Hot cross buns, the Easter treat traditionally eaten on Good Friday, now appear in shops as early as January. Beyond the classic spiced dried-fruit buns, supermarkets now sell a bewildering array of novelty flavours, from red velvet to tiramisu. To find out which are worth buying, I tried 25 non-traditional buns, toasted and buttered, with a traditional M&S luxury fruited bun as a control.
Among the chocolate offerings, Waitrose No 1 Belgian chocolate hot cross buns (£2 for two) scored 5/10. They are large with a sophisticated dark-chocolate flavour, but taste more like a chocolate muffin than a hot cross bun. Tesco Finest triple chocolate buns (£2 for four) were too sweet and jam-packed with chips that melted into a sticky mess in the toaster, earning 4/10.
Waitrose milk chocolate & fudge buns (£2 for four) were a standout at 7/10, with a properly chocolatey, milky sweetness, though the fudge was undetectable. At the other end, Iceland Luxury extremely chocolatey buns (£1.80 for four) were “disgusting” – dry, with a synthetic cocoa flavour – scoring just 2/10. Lidl Deluxe triple chocolate buns (£1.49 for four) were similar to Tesco’s but got an extra point for value, scoring 5/10.
M&S red velvet filled hot cross buns (£3.50 for four) seemed designed for social media, with TikTok reviewer Becca Stock noting that shops create wackier flavours each year to generate online buzz. The full test covered 25 buns, with results ranging from the truly vile to the pleasantly surprising.
