Each year in the lead-up to Easter, consumer watchdog Choice makes headlines for its hot cross bun ratings. This year, there were a few surprises in the mix. The top-rated bun wasn’t just a non-traditional one; it also netted one of the highest scores in the taste test’s 10-year history.

Credit: Supplied

Which hot cross bun is best?

A panel made up of three food industry experts was tasked with tasting 15 hot cross buns – both traditional and chocolate varieties – from Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, IGA and Bakers Delight. The panel blind taste-tested each hot cross bun both untoasted and toasted, and assessed them by flavour, aroma, texture and appearance. The final score was made up of 50 percent of the toasted sample score and 50 percent of the untoasted sample score. Their top choice? Woolworths chocolate hot cross buns with Cadbury milk chocolate chips, which earned an overall score of 95 percent. This went up to 97 percent for the toasted sample.

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Credit: Woolworths

Testers praised the rich dark chocolate aroma, the chocolatey colour and glaze, the light texture and how the chocolate chips melted through the bun when toasted. The product has improved enormously since last year, when it only scored 68 percent, with the judges saying the flavour was lacking. It clearly wasn’t lacking this year.

If you’re into chocolate HCBs, Woolies has also released new mudcake hot cross buns, inspired by the supermarket’s iconic mudcake. 

If you’re a staunch HCB traditionalist (and I salute you), feel free to sniff indignantly at the above, and simply move on. Why not try making your own this year? We love Melbourne pastry chef Michael James’ fruity, spicy recipe. 

Related story: Haigh’s 1kg chocolate ‘Super Egg’ is back for Easter