The best hot cross buns in Melbourne

Baker Bleu is probably best known for supplying the likes of Attica, Cutler & Co. and the Carlton Wine Room with their bread, so you know everything they make is outrageously good. Including their hot cross bunnies, of course. Just in time for an early Easter, these dough masters have baked up brand new ones made with cinnamon-spiced oranges and raisins from Mildura. There's also the famous sour cherry and dark chocolate hot cross bun, and a nutty one made with raisins and pecans. The delicious sweet treats are available for purchase both in-store and online.

From two French bakers with resumes referencing some of Melbourne's most loved carb-making institutions (see Woodfrog, Baker D. Chirico) comes Bread Club. The original North Melbourne store now has an Albert Park outpost, with hot cross buns on sale at both – or you can order online. Opt for the classic spiced fruit or the chocolatey alternative (or grab the mixed box and get three of each – porque no los dos?). These are the soft, moist kind best warmed just a little and served with lots of melted butter.

Candied Bakery knows its way around a sweet treat, and the hot cross buns here are no exception. These bright, glazed numbers are packed to the brim with different Australian fruits, spices, bursts of citrus from orange, and free-range eggs to give them a slightly cakey edge. Use them when they're stale in a bread and butter pudding of sorts, or pop them in the toaster and marry them with butter for the ultimate holy union this Easter.

Wild Life Bakery specialises in 24-hour fermented loaves, and its hot cross buns receive the same sourdough treatment. The relatively traditional fruit buns are dense but airy, made with local Brunswick distiller The Gospel's Straight Rye Whisky, rye grain specially grown and stone-milled, and studded with candied orange, sultanas and currants, balanced by the presence of strong spices and finished with a sticky glaze. The insanely popular chocolate sour cherry option is back, too.

These are of the sourdough nature, so expect a dense and complex bun. The Australian fruit is organic, the lemon and orange peel are candied in-house, and a dark malt syrup adds lustre to the glaze. These breakfasty buns reign supreme thanks to their savoury and slightly acidic nature. It’s only a few steps from Dench Bakers, putting Fitzroy North high on the bun-lover’s radar.

This year, Black Star Pastry have partnered with Koko Black to bring back their virally popular chocolate hot cross buns for the second year in a row. Each day, Black Star's chefs and bakers prove the dough, while Koko Black’s masterful chocolatiers delicately temper 60% dark chocolate for the ultimate marriage of flavours. Easter bun purists need not worry – Black Star's traditional buns are also available, glazed in a frankincense syrup that seeps into the dough.

Penny for Pound's much anticipated hot cross buns are available in three fantastic flavours this year. Go traditional with the baking wizards' signature sticky date jam bun packed with juicy dates and caramelised white chocolate, branch out with an earl grey raisin-soaked raisin bun, or get your chocolate fix with a bun that's been spiked with milk and dark chocolate chips. After something even wilder? Penny for Pound have partnered with local gelato shop Holla Gelato to create three signature gelato flavours that partner perfectly with each hot cross bun. You can order the buns before 1pm for pick-up from the store the next day, or buy them online.

This artisan bakery specialises in wholewheat sourdough bread and pastries, and its hot cross buns are light on the spice, loaded with housemade orange purée, currants, raisins and sultanas, and feature a traditional cross. These bad boys are delicious when toasted and slathered in butter, and we dare say you could even add a layer of jam to your bun for added sweetness. 

Woodfrog Bakery specialises in uncompromised, naturally leavened, hand-shaped sourdough breads, but it's the generosity of currants and sultanas, high tones of unintrusive citrus and soft interior that pushes this finely glazed bun to the top of the pile. Another plus is you won't need to order ahead to avoid disappointment, as production is plentiful across all branches.

Dense, chewy, flavoured headily with pureéd whole oranges and Australian vine fruits and spiced with a top secret blend, Dench's hot cross buns are rightly famous and flying off the shelves this year. They're best eaten the day of purchase.

How do you know you're eating a hot cross bun from the Hamptons Bakery? Easy, it's all in the signature 'H' marking. This year, they've got two versions up for grabs: original and chocolate. Both have a caramel-glazed and blitzed orange, and a macerated dried fruit mix that the bakery created before Christmas. The 3-month resting period allows the flavour to fully develop into a spiced, sugary mix. They're available as a single or 6-pack and you can pick them up either in-store or online.

Orange and ginger purée flavour the traditional sourdough buns, which are spiked with juicy currants. Then there's the choc hazelnut buns, spiked with dark chocolate and chopped hazelnuts. Rather than cooking up a new recipe each year, chef Dan's tried-and-tested Italian formula plays on repeat. Fair warning, though, these buns are on the hefty side, so if you're more used to a traditional treat, these benefit from a light toast.

You must order ahead for these hot cross buns, as they usually disappear well before midday. These buns are perfectly round, cakey (they contain egg) and on the softer side, studded with juicy raisins, sultanas and currants. The zesty spice mix is warmed up with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and clove, which is a little more Christmas than Easter, but nevertheless delicious.

Brioche fans can rejoice, as that is the base of Ned's gently spiced hot crossies. The European-inspired bakery makes two varieties of buns: the traditional spiced fruit (with sultanas, currants, mixed peel and ginger) and a chocolate kind (which features chunks of premium dark chocolate mixed throughout). You can order them online or pick them up at the Armadale, South Yarra, Albert Park or Middle Park location.