It might still be a few weeks until Easter, but the supermarkets and high street shops are already full of items to buy now.
From Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies, to Easter bonnet kits and decorations for your home, there's plenty of choice already in shops including Home Bargains, B&M and the major supermarkets. And this includes one food item that many of us crave over Easter - hot cross buns.
Filled with fruit and spices, the scent of a toasted hot cross bun is likely to transport you back to Easter holidays as a child and give you that warm fuzzy feeling inside. This week, we put a selection of supermarket hot cross buns to the test, to see which are the very best buy this Easter.
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We rated them based on taste, appearance and overall value for money. Here's our verdict:
M&S 4 Luxury Fruited Hot Cross Buns
There's nothing quite like sinking your teeth into a hot cross bun, straight out the toaster with lashings of butter on. Maybe it's because they only come round once a year - although admittedly they seem to appear in the shops earlier and earlier - but the taste and smell is like a warm hug on a cold day.
I always have mine with a strong cup of tea and the bun definitely has to be hot - why would you not toast it, it's in the name after all? I'm a bit of a sucker for M&S food, so I was all too happy to pick up a packet of M&S Luxury Fruited Hot Cross Buns despite Easter still being six weeks away.
As soon as I opened the packet I could smell the warm spices and the bun sliced easily without crumbling all over the place. After a short time in the toaster on low, so as not to burn, it popped up golden brown on the outside, with that nostalgic aromatic smell filling the room.
I sometimes go for a bit of jam on my hot cross bun, but decided to just stick with Lurpak so I could really get the flavour of the bun and I wasn't disappointed. The bread was soft, chewy and packed full of plump juicy fruit. No stingy portions here. There was also bits of mixed peel, which added a slight citrus flavour and the familiar hot cross bun spices came through beautifully.
The whole thing was so delicious I could've eaten another straight away, but didn't want to be greedy. At £2 they're not the cheapest on the market, but you certainly get what you pay for and I know I'll be heading back to buy a few more packets between now and Easter.
Rating: 5/5
Price: £2
Where to buy: M&S stores or Ocado
Morrisons Baker's Four Hot Cross Buns
Hot cross buns are an Easter staple, but I've never been a huge fan myself, so I was keen to put this offering from Morrisons to the test and see if it changed my mind. I picked up a pack of four from the in-store bakery, which were priced at 85p per pack. These hot cross buns were also on offer, with the option to get two packs for £1.50.
I opted to enjoy mine with plenty of butter, and was really pleased with the taste. I felt like there was just the right amount of sultanas and raisins in them, and the texture was nice and moist. My only critique would be that I found the top of the bun a little too sticky for my liking, but overall I was really impressed. I think these hot cross buns are great value for money and full of flavour - you can't go wrong.
Rating: 4/5
Price: 85p
Where to buy: Morrisons stores
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Fruity Hot Cross Buns
I'm relatively new to the hot cross bun craze, trying my first ever hot cross bun just last year - I know, I know, what on earth had I been doing?
Since falling in love with the sweet and carby treat, I'm keen to make up for lost time. Last Easter, I tucked into Marks and Spencer's hot cross buns so this year, I was keen to see how another supermarket might measure up.
On my lunch break, I ventured into Sainsbury's and was delighted to snap up a four pack of Taste the Difference Fruity Hot Cross Buns, reduced from £1.50 to £1.19.
The packaging is relatively simple, detailing the fillings and flavours on offer. The sumptuous snacks are packed with sultanas, raisins and flame raisins, and complete with a "unique spice blend".
They're a decent size with a good amount of fruit, too. I popped them in the toaster - a hot cross bun absolutely must be hot - and waited for the almost autumnal aroma to fill my kitchen, but it wasn't as strong as I'd expected.
After tucking in, it definitely hit the spot though I couldn't quite pick up on the "unique spice blend" but the texture and generous fruit more than made up for it. Sadly, for me, they didn't live up to Marks and Spencer's hot cross buns but are still a decadent, delicious treat well worth trying.
Rating: 3.5/5
Price: £1.50 at full price
Where to buy: Your local Sainsbury's store, or online.
Aldi’s ‘Luxury Fruited’ Four Hot Cross Buns
I absolutely love hot cross buns, and whenever spring comes around, I find myself rushing to the shops to stock up on as many as possible. When I was younger, I wasn’t a big fan of them because of the raisins, but now I’m a sucker for the sticky, fruity buttery goodness.
For me, a hot cross bun symbolises my favourite time of the year, and a bite into one is always a treat - especially when there’s loads of butter. Now, I’m not particularly fussy when it comes to hot cross buns, and basically get them from wherever I can.
I’m a huge fan of the different flavours available, but always find myself going back to the absolute classic. I took a trip to my local Aldi and saw a lovely golden batch of 'Luxury Fruited' hot cross buns priced at £1.29 and knew I had to try them.
I took them home and stuck them in the toaster, but sadly ended up toasting them for too long so they were a little burnt - but I didn't let that put me off. Butter was my saviour in this case, so I slathered it with Clover and took a big bite.
The flavour was pretty good, but it was the consistency for me that really let the Aldi hot cross buns down. I'm a big fan of a sticky hot cross bun, but even in the middle where the hot cross bun wasn't burnt, it was pretty dry.
I wouldn't say I was absolutely blown away by the hot cross buns, and have certainly had better in the past, which was a real shame. For £1.29 I expected a little more from Aldi.
Price: £1.29
Rating: 3/5
Where to buy: Your local Aldi store
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