From a vanilla slice version to an ice-cream sandwich, these are the hottest hot cross buns of the season

Easter is best marked with a hot cross bun. Whether you like a sturdy, raisin-studded roll split with butter or a chocolate hot cross scroll topped with gelato, it all comes down to your personal bun beliefs. At Good Food, all are welcome in the church of carbs. Here’s our guide to the best Easter buns, from the devoutly traditional to the gloriously unhinged.

Filled hot cross buns

This year, bakeries are going all-in on the fillings, turning the humble morning tea treat into a custard-filled dessert.

Paris-inspired boulangerie Loulou, with outposts in the CBD, Milsons Point and North Sydney, has launched its first filled bun packed with chocolate-hazelnut custard ($6 each or $33 for six). “It’s great because there’s no butter or jam needed. The bun is already its own thing,” says Loulou head baker Brendon Woodward.

Cookie specialist Happy Alley in Rockdale has joined the bun brigade, launching a double chocolate hot cross bun coated in cinnamon sugar and filled with chocolate namelaka cream ($6 each or $35 for six). The filling is smooth, velvety and mousse-like. “We chose namelaka for our hot cross bun because it adds that “wow” factor without making the bun heavy or overly sweet,” says general manager Alan Harb.

At Poles Patisserie in Penrith, hot cross bun meets vanilla slice ($8 each or $30 for four). “We start with a fruitless hot cross bun, slice it in half, and pipe it generously with layers of our signature custard, just like our vanilla slice. It was important to us that the filling was thick!” says co-owner Ricky Ardil. Nutella, Biscoff and Bueno fillings are also available.

Meanwhile, Italian cake shop Papa’s Pasticceria in Haberfield and Five Dock has brought back its pistachio hot cross bun ($20 for six), which was crowned Good Food’s favourite bun in 2025. It’s soft, sweet and deeply satisfying, stuffed with house-made crema di pistacchio and finished with a scattering of crushed nuts.

Hot cross scrolls

Cinnamon scrolls are getting in on the Easter action, borrowing the spices, sweetness and buttery warmth of an HCB.

Bobo Bakery, a pop-up bakery with pick-up in Kingsford, has created a seasonal spin on its scrolls using from the same pillowy brioche dough folded with mixed fruit and warming spices ($10 each). Rolled up with Pepe Saya butter and brown sugar, they’re finished with an orange glaze. “When they are warm from the oven, the butter just oozes out of them,” says Bobo baker Rowan Attwell.

At Shadow Baking, the scroll takes a more technical turn. Laminated croissant dough is filled with mixed fruit and vanilla custard, or chocolate ($7.90 each or $39 for six). At the Marrickville store, you can get them heated up, with a scoop of hot cross bun gelato on top.

Chocolate hot cross buns

You won’t have to pick the sultanas out of this lot. In Manly, Greek cafe and grocer Norma’s Deli has launched a chocolate version of its hot cross bun wheel, made up of 30 smaller buns dotted with Belgian callebaut chocolate chips - perfect for tearing and sharing ($68 each).

Bourke Street Bakery has brought back its chocolate and cranberry buns, as well as the traditional fruit and spice ($4.50 each or $20 for six). For rum-and-raisin fans, they’ve teamed up with neighbours Red Mill Rum to create a spiced rum butter, sold on the side ($10.50).

According to Good Food Guide co-editor Frank Sweet, the best choc chip buns belong to Baker’s Delight ($2.70 each). “A great squodge, a pleasing elasticity to the dough, and, above all, a decent blast of embalming spices,” he says.

Traditional hot cross buns

For those who prefer their Easter buns spiced and studded with raisins, these offerings stay true to tradition.

Goodwood Bakeshop in Marrickville turns out an immaculate HCB. The fruit is plentiful, featuring a mix of raisins, currants, sultanas and sour cherries, along with a spice blend made from whole spices ground in-store ($4.50 each or $24 for six).

Margaret restaurateur Neil Perry has entered the bun fight with tall, fluffy rolls, layered with cardamom, cinnamon and cloves, with the subtle aromatics of Earl Grey tea and candied orange, now available at Cafe Margaret ($6 each).

At Martha’s in Wareemba, there’s no need to bring your own butter. The regular hot cross buns come with whipped butter and pink salt, ready to eat on the spot ($4.50 each).

A.P Bakery head baker Dougal Muffet uses a panettone fermentation process to keep the buns plump and soft across their five stores ($29 for six). This year, their line-up also includes Colomba Pasquale ($50 each) – a dove-shaped sweet bread, topped with a panettone crackle.

Whatever these are

These Easter treats have little in common with the raisin-studded rolls of yore, but they’re no less delicious.

Baker Bleu in Double Bay has launched an iced hot cross bun latte ($9 each), made on iced Market Lane batch brew and finished with a raisin, cinnamon and orange-infused cold cream. You can still grab the traditional HCB or sour cherry and dark chocolate version for dunking.

The Good Food Guide’s Critic’s Pick of the Year, Ama in Surry Hills, has created a hot cross bao, spiced with Chinese five spice - cinnamon, clove, star anise, fennel seeds and nutmeg - folded with date, and filled with a stretchy, chewy red bean and mochi filling ($7 each). “It’s a celebration of cultures combining the nostalgic flavours of a traditional hot cross bun with the texture and technique of classic Thai salapao,” says co-owner Rowena Chansiri.

Tokyo Lamington in Newtown and Marrickville is covering all bases with its hot cross bun-flavoured lamingtons ($8.30 each) and lamington-flavoured hot cross buns ($5.50 each). They’ve also added a scotch cross bun infused with Benriach Whisky ($5.50 each).

Like a festive brioche con gelato, Cibaria in Manly is selling hot cross bun ice-cream sandwiches this Easter, filled with a chestnut, pine nut, sultana and rosemary gelato, inspired by the traditional Tuscan castagnaccio cake.

And you’ll definitely want to be sitting down for this one. Pantry Story in Camperdown has unveiled a hot cross sofa croissant, made from laminated croissant dough, shaped like a couch, and stuffed with chocolate brownie and hazelnut and chocolate ganache ($19 each). “The croissant shape is inspired by Easter, a time when people gather with loved ones or take a moment to rest and enjoy the day,” says owner Tiara Sucipto. “I wanted to capture that feeling in a playful and memorable way, hence the sofa, a reminder to sit, share, and slow down.”