The best hot cross buns in Sydney

Pastry maestro Andy Bowdy is waking up early to bring his HCBs to the masses again. You can road test his spiced brioche spiked with brandy and bourbon-soaked fruit and peel from this weekend (Mar 27) and throughout the week leading up to and including the long weekend. Drop by Saga's Enmore Road outlet for to pick your dozen up – and maybe grab some cookie dough to bake at home, too.  

There's a rustic quality to Nadine Ingram's baking across the board at Flour and Stone, and it extends to her hot cross buns, which are still sweet and spicy without going into full cake territory. These ones aren't intensely fruity, and they keep the raisins and peel small, too. Order online. 

The fragrant HCBs from Black Star Pastry are a spicy, citrusy flavour bomb. This is a main event kind of bun, packed with mouth-tingling orange peel, zest and covered in a shiny coat of sweet, frankincense syrup. Get yours from any of the outlets around Sydney, from Rosebery to the CBD to Moore Park – or its newest Newtown store. 

You wouldn't expect a Michelin-starred dumpling chain to round out a list of the city's best hot cross buns, but we've veered a little off-course for good reason. DTF's hot cross baos are non-traditional, but still fluffy: grab a dozen of the steamed morsels in-store, or order a frozen pack online – just make sure to heat them up so the gooey, chocolate filling inside each bun oozes out. 

It appears that dessert mash-ups are really a thing this Easter and it just wouldn't be Tokyo Laminton without a Frankenstein's monster of an HCB with a hint of Australia's favourite sponge. This particular "bun" is brightened with the use of yuzu while a more tradition-friendly version is available on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for just four bucks.

This Easter offering is all about French curves rather than right angles – their "not cross buns" are marked with an ‘S’ instead of an ‘X’. These sweet little buns are light and airy and only use a very limited amount of peel in their dried fruit mix. They also add cranberries for a little extra tart kick and opt for smaller raisins for more even fruit distribution throughout the spiced bread. You can even order online and pick up in-store.

The Easter bun at Textbook is made with a mix of peel, currants, sultanas, and cranberries, along with ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg and wattleseed for that extra warm and spicy kick. But what really gives these buns an edge is the glaze, which they spike with yuzu, that sharp, moreish Japanese citrus flavour that creates a high note to contrast with all the earthy flavour in a classic bun. Order online for your box – or pick up a croissant-bun hybrid known as the Hot Croiss Bun. 

The latest addition to the Quay Quarters family, Bar Mammoni is an all-dayer that's serving up breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as late night cocktails. But more on that later. What we're here for is to get to the bottom of the Mammoni riff of an HCB, the "bussant." Half bun, half croissant, all luxe with an extra almondy dollop of cream to send you over the edge. 

Do you like raisin toast? Of course you do. And what’s better than fruit toast? Hot cross loaves. Bourke Street's iteration is lighter and fluffier than your average bun, having more in common with a fruit bread than a sweet pastry. Big, juicy sultanas and scant orange peel complete the effect – you can also get them toasted and buttered on-site if you want a handheld snack in a hurry. Pick up in store. 

Hear us out – we have one more detour from the tradtional HCB. The team from Banksia have merged the croissant with the humble hot cross bun in what they’ve dubbed the ‘hot cross croissant’. This cube-shaped treat brings together dense but fluffy pastry shell with a flavour-packed centre of cinnamon crème patisserie with plump sultanas. This is one to be savoured, not smashed down a hurry. You can buy them at the CBD bakery during April. 

We've veered away from the traditional hot cross bun again – but for good reason. These two local makers have put a seasonal spin on their care packages, fashioning the humble hot cross bun into crumpet form: the hot cross bunnies have the same warm, comforting spices, as well as a scattering of raisins and fragrant orange peel. Basically, they're the ideal base for a thick smear of hand-churned butter. Order the deluxe box for some local honey and Single O coffee thrown in. You can find the bunnies online, and they'll deliver to your door all around NSW.  

Dried fruit can be divisive, but if you're the sort of person who likes a few choice sultanas as opposed to a free-for-all in your hot cross buns, you'll want to lock down a six pack from Bake Bar. These are a people-pleasing bun. Soft, white and fluffy; low on spice and fruit; and they develop a lovely crisp shell when you chuck them in the toaster. Also, in a very inclusive move, Bake Bar sell a gluten-free bun made from tapioca, sorghum and besan flours.

It's not exactly a hot cross bun, but this list wouldn't be complete without mentioning the delightful HCB-inspired hot cross pudding from Yves Scherrer's Clovelly pâtisserie. A classic hot cross bun is soaked in custard, with a caramelised crust and quenelle of mascarpone chantilly on top, and a cross of orange rind to tie it all together. Et voilà. Plus, the bakery is also selling the regular range of hot cross buns with classic fruits or Valrhona dark chocolate (both feature a sneaky French touch of pain d'épices). Ooh la la! Order online for pickup or home delivery.