It’s that time of year again where daffodils sprout up everywhere, the evenings are gradually becoming lighter and Creme Eggs have become an acceptable substitute for dinner.
At the moment, supermarkets are packed full of Easter treats, and while we stock up on the vast range of chocolate egg options, there’s one treat that many swear by - the humble hot cross bun. With its shiny glaze, generous dispersal of fruit and light dough texture, there’s a reason they’ve endured over the years.
The delicately spiced, spring staple is traditionally eaten on the Easter break and we all know the song, ‘hot-cross-buns; one-a-penny, two-a-penny’, but we may not know too much about their origin.
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Commonly associated with Good Friday, which commemorates Christ's crucifixion before resurrection on Easter Sunday, the treat's origins can be traced back hundreds of years. Indeed, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first time there was a printed reference to the delicacy was 1733.
The bun has evolved significantly over time, with the all important cross - framed with religious significance for some - variously added with flour paste, shortcrust pastry and icing over the years. And today, there’s all manner of flavours to try.
Not content with a simple bun plump with fruit, supermarkets have experimented with chocolate, vanilla and toffee flavours, while on the savoury side, there’s cheese and chilli options to try out too.
But which is the best? To keep things a little more simple and consistent, our taste test avoids the newer and more experimental offerings and pits supermarket versions of the traditional hot cross bun against each other.
The only two places where we tripped whilst sourcing were Sainsbury's - where only Taste The Difference was available - and at M&S, where the cashier proudly declared: “We only do luxury”.
The other hot cross buns were sourced from Aldi, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Lidl, Tesco and Morrisons - and lining them up on the kitchen sideboard it’s quite interesting to see how much they vary in terms of size, glaze, and quantity of fruit.
From the first appearance, Aldi and M&S have the best glossy exterior, but as everyone knows, it’s best to not judge a book by its cover. With a mug of tea ready as a palette cleanser, we crack on with the first bun, and it’s Asda’s, which doesn't boast a super shiny exterior but a good gloss nonetheless.
You can see from spinning it around that there’s a good distribution of fruit and it's an easy cut, with the knife gliding right through. Toasted and buttered, it’s light to taste with a good currant flavour cutting through. It’s a strong start for the second most expensive option.
Lidl offers a slightly more rugged and less uniform shape but there’s plenty of fruit. To taste though, it’s a little less impactful and, while it’s fairly light, we don’t get the same strong taste as other buns.
The bun from M&S, the connoisseurs of luxury, is, as you might expect, up there alongside Asda's in quality. Boasting a very compact shape, strong fragrance from the moment the plastic wrapping is prized open, and a sticky feel, it’s a very smooth taste, with the flavours of fruits and spices lingering long after the last mouthful.
It’s a hard act to follow, but even after a little interval, Sainsbury’s classic hot cross bun fails to deliver the wow factor. There’s plenty of fruit, but it’s a bit dense to cut and, when it comes to sampling, we’re a bit disappointed. It was along the right lines, but was a bit soggy and the flavours didn’t last.
We want things to perk up with Aldi and its glossy hot cross bun but it ends up being a bit chalky to taste. The fruit is plump and pops, but really it’s a bit underwhelming. It sadly didn't get much better got with Morrisons. It was so light you could throw it and the cross seemed to have seeped into the rest of the bun.
Of course, appearances aren’t everything, but in this case it was a sign of things to come. When we went to taste it, the bun just taste quite right. It left a yeasty and sour taste and to be honest I hope it was just a duff pack of buns.
All faith was not lost though. Completing the pack, Tesco’s range of classic hot cross buns revived things slightly. Packed full of plump currents, there was a richness to their offer, with good density and a nice aromatic aftertaste.
Leading the pack was M&S, closely followed by Asda and Tesco. Mid-tier went to Lidl, while Sainsbury's and Aldi loitered around the middle end. Sadly, Morrisons took the last spot.
The prices and ranking for hot cross buns at each supermarket:
M&S - £1.85
Asda - £1.30
Tesco - £1.10
Lidl - 99p
Sainsbury’s - £1.25
Aldi - 99p
Morrisons - £1
