Jump to: Classic fresh buns | Insane supermarket versions
If you love the seasonal delights of hot cross buns then now is your time to enjoy them. We've picked some of the best that are being freshly baked across London. We've also highlighted a few examples of where supermarkets have gone perhaps a little too wild.
Fink's
Highbury, Stoke Newington and Hackney
A local bakery for us, Fink's buns are always worth waiting for. This year, they're made from Earl Grey-soaked currants, soft golden Turkish raisins (with more raisins on top) and with candied citrus peel made in-house from blood orange, bergamot, Amalfi lemon and orange. They're all glazed with an Amalfi lemon and vanilla marmalade.
Follow on Instagram: @finks.london
Toklas Bakery
Temple - 9 Surrey St, London WC2R 2ND
This year's Toklas hot cross buns have arrived. They feature candied pomelo and blood orange with orange zest from regular collaborator Todolí Citrus Fundació as well as Carinthian Greek raisins. As for the dough, that's infused with chai tea, along with cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves from Spice Mountain.
Follow on Instagram: @toklas_bakery
Quince
Islington - 267 New N Rd, London N1 7AA
Anna Higham's Quince Bakery's buns feature home-candied citrus, spices and organic dried fruit soaked in Barry's Tea. They're then glazed with their own homemade quince and damson jelly. As for the flour, that's from Landrace Milling.
Follow on Instagram: @quince.bakery
Maya's Bakehouse
Tulse Hill - 37 Tulse Hill, London SW2 2TJ
This bakery comes from Ballymaloe-trained chef Maya Manwaring, who went from home baker to bakery owner following a successful crowdfunding campaign. Here, the buns are Earl Grey hot cross buns filled with candied peel, golden raisins, sultanas and currants and double-glazed with their homemade blood orange syrup.
Follow on Instagram: @mayasbakehouse
Tarn Bakery
Highgate - 83 Hazellville Rd, London N19 3NB
Tarn is a Highgate bakery where the owners have Flor, Pophams and St Barts experience behind them. This year, once again their buns are made with soft, enriched dough using cultured butter and are full of dried fruits and honey alongside their own candied citrus peel and spice mix (feauturing nutmeg, cardamom, cloves, ginger, juniper, star anise, cinnamon).
Follow on Instagram: @tarnbakery_
Miel Bakery
Fitzrovia - 60-61 Warren St, London W1T 5NR
This French bakery in Fitzrovia comes from a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef, and this year, they've changed things up on their buns. Their hot cross bun is a milk bun with raisins and currants soaked in Hojicha, candied orange and candied ginger. As for the spice, that's a mix of cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, pepper and fennel.
Follow on Instagram: @mielbakery
Pophams
Hackney, Islington, Victoria Park (and delivery in London)
This year's Pophams buns by baker Philip King are flavoured with dried fruit, citrus peel and mixed spices and then filled with raisins, currants, sultanas, candied peel, apple, mixed spice, King’s Ginger and cinnamon. The cross is made with Pophams’ laminated croissant dough and they're finished off with a citrus glaze and a maple and cardamom syrup. If you order them in the bakery, they're served with a slice of Estate Dairy cultured butter, and you can also order them on the website.
Follow them on Instagram: @pophamsbakery
The Dusty Knuckle
Dalston, Islington and Haringey
This year, Dusty Knuckle have turned their hot cross buns fully vegan and they say they have "just the right amount of zest and spice to tickle those tastebuds". They'll be available at both of their bakeries as well as the van parked near Highbury Fields.
Follow on Instagram: @thedustyknuckle.
Toad Bakery
Camberwell - 44 Peckham Rd, London SE5 8PX
A favourite spot in Peckham, Toad is run by bakers Rebecca Spaven and Oliver Costello, who honed their craft at the likes of Ottolenghi and Fortitude Bakehouse. This year, they say their buns are "fluffy with a hint of Earl Grey Tea in the nose" and while you can get the buns on their own, that's not all. They also have a hot cross bun bacon and black pudding sandwich, filled with whipped salted butter, house-made brown sauce along with smoky bacon and black pudding from local Peckham-based butchers, Flock & Herd.
