6th November 2023
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When I came back from the Christmas Holidays, we stopped at Booths on the way. I excitedly noticed that they already had their flavoured Hot Cross Buns in stock. I excitedly purchased some Blueberry Hot Cross Buns, and a quest was started.
Over the last 10 weeks, with the assistance of my flatmate Chloe, we have tried 15 different Hot Cross Buns. We’ve had a broad range of flavours, some delicious and some disastrous. About halfway through we were also joined by glamorous assistant Hot Cross Ron, who really helped our noble and very scientific quest. So without further ado…
Cost: £1.80
Quality- 4/5
Creativity- 4.5/5
Taste- 1/5
Overall- 2/5
Chloe’s Rating- 2.5/5
Tesco may have impressed with the creativity of these buns, but I absolutely hated the favour. I’m not a Rhubarb and Custard fan normally and these didn’t change my mind. Flatmate Chloe is a Rhubarb and Custard fan but agreed something about these was off.
Cost- £1.43
Quality- 2/5
Creativity- 4/5
Taste- 1/5
Overall- 2/5
Chloe’s Rating- 2/5
Unless your bite had a raspberry or one of the few white chocolate chips, these buns had virtually no flavour. The pink colour was cute, but not enough to save a very meek offering from ASDA.
Cost- £1.43
Quality-3 /5
Creativity- 3/5
Taste- 3/5
Overall- 3/5
Chloe’s Rating- 4/5
Definition of middle of the road. Sort of creative, sort of tasty but there’s a complete lack of wow-factor. A bite with the fudge pieces is delicious, but the rest of the bun has almost no flavour. They’re also very sticky, which makes them tricky to get out of the toaster. Flatmate Chloe, a self confessed fudge fan, did disagree with me and was more keen.
Cost: £1.34
Quality- 3/5
Creativity- 1/5
Taste- 3/5
Overall- 3/5
Chloe’s Rating- 3/5
A St Clements Bun is essentially an orange Hot Cross Bun, but these were a bit too zingy for me. The peel is a nice addition texturally, but it made the bun too sour.
Cost: £1.43
Quality- 3.5/5
Creativity- 4/5
Taste- 3/5
Overall- 3/5
Chloe’s Rating- 3.5/5
This is a nice chocolate Hot Cross Bun, but it has virtually no coffee flavour. I wonder if ‘prepared with Brazilian coffee’ means the bakers had a cup of coffee while they made them. If you want tiramisu, this isn’t going to deliver but if you’re looking for a chocolate hot cross bun this would suffice.
Cost: £1.34
Quality- 2/5
Creativity- 1.5/5
Taste- 3.5/5
Overall- 3.5/5
Chloe’s Rating- 3.5/5
The selection as Lidl was very much lacking this year, and these were the most interesting buns we could find. They are the messiest Hot Cross Buns we tried, and absolutely covered my hands while slicing them. The flavour is nice, but it’s a disappointing bun on the whole.
Cost: £1.80
Quality- 4/5
Creativity- 4.5/5
Taste- 2.5/5
Overall- 3.5/5
Chloe’s Rating- 5/5
These Hot Cross Buns caused such a division in the flat that I feared one of us was going to have to move out. They were Chloe’s favourite out of everything we’ve rated, and I thought they were average. It tastes of a strawberry milkshake instead of actual strawberries which is why I didn’t care for them.
Cost: £2
Quality- 4.5/5
Creativity- 1.5/5
Taste- 3.5/5
Overall- 3.5/5
Chloe’s Rating- 3.5/5
Eating this is a fairly existential experience. I don’t think this can be considered a Hot Cross Bun. It somehow crosses a line which every other bun I have rated has managed to stay within (yes, even the cheese ones). It is a nice eat, but it scratches the culinary itch of a brownie not a Hot Cross Bun.
I despise all things lemon, so over to Chloe:
Cost: £3
Quality- 5/5
Creativity- 3/5
Taste- 2.5/5
Overall- 3.5/5
These hot cross buns are basically just a cob with a lemon curd filling. Don’t let this put you off, though; the flavour is delicious and the overall quality of M&S’s hot cross buns cannot be denied. However, if you’re not a lemon lover (like Ellie) these probably are not for you.
Cost- £2.35
Quality- 5/5
Creativity- 2/5
Flavour- 4/5
Overall- 3.5/5
Chloe’s Rating- 3.5/5
If you like Blueberry muffins, you’ll love these. There are ostensibly a regular Hot Cross Bun with added Blueberries, but they’re still delicious and you can taste the quality. They are a little on the pricey side in comparison to the rest of the market.
Cost- £2
Quality- 3/5
Creativity- 1/5
Flavour- 4.5/5
Overall- 4/5
Chloe’s Rating- 4.5/5
This was the first cheese Hot Cross Bun I tried this year, but they’ve been a staple in my household for years. As the name suggests, these really were extremely cheesy. The chunks of Red Leicester really added to the overall taste. However, the buns from my pack were quite thin.
Cost- £1.80
Quality- 5/5
Creativity-2/5
Taste- 4.5/5
Overall-4/5
Chloe’s Rating- 3.5/5
On the surface this could appear to be a boring Hot Cross Bun, but it packs a punch. The currents, cranberries and blueberries are well distributed and add nice pockets of flavour. This is the ideal bun for a Hot Cross Bun traditionalist looking for something a little more elevated.
Cost- £1.80
Quality-5/5
Creativity- 5/5
Taste- 4/5
Overall- 4.5/5
Chloe’s Rating- 3.5/5
I had very high expectations for these buns, and made a special trip to get them during reading week. They’re packed with fruit and peel, with a really nice dough. I wouldn’t have minded a little more orange flavour, but this is still a top tier Hot Cross Bun.
Cost- £1.80
Quality- 4/5
Creativity- 4/5
Flavour- 5/5
Overall- 4.5/5
Chloe’s Rating- 4.5/5
An absolute delicious salted caramel flavour bun with caramel pieces and dark chocolate chips, which stop the bun becoming too sweet. It is a little messy to eat due to the additions, and it’s lost a mark for quality as the bag disintegrated upon opening which made it hard to seal back up.
Cost- £3.50
Quality- 5/5
Creativity- 5/5
Flavour- 4/5
Overall- 4.5/5
Sadie’s Rating- 4.5/5
After a long and torrid journey I managed to get my hands on the coveted Dippy Egg Hot Cross Buns, Kindly sourced by my Mum Sadie. If you can find a packet these are a must try, but they have been so allusive I would be surprised. I recommend putting the whole thing in the toaster to warm, and eating like a cream egg. The bun is delicious, but I couldn’t put these in second when I know the majority of people won’t be able to try them. £3.50 for 6 is also very pricey despite their quality.
Cost: £1.25
Quality- 3/5
Creativity- 4/5
Taste- 5/5
Overall- 4.5/5
Chloe’s Rating- 4.5/5
Flavour wise, these buns are incredible. The banana dough and toffee pieces make for a beautiful eat. This only loses half a mark as the dough is a little stodgy, as otherwise it could have been number one. At £1.25, these buns give you a lot of bang for your buck.
Cost- £2.50
Quality- 5/5
Creativity- 5/5
Taste- 5/5
Overall- 5/5
Chloe’s Rating- 4.5/5
Hot Cross Bun perfection. The most incredible combination of caramel dough, salted caramel pieces, fudge pieces, dark chocolate chips and blonde chocolate chips. I also really liked the mininess, as two make an ideal breakfast, and one is a good snack or dessert.
This mission has showed me that there really is a Hot Cross Bun out there for everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to try so many different Hot Cross Buns in the name of Student Media, and can’t wait to do it all again next year…
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