Review: Hot Cross Bun Roundup

And so it is a wrap. It has been a great few weeks of fruity, spiced bun goodness with a major flurry at the end to try as many as we possibly could. There have been some disappointments, many middle of the road buns and there have been some standouts.

It was a hard fought battle. Honourable mentions must go to Flute Bakery and Whisk Bakery and Patisserie for standout buns but there can be only one winner. Drum roll please ... the winner is Silo Bakery!

They may not be the prettiest buns (top middle), but they sure are delicious. Full of fruit, dense and spicy. They were close to perfection. And if you don't like a small bun, they make them in loaf size as well!

But in case you can't get to Kingston (and in case they are sold out when you get there) here is the wrap including a last few reviews:

Aldi Fruit Indulgence Hot Cross Buns: These hot cross buns have great flavour, good spice, really nice fruit and no peel however the texture is a bit doughy and gluggy.
S: 7/10
L: 7/10

Baker's Delight Traditional Fruit Hot Cross Buns: Another tasty hot cross bun. We thought they were very similar to the Aldi ones, they had a good level of fruit, but again it was limited to just sultanas and currents. The texture was good, light and fluffy but I felt they were lacking in the spices, the overarching taste was the fruit. We did particularly like the sweet, sticky glaze. It is yummy if finger coating.
S: 7/10
L: 7/10

Brother's Oven: Good texture, not quite enough fruit, huge size.
S: 6.5/10
L: 7/10

Coles Fruit Hot Cross Buns: a nice light fluffy texture and really juicy fruit but while they smelt really good, on tasting I thought there was something off about the balance of spices with a slight bitter note.
S: 7/10
L: 6/10

Erindale Cakery Bakery: These buns were seriously lacking in fruit. I thought they had good spice but S didn't agree and he also thought the glaze was pretty hit and miss. The texture is good, light and fluffy but they really needed more fruit.
S: 5/10
L: 7/10

Flute Hot Cross Buns: Truly delicious. A brioche bun with a citrus flavours but packed with fruit and a very yummy glaze.
S: 8/10
L: 8.5/10

Knead Patisserie: Disappointing. While they do had a light and fluffy texture and the apricot glaze is delicious, there was no where near enough fruit and it was totally lacking in spice.
S: 6/10
L: 5/10

Silo Bakery: This was close to perfection. Packed with fruit including peel (!!) great spice, dense but with a nice crumb. What an amazing hot cross bun. The only thing we could fault was that it wasn't the greatest glaze and the cross was a bit haphazard.
S; 9/10
L 9/10

Wanniassa Bakery: A great hot cross buns. Loads of fruit (sultanas, raisins, currants) and great spice. I quite liked the dense texture but agreed it got a bit doughy at the base.
S: 7/10
L: 7.5/10

Whisk Bakery and Patisserie: Excellent fruit, loads of it and really juicy plus super spices. We liked the glaze and even really liked the cross!
S: 7.5/10
L: 8/10

We hope you have a very happy Easter and get to enjoy a few hot cross buns yourself.

Review: Brother's Oven Hot Cross Buns

After our successful hot cross buns from Wanniassa, S and I decided to stick to a good thing and stay on the Southside. This week we tried the offering from The Brothers Oven.

The Brothers Oven has to be the only shop that has remained constant since Homeworld, the centre next to the Hyperdome opened in the 80's. I've long been a fan of their sausage rolls and bread so it seemed obvious that we should try their hot cross buns.

They offer what seems to be the standard range now of fruit, fruitless and choc-chip but as you know I'm a purist so we had traditional fruit. On size alone these are standout buns. They are HUGE and at $5.50 for a 6 pack they are also very reasonably priced for a bakery offering.

But on to the taste ... we both agreed these had a nice light texture, decent but not large amount of fruit, light spice, subtle glaze. Basically they are a very tasty but not standout bun.

S: 6.5/10
L: 7/10

Review: Wanniassa Bakery Hot Cross Buns

So after our disappointment with a northside bakery, S and I decided to play it safe and shop local. In the heartland of the southside, Wanniassa shops are one of those great little shopping centres. They have a supermarket, bottle shop, a couple of restaurants that punch above their suburban weight, a hairdresser and of course a bakery with a big sign advertising the availability of hot cross buns.

As we walked in we realised that not only did they have hot cross buns, they were on special! We got 6 gorgeous buns for $4 (vs 2 for $5 at Knead Patisserie - just saying) and we were much happier with this purchase.