Follow on Instagram: @toadbakery
The Spence Bakery
Stoke Newington - 161 Stoke Newington Church St, London N16 0UH
With a perma queue at the weekends, Stoke Newington's Spence Bakery makes its buns with an enriched dough (milk, eggs and honey) and adds in fresh and candied citrus (lemon and orange), sultanas and mixed spice.
Follow on Instagram: @spencebakery
Comptoir Bakery
Southwark, Bermondsey and Borough
Comptoir Bakery originally started baking under the arches in Maltby Street in 2010 (as Comptoir Gourmand), and they've added two more sites since. Their buns are made with their signature buttery brioche with an Easter twist, rich spices & candied lemon & orange peel. Currants and raisins are folded through the enriched dough before being finished with the signature cross. They say they're best enjoyed with lots of butter.
Follow on Instagram: @comptoir_bakery
Fortitude Bakehouse
Bloomsbury - 35 Colonnade, London WC1N 1JA
As you would expect, from a bakery devoted to all things sourdough, the buns at Fortitude Bakehouse in Bloomsbury are a little different to the norm. They're made using a two-day ferment and packed with orange peel and sultanas, before being brown sugar-glazed.
Follow them on Instagram: @fortitudebakehouse
St John
Various locations
You'll be able to pick up a St John hot cross bun on the counter of all of their bakeries, bars and restaurants. Their buns are long-proved and slow-risen for a deep, yeasted dough flavour to offset the sweet warmth of the spices and then studded with dried fruit, candied peel and crystallised ginger.
Follow on Instagram: @st.john.restaurant.
Jolene
Various East and North London locations
Every Jolene bakery is bringing back hot cross buns for the season. Theirs are freshly baked each morning with Wildfarmed flour, studded with candied citrus peel and raisins. And once out of the oven, they're glazed with an Earl Grey syrup.
Follow on Instagram: @jolene_bakery
Gail's
Various locations
With so many Gail's bakeries in London, these hot cross buns are likely to be among the easiest to find. This year, the buns are made with candied orange peel, cranberries and sultanas, and spiced with cinnamon, mixed spice and grains of paradise. They're also glazed with a clove, star anise and nutmeg syrup. Their buns have won Taste Awards before, so are worth picking up.
Follow them on Instagram: @gailsbakery
Pump Street Bakery
Delivery to London
Pump Street isn't actually a London bakery, but one of the best in the country that also delivers to London so it's well worth noting. Their buns are scented with nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon and studded with sweet currants. And if you happen to be actually near their bakery in Suffolk, they also have a special chocolate version of the bun with Ecuador 85% pastilles, cocoa powder, fresh orange and candied orange pieces.
Follow them on Instagram: @pumpstbakery
The maddest supermarket versions
In addition to all the freshly baked versions from independent bakers, the various supermarkets are going bigger than ever on hot cross buns this year. And it's really not about who can create the most authentic version. We have to say - we haven't actually tried any of the mad takes below, but frankly, we're very tempted.
Here are some of the maddest options out there:
Waitrose's chocolate and fudge buns - We nearly went for the white chocolate and lemon option, but the hot cross buns made with milk chocolate chunks, caramel fudge pieces and salted caramel fudge are the "winner". For the person in your life who really doesn't like candied fruit.
M&S Tiramisu hot cross buns - For a company that makes versions as varied as red velvet versions or Cheddar and Red Leicester hot cross buns, they've outdone themselves with the tiramisu version. These are infused with coffee, filled with mascarpone and studded with Belgian dark chocolate chips.
Sainsbury's carrot cake hot cross buns - Sainsbury's have quite a few takes that do sound tempting, like the rhubarb and ginger version or the orange marmalade buns. However, these buns are made with roasted carrot, white chocolate chunks and pumpkin seeds. Will that actually work? We're now not sure we want to find out.
Aldi rhubarb and custard hot cross buns - Flavoured with rhubarb and custard, not filled thankfully, and with white chocolate chips. Much like the Sainsbury's version above - sounds tempting (could be awful). Note, that we haven't chosen Lidl's buns because they're almost veering on the sensible (apart from the cheesy option).
Tesco strawberry and clotted cream hot cross buns - You know when we said we'd be up for trying any of these buns. We take that back.
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