{"id":375,"date":"2025-03-14T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/?p=375"},"modified":"2025-03-18T13:03:45","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T13:03:45","slug":"top-notch-supermarket-hot-cross-buns-revealed-as-best-for-easter-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/14\/top-notch-supermarket-hot-cross-buns-revealed-as-best-for-easter-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Top notch\u2019 supermarket hot cross buns revealed as best for Easter 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t\t\"Luxury\t<\/div>
The hot cross buns were hailed as \u2018top notch\u2019 (Picture: M&S)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s that awkward time of year when Easter<\/a> eggs and hot cross buns<\/a> are absolutely everywhere, despite it being several weeks too early.<\/p>\n

But the premature arrival of the seasonal treats in supermarkets<\/a> means you\u2019ve got time to do your research and pick the best of the bunch \u2013 which is where the results of a new taste test will come in handy.<\/p>\n

The consumer champions at Which?<\/a> have revealed the winners of a blind test which pitted eight supermarket hot cross buns<\/a> against each other in a bid to see which ones are worth snapping up.<\/p>\n

And according to the results, the winning hot cross bun from M&S<\/a> is \u2018top notch\u2019.<\/p>\n

Of the 65 people who tasted each of the buns, 73% picked the M&S Luxury Fruited Hot Cross Buns as the \u2018best buy\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"M&S\t<\/div>
The buns cost \u00a32 for four (Picture: M&S)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Priced at \u00a32 for a pack of four they were undoubtedly one of the most expensive options on the list, but shoppers felt they were \u2018worth paying more for\u2019 as they are \u2018top notch buns\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The product, which is celebrating its 50th year being sold at M&S, was praised for being \u2018fruity and well-spiced\u2019 with the levels of sweetness, spice and amount of fruit \u2018spot on\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Metro\u2019s specialist food writer, Courtney Pochin<\/a>, put the classic M&S buns to the test and was very impressed, scoring them a 4.5\/5.<\/p>\n

\u2018This isn\u2019t just any hot cross bun, it\u2019s an M&S hot cross bun, so it won\u2019t come as a surprise to anyone that these are really good,\u2019 she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018They\u2019ve got a rich, aromatic taste, that\u2019s rather warming. There\u2019s plenty of fruit packed in there as well, and the texture is beautifully soft. This is definitely the one for hot cross bun purists.\u2019<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Co-op\t<\/div>
Co-op\u2019s pack came in second place (Picture: Co-op)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Coming in second place in the Which? taste test was Co-op\u2019s Irresistible Richly Fruited Luxury Hot Cross buns, with a score of 69%.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Also priced at \u00a32 for four, these were described as having an \u2018enticing aroma and moist texture\u2019 which consumers loved, with \u2018well-balanced flavours\u2019.<\/p>\n

But the best value of the bunch was Aldi, who came in joint third place (with Waitrose<\/a>) after garnering a score of 66%. The bargain retailer\u2019s hot cross buns cost \u00a31.39 for four, making them 35p each and very \u2018budget-friendly\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Taste testers said they weren\u2019t quite as moist as some of the others, with just over 40% of participants finding them \u2018too dry\u2019. But the flavour and appearance were well-liked and most people thought he had the right amount of fruit inside.<\/p>\n

The final verdict was that they were \u2018cheap and cheerful\u2019, and Courtney agreed with the sentiment. She gave the budget ones 4.5\/5, saying: \u2018There\u2019s a good ratio of fruit inside, the buns are nicely spiced and they look really appetizing.\u2019<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"A\t<\/div>
Aldi\u2019s Specially Selected hot cross buns were voted best value (Picture: Aldi)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
Comment now<\/title><span class=\"metro-comment-cta__text\">Which supermarket do you think makes the best hot cross buns for Easter?<\/span><\/span><a class=\"metro-comment-cta__button\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\">Comment Now<\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Hot cross buns from Waitrose, <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/morrisons\/\">Morrisons<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/sainsbury\/\">Sainsbury\u2019s<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/asda\/\">Asda<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/tesco\/\">Tesco<\/a> were also featured in the taste test.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Waitrose Richly Fruited Hot Cross Buns scored 66%, Sainsbury\u2019s Taste the Difference Fruity Hot Cross Buns got 65%, Asda\u2019s Exceptional Extra Fruity Hot Cross Buns and Tesco Finest Extra Fruity Hot Cross Buns both scored 64%, while Morrisons The Best Extra Fruity Hot Cross buns came out at 61%.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/lidl\/\">Lidl\u2019s<\/a> hot cross buns were not included in the Which? test as they weren\u2019t available at the time of testing.<\/p>\n<p>However, the Lidl Deluxe Luxury Hot Cross Buns are not to be overlooked as they came out trumps in <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2024\/03\/20\/best-supermarket-hot-cross-buns-31p-a-luxurious-taste-20449497\/\">Metro\u2019s taste test in 2024, scoring an impressive 5\/5.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>If hot cross buns aren\u2019t for you, there\u2019s plenty of fun Easter chocolