these should be interesting.

I sliced one of the buns and popped it in the toaster, at least there are no currants to worry about falling out in the bottom of the toaster. The smell of Marmite was reassuringly strong. I didn’t add anything but butter to the bun and had it at lunch time.

The flavour of these Cheese and Marmite Hot Cross Buns from Marks and Spencer is quite strong, there is lots of cheese but the Marmite is very well balanced, not quite as strong as the aroma hinted at but just right. The buns were soft and easy to eat and the cheese and Marmite mix worked well together. When I was eating this I was definitely thinking that a proper Hot Cross Bun isn’t savoury, but as this went it was a lovely tasty quick lunch between Teams meetings. I’m still adding some sweet ones to my next order!

Rhubarb and Custard Hot Cross Buns (Aldi) By @Cinabar

Following on from yesterdays look at alternative Easter treats, I found raisin free Rhubarb and Custard Hot Cross Buns in Aldi. I wasn’t particularly looking from Hot Cross Buns without raisins, I spotted an interesting flavour for review, but I’m aware some people have an aversion to the fruit, for example NLi10 who wrote yesterday’s blog post.
These Rhubarb and Custard Hot Cross Buns do have some fruit in them though, as they have pieces of rhubarb baked in.

The insides are also quite yellow, presumably from the custard. The flavour though is milder than I expected, and the hot cross bun spices gives these a similar flavour to regular hot cross buns. I guess this is both good and bad, they keep there classical taste, but stayed cautious on the new variant. The rhubarb is probably the more dominant of the new flavours adding a pleasing hint of sharpness, the custard just comes across as buttery and sweet, which is fine in the context. These were purchased with novelty in mind and they are delicate enough not to offend, but I would have preferred some sharper acidic rhubarb flavours. As a side effect I also now have the theme tune from the classic cartoon Rhubarb and Custard stuck in my head… this wouldn’t have happened if I’d bought the Salted Caramel ones!

Not Cross Buns (no fruit! just chocolate) M&S (By @NLi10)

As long-time readers will be aware - I'm not a fan of raisins and sultanas.  My partner is aware of this too so picked up some Salted Caramel & Chocolate Hot Cross Buns.  To share.

These are fruit free (yay!) and still contain the usual bits you'd expect so they taste like hot cross buns, and even look like them.  Just with yummy chocolate sweetness instead of odd bitter fruit.

See - they look like the real thing.

You can even see the bits inside!

You can slice and butter them too - is this what people do with them normally - i've no idea!

It says not to toast them though as I think they may melt and go wrong.

So yes - they are basically festive Brioche - but I can eat them and join in the stodgy goodness.  And I know it's not Easter for a bit yet, but I figured if I share it now a few more people who don't like the original configuration may be able to seek them out in time.

I really enjoyed them!