The Easter market is increasingly competitive among Sydney bakeries. Expect more coconut, gelato and yuzu in your buns this year.
While there will always be a place for sturdy, raisin-studded rolls, being hot, crossed and a bun now feels more like a suggestion in Sydney than a set of rules.
This year’s batch of baked Easter treats is marked by a number of trends, including the rise of the giant bun, which is hogging space on both supermarket and independent bakery shelves.
Federico Zanellato’s Lode Pies and Pastries, with locations in Surry Hills and Circular Quay, has launched its first tear-and-share loaf this Easter.
“We wanted to enhance the fluffiness of the bun, and a loaf allows us to achieve that extra-soft texture,” he said.
Inspired by the Asian bakery staple shokupan, like the Japanese milk bread it’s made from three even pieces of dough that can be torn apart.
Flour Shop in Turramurra is also leaning into the loaf, but for owner Anu Haran, it’s more about practicality. “The truth is, we make them when we’re tired of rolling buns,” she said.
While it’s not strictly traditional, Haran said the loaf was more structurally sound. “You try to put a bun in the toaster, and it just crumbles. A loaf has all the flavour benefits of a bun, but it’s easier to toast and slice.”
Meanwhile, Humble Bakery, with locations in Surry Hills and Circular Quay, is just one of several bakeries whipping up the hot cross ice-cream sandwich. Just as cold butter complements those warm, toasty spices, a scoop of vanilla ice-cream can take a bun to new heights. “Hot, cold, sweet, salty. It just makes sense,” said Humble Bakery co-owner Ben Milgate.
Blue Ribbon not cutting it? Humble has created a dedicated salted butter ice-cream with CopperTree Farms cultured butter that you can sub in.
Asian bakeries are also on the bun wagon, with flavours that stretch from yuzu and ube to kaya.
Neighbourhood bakery Pantry Story in Stanmore is making its hot cross buns with kaya milk – a Malaysian coconut jam infused with pandan. The rich flavour of the kaya is softened with cream to add gentle, caramel-like sweetness to the soft, cushioned roll.
“Hot cross buns actually have a very similar texture to Asian bread, they are soft, fluffy and comforting,” said Tiara Sucipto. “They are something that many people already know and are familiar with, so they’re an easy way to introduce new flavours.”
Hot cross big buns
Hot cross loaves are currently looming large in shop windows, just waiting for someone to crack the joke “I’m only eating one!”
Established Sydney outfit Bourke Street Bakery has brought back its boule-shaped hot cross big bun this year, with the addition of butter spiked with Brix Distillery’s Australian Spiced Rum.
In Manly, Greek cafe and grocer Norma’s Deli has launched a seasonal version of its sourdough bread wheel. Enriched with dried fruit and orange peel, the currant-filled cob is made up of 30 smaller buns baked together.
Hot cross ice-cream sandwiches
Like a festive brioche con gelato, the hot cross bun ice-cream sandwich takes the sneaky at-home hack and turns it into a legitimate thing you can order. Buy a bun at Madame & Yves, and you can swap out the slather of Lescure salted butter for a scoop of homemade ice-cream. Owner Yves Scherrer recommends salted caramel or cafe au lait.
And if you’re keen for the crunch of a cookie, Happy Alley in Rockdale has released a cinnamon sugar-dipped “crosskie” (hot cross bun cookie) rippled with milk and white chocolate. Ask for a swirl of vanilla soft serve on the side.
Asian-inspired hot cross buns
It’s hard to miss the Grimace-hued hot cross buns at Filipino cafe Tita in Marrickville. The purple colour and vanilla-like flavour comes from ube, which is also worked in to the sweet cream filling.
Nearby in Marrickville and Newtown, Tokyo Lamington is covering all bases with its hot cross bun-flavoured lamingtons and lamington-flavoured hot cross buns. The buns come in two flavours – chocolate and coconut or yuzu – with the latter featuring Japanese citrus peel and sultanas soaked in yuzu juice.
Sultana-free hot cross buns
You won’t have to pick the sultanas out of this lot. Baker Bleu in Double Bay is doubling down with a second batch of sour cherry and dark chocolate hot cross buns, inspired by its sell-out Christmas panettone.
Black Star Pastry, which has four outposts across the city, is also railing against the raisin this year. It’s teamed with Koko Black to launch a triple-choc cross bun, made from sustainably sourced cocoa, 60 per cent dark chocolate and chocolate chips.
If chocolate isn’t your thing, Easter can be tough to navigate. Mercifully, Italian cake shop Papa’s Pasticceria in Haberfield and Five Dock is making pistachio hot cross buns, stuffed with house-made crema di pistacchio and sprinkled with crushed nuts.
Not cross buns
Some bakers aren’t content with just recreating the dependable tea-time treat – they’re reinventing it altogether. Shadow Baking in Darlinghurst and Marrickville is rolling with scrolls this year, made from laminated hot cross bun dough filled with vanilla custard and candied fruit.
Bourke Street Bakery is turning hot cross buns into melty s’mores, adding chocolate and marshmallow to the middle, and toasting them in-store. The s’more bun is on the “secret menu”, so you’ll need to request it.
Paris-inspired boulangerie Loulou, which has just opened a second store in the CBD, is making its Easter buns extra buttery with brioche dough. It’s also traded the cross for a heart. And as per in-house tradition, Sonoma is ditching the cross and topping its fruit-filled buns – studded with currants, cranberries, apricots and raisins – with a defiant “S”.
Traditional hot cross buns
Not only does Goodwood Bakeshop in Marrickville make the city’s best croissant, it also crafts a high-quality 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.
Bundamentalists will also love the hot cross buns at Pioik Bakery in Pyrmont. The golden dough is packed with mixed fruit and candied peel, and steeped in Earl Grey tea and baharat spices.
At A.P Bakery, which now boasts five locations, including the new A.P Bread and Wine in Darlinghurst, head baker Dougal Muffet tweaks the recipe for its hot cross buns each year. The current batch uses a panettone fermentation process, which keeps the bread plump and soft without the additives. Expect the same lovely bronzed top and brown sugar and cardamom glaze.
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Erina Starkey – Erina is the Good Food App Editor for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Previously, Erina held a number of editing roles at delicious.com.au and writing roles at Broadsheet and Concrete Playground.
