The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - The Telegraph Magazine
Hot cross buns – with a twist
Rich toffee and gooey chocolate feature in these non-traditional offerings
These specialities are for chocolate fiends, toffee fans and lovers of a quirky flavour combination. There’s no shame here: we all know they aren’t real hot cross buns, but when they taste as good as the indulgent chocolate-orange numbers below, say Amy Bryant and Mia Wallis, we’re not going to quibble. To see the full results of this taste test, plus our experts’ verdicts on this year’s traditional hot cross buns, even more child-friendly chocolate critters and grown-up Easter eggs, and the best and worst simnel cakes in town, go to telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink.
Aldi Specially Selected Belgian Truffle Filled Egg £9.99 for 250g The half-egg doubles as a serving platter for super-sweet truffles, flavoured with dulce de leche, crème brûlée and berries. A box of chocolates in egg form for under £10? That’s hard to beat.
A well-crafted egg with a beautiful shine and a truly dark-chocolate, high-cocoa flavour. Packed with 20 assorted praline eggs, softening the blow of an eye-watering price tag.
M&S Food Collection Handcrafted Golden Blond Chocolate Egg
A chic egg. The pebble-dashed exterior delivers a welcome crunch, echoed by feuilletine pieces in the shell. A touch of salt but so much sugar. Too sweet.
Asda Cocoa Noir Showstopper Egg
£15 for 350g
An extraordinary baroque creation and, what’s more, it is good chocolate with a real snap and cocoa flavour that lingers. With an inner egg and cream-liqueur mini eggs, this is outstanding value.
Lidl Deluxe Apple & Cinnamon Hot Cross Buns £1.25 for four
A very strange chemical smell hardly makes one want to race to the toaster. The texture of the crumb is surprisingly supple but we can’t get past the artificial fruit and spice combo.
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Sticky Toffee Hot Cross Buns £1.50 for four A toffee-sauce aroma sings out of these dark, glossy buns but they’re claggy with chopped dates and caramel fudge. Redeemed by not being too sickly sweet.
Co-op Irresistible Chocolate & Orange Hot Cross Buns £1.60 for four
It’s as if hot cross buns were born to host melting chocolate chips; the citrus here is perfectly balanced to offset the sweetness. We can’t get enough.
Aldi Specially Selected Banoffee Hot Cross Buns £1.25 for four Fudge pieces peep out of the golden tops while the innards are smeared with them and banana purée. An artificial banana flavour that, despite ourselves, we find surprisingly successful. £1.25 for four
Firm buns with a dense crumb and a definite smell of apple and cinnamon. Threatening to be far too dry, but the fruit delivers some welcome juiciness.
M&S Food Extremely Caramely Hot Cross Buns £2 for four
Gooey, fudgy and yet fresh-smelling, these deliver a welcome saltiness in the fudge blobs. Honestly, a ridiculously unnecessary treatment for a hot cross but (whisper it) we really like it. £1.60 for four Dark, milk and white chocolate chunks star in these, and indeed there’s a strong cocoa taste and smell; the full-on flavour really lingers.
Waitrose & Partners No1 Golden Hot Cross Buns £2.50 for four
Each mouthful is stuffed with nuggets of golden fruit (sultanas, dried apricots, golden raisins). The scent of marmalade is super; a citrussy success close enough to the classic to not be an abomination.