From the male perspective, S said that these are very dense but tasty hot cross buns. They have a nice dark colour, definitely win on fruit but are let down by being just too dense, particularly towards the base. The don't have a nice glaze like the other bakeries - the top is more like a supermarket hot cross bun - but overall very good hot cross buns that don't quite tick all the boxes to get a top score.

From me: I agree, these are great hot cross buns. Loads of fruit (sultanas, raisins, currants) and great spice. I quite liked the dense texture but agreed it got a bit doughy at the base. This is definitely what you want and expect from a hot cross bun. That said the didn't have the delicious glaze or tweaked flavours that make the Flute version something a bit more special, so I would say this is a very good standard bun, but not quite into the gourmet realms of a Flute baked version.

S: 7/10
L: 7.5/10

Review: Knead Patisserie Hot Cross Buns

If you are not from Canberra you may be unaware that it is actually two cities. There is the Northside and there is the Southside. People identify over whether they are from north or south of the lake. Many people will not move to "the other side" and we tend to spend our time on our side of the lake.

S and I are Southsiders, however today we ventured north and took the opportunity to visit Knead Patisserie. Knead is located inside the Belconnen Markets and is known for its bread and pastries which are very well regarded. Every table in the place was full and there was a queue of people lining up to order from the delicious looking selection. We stepped up to test out the hot cross buns.

Sadly, they were a bit disappointing. While they do have a light and fluffy texture and the apricot glaze is delicious, there was no where near enough fruit. I had numerous mouthfuls with not a single bit of fruit in it. The fruit is sultanas, currents and peel and when you got some, it was nice and juicy, just very little of it. The bread is lightly spiced but again if you had a mouthful without fruit, it was just slightly sweet, vaguely spiced bread.

I had high hopes for Knead's hot cross buns but in future I think we will just stick to their pastries.

Lisa's score 5/10
S's score 6/10 (mostly for the apricot glaze)

Sunday morning

Oh I do love pastry.  The flakier the better, so what better way is there to start the day than with a couple of golden croissants.

Owing to the wonder that is Sara Lee, I tend to have ready access with a supply of them on hand in my freezer, but I do tend to save them up as a treat.  This morning was a good morning for such a treat, so just a few minutes after getting up, I had fresh, hot croissants, smothered with jam and a cup of tea on the table.

Mmmmmm, a superb start to the day.

REAL puff pastry

I know I've written before about the wonder that is The Flute bakery, but today I had another sample of its delights (and you will note, once again, no photo, everything got eaten too quickly).

I ventured out again to retrieve afternoon tea for the office. This time we indulged in milk chocolate and vanilla bean mousse cake on a hazelnut praline base - yes it was as delicious and as attractive as that sounds.

But what I'm really here to rave about it the wonder that is The Flute's puff pastry. Given I had trekked out early in the morning I thought I would treat myself to a pear galette. Can I just say, I don't think I've ever had something that could compete with the light, flakey, buttery yet crispy wonderourness that was that puff pastry. Topped with pear that was sweet and almost creamy in texture, it was a sensation - a $3 sensation! Gosh I'm glad it is a trek to get there, if that was close my waistline would be in serious trouble.

Trying something new

This blog was to be accompanied by a picture of a cake - unfortunately the team in the office ate it too fast!

You know how it is when people rave about some place and you mean to go but never get there? For ages I've been told how fantastic the Flute Bakery at Fyshwick is. For those not native to Canberra, Fyshwick is an industrial suburb. It is full of factories, plumbing suppliers, furniture stores and (being Canberra) a wide variety of adult and XXX outlets. But in the midst of this is a fantastic french bakery.

People rave, so today as I had to be in the area, I stopped in and bought afternoon tea for the team. It was a passionfruit meringue pie. It looked spectacular and tasted even better. As I mentioned, it was swiftly gobbled up as even those on diets abandoned them for a Friday afternoon sugar hit.

But I have managed to secret away these gorgeous little macaroons. Have you noticed the macaroon craze that seems to have hit lately. Well I'll admit it, I've never had one. The Flute had a wide variety so for dessert tonight I have chocolate cherry and raspberrry vanilla to try.

The other delicious offerings on display had me very glad that they are a long way from my usual haunts and are not open on the weekend - regular visits would not be good for my waistline!