‘So fluffy you’ll forget to chew’: 15 of Melbourne’s very best hot cross buns

Heading into your favourite bakeries to see if their hot cross buns are as good as last year’s is like a late summer sport. Then there are all the newcomers you need to trial. Do they use peel or not? Is it sweet or all about spice? Luckily, the Good Food team has done the legwork. Compare our favourites with your own, or consider this your reminder that your annual bun-eating window is fast closing. Here are 15 of our top picks across town.

Akimbo, $25 for six

It took an early start and two determined attempts to secure my still-warm quarry at Akimbo in Northcote. The reward? Buns that are impressively tall, tender and crammed with plumped fruit – including a controversial hint of mixed peel. They’re finished with a signature diagonal cross, which helps them stand out in a sea of standard squares. Remember: the early bird gets the bun. These lightly spiced babies usually sell out by 11am, though you can pre-order for Easter to avoid disappointment. Roslyn Grundy

205a Victoria Road, Northcote, akimbobread.com

Babka, $4.50 each or $24 for six

Babka’s famously generous portions extend to its Easter bakes. There are no gimmicks or twists to be found among the Easter bun offering at this legendary Fitzroy bakery: just big, fluffy, slightly rustic glazed buns studded with booze-soaked fruit and aromatic citrus zest. They are generous on spice, perfectly bronzed, and remain the ultimate vehicle for a thick wodge of salty butter. Andrea McGinniss

358 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, instagram.com/babkafitzroy

Baker Bleu, $25.20 for six

Given my sweet tooth, if a chocolate hot cross bun is available I’ll always try it. Choc-cherry? Even better. Baker Bleu has taken that path again this year; its cherry-studded chocolate buns ($28.20 for six) packed with 66 per cent Belgian chocolate and fresh ginger. For the traditionalists, the classic bun here is also very good, made with a ginger and cinnamon-forward dough folded with chewy raisins and fresh bits of orange. Emily Holgate

Caulfield North, Prahran, Cremorne & South Yarra, bakerbleu.com.au

Bread Club, $23 for six

Every Easter that Bread Club has been in the game, I’ve wondered: Is there a better HCB than this? And every Easter, I’ve reached the same conclusion: no. The classic bun is a bang-on balance of sweet and spiced, with a heady hit of cardamom. Its chocolate counterpart ($27 for six) has chunks of Hunted & Gathered’s 70 per cent stuff, plus toffee! Tomas Telegramma

558 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne; 65 Cardigan Place, Albert Park; instagram.com/breadclubofficial

Cobb Lane, $5 each or $29 for six

Despite their sourdough base, which can tend toward the denser side, these buns are surprisingly high, tender and fluffy, thanks to an additional leg-up from yeast. With plenty of plumped-up fruit and a touch of peel, the buxom bun is not too heavy, not too light, and the spice is just right. See also: the tall, dark and handsome chocolate variety ($5.50 each or $32 for six) studded with sweet-tart candied sour cherries and 54.5 per cent dark chocolate. Annabel Smith

South Melbourne, CBD, Yarraville & Richmond, cobblane.com.au

Dua Bakehouse, $35 for six

Plush, sweet, yeasty … green? The hot cross bun wasn’t broken when Raymond Tan made it sing with pandan for Easter 2025 – but he fixed it anyway. This year, they’re green with matcha, purple with ube (there’s cheddar and cornflakes in that one, too) and brown with Milo. Buns to leave the tomb for. Frank Sweet

Collingwood Yards, Shop 1/35 Johnston Street, Collingwood, instagram.com/duabakehouse

Iris The Bakery, $28 for six

Iris’ HCB goes well with a cuppa, thanks to brushing the top with a spiced bergamot glaze and soaking the fruit in Earl Grey tea with fresh ginger and citrus. There’s also loads of cardamom, and very fat raisins. It’s a bold bun. Pre-orders are available until April 1, and close at noon the day before pick-up. Good Food team

1 Wilson Avenue, Brunswick, iristhebakery.com

Monforte Viennoiserie, $5.50 each or $26.50 for six

Every bite of this bun brought me closer to my childhood. Not the Easter treats I ate, but the many slices of Tip Top Raisin Toast that were consumed at home, at the cafe we went to near the library, at Aherns department store (RIP) in Perth. (Why was fruit toast so big in the ’90s?) Anyway, Monforte’s bun is ultra-light and fragrant with cinnamon, with bold back-up from nutmeg and clove. For those who care, there’s no peel. The Earl Grey glaze is deliciously sticky – and definitely not part of my childhood memories. One bun is dangerously easy to demolish, and I didn’t even try it with the whipped butter the teeny-tiny bakery sells. Emma Breheny

585a Canning Street, Carlton North, monforte.com.au

Mörk, $5.50 each or $30 for six

Bridging the great divide between fruit fiends and chocolate fans, Mörk has created a bun of unity. What could be more appropriate right now? The very grown-up creation features currants, raisins and orange peel soaked in Earl Grey (a growing trend in HCBs!). The real surprise comes when you strike a nugget of dark chocolate, made at Mörk’s North Melbourne HQ. It’ll leave you curious for another bite. EB

North Melbourne, CBD & Chadstone, morkchocolate.com.au

Morning Market, $26 for six

There’s lots to love about Morning Market’s glossy-topped beauts. Fruit including apricots, sultanas and cranberries are soaked for three days in a citrusy spice blend before folded through a fluffy dough that’s rich with butter (though we encourage serving with more if you’re so inclined). Phwoar! Good Food team

59 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy; 579 High Street, Prahran; morning.market

OCAB Bakery, $25 for six

OCAB (AKA Overly Confident Arrogant Bakers) has well and truly earned its moniker with this year’s batch of buns. A sweet, brioche-style dough is slow fermented for a chewy bite made moist, thanks to orange puree. Alongside some familiar fruity characters (raisins, currants, apricot), there’s also the inclusion of figs – other HCB, take note. It also brings the jaffa vibe with a choc-orange variation that combines dark chocolate with candied orange. Zesty, rich, and even better warmed with a swipe of good-quality butter. EH

28A Shuter Street, Moonee Ponds; 32A Ballarat Street, Yarraville; instagram.com/ocab_bakery

Penny for Pound, $24 for six

This haven for baked goods has delivered thrice on the HCB front this year. The classic brioche-style bun marries clove and cinnamon with juicy raisins, while a gooey mocha cross bun (also $24 for six) has an added pep in its hop thanks to freshly brewed Axil espresso, folded through a creamy milk chocolate ganache. For the bakery’s final trick, a classic, flaky croissant conceals delicate cinnamon and orange-spiced almond frangipane studded with dried fruits of the typical HCB variety ($9.20). Bravo. EH

Moorabbin, Richmond & Camberwell, pennyforpound.com.au

Suburbia Bakery, $4.50 each or $25 for six

Darker, denser and more brooding than most, the HCBs at Fairfield’s Suburbia lean heavily into the spice rack – including a hit in the glaze – rather than relying on fruit and sugar. If you’re looking for a bun that can stand up to a toaster and a thick slathering of butter (or even a wedge of blue cheese), these will do very nicely indeed. RG

177 Grange Road, Fairfield, instagram.com/suburbiabakery

To Be Frank, $28 for six

To Be Frank’s bun is so fluffy, you might forget to chew. But you’d hate to choke and miss out on the even scattering of sultanas and currants, the bursts of house-candied orange and, once you get to the top half, a crackly toffee-like glaze. It’s also baking saffron-infused buns studded with candied lemon ($32 for six), plus hot “crossants” where laminated spiced croissant dough is filled with spiced fruit cream ($8.50 each). EB

1/4 Bedford Street, Collingwood; 3 Village Avenue, Brunswick East; tobefrankbakery.com.au

Tokyo Lamington, $5.50 each or $30 for six

Hot cross bun lamington, or lamington hot cross bun? There’s both and more at Carlton’s Tokyo Lamington, which has also teamed up with Scottish distillery Benriach Whisky to create big, bold and boozy “Scotch cross buns” and whisky caramel lamingtons. Pick your poison. Good Food team

258 Elgin Street, Carlton, instagram.com/tokyolamington