Currantly, we have a hot cross bun crisis

Recipe of Easter favourite expected to change as bakers turn to orange peel and chocolate

It’s news that could trigger panic buying – the price of hot cross buns is set to soar this Easter because of a global shortage of raisins, sultanas and currants. The wholesale price of dried fruit has been pushed up by wildfires at vineyards in California during October and November last year, and that means the buns will cost more than usual. Bakers are expected to swap the dried fruits for alternatives, including chocolate chips and orange peel, to keep costs down.

THE traditional hot cross bun is thought to have been invented by a 14th century monk from St Albans, and has been part of the national celebration of Easter Sunday since at least the reign of Elizabeth I. But families looking for the seasonal favourite this year could see a twist to the classic recipe on supermarket shelves.

A global shortage of raisins, sultanas and currants means the price of hot cross buns is likely to soar this Easter.

Bakers are expected to swap the dried fruits for alternatives, including chocolate chips and orange peel, to keep costs down.

The wholesale price of dried fruit has been pushed up by wildfires at vineyards in California during October and November last year. Prices of fruit on the UK market are up 40per cent since September, after a loss of 275,000 tons of Californian crop and a rise in the price of sultanas from Turkey, a key UK supplier.

The prices of Greek currants have also risen sharply, after a one-third reduction in this year’s yield.

However, some welcomed the prospect of hot cross buns with a difference. William Sitwell, a food critic for the BBC’S Masterchef and editor of Waitrose Food magazine, said: “As someone who has always hated fruitcake, this is great news.

“It slightly depresses me that people only want to eat one because it’s got a cross on it, which seems to be vaguely religious.

“You can get hot cross buns with little chocolate drops in that are delicious, and actually I like putting Marmite or even Nutella in my hot cross buns anyway to get rid of the taste of dried fruit.”

Others suggested the shake-up could mean that retailers start to reduce the quantity of fillings altogether. “You might see four instead of six in a bag, or the quantity of fruit in the product is less,” said Paul Barker, who runs a bakery in Rickmansworth, Herts.

He also admitted that bigger retailers with supply chain concerns had started to pack their products with different fillings.

“There are less of your traditional mixed fruit hot cross buns and you’ll see more orange or chocolate ones.”

Jemma Wilson, who is the face of Youtube channel Cupcake Jemma and whose videos have been seen by over 30million people, suggested that sultanas are substituted for other fruits like cranberries and sour cherries – or something less healthy.

“I’d want to put some kind of chocolate in it,” she said.

“Most of the flavour comes from mixed peel. That with cinnamon and allspice and all the other spices would go really well with chocolate.”

Industry commentators said it was not yet clear when the price of raisins would return to normal levels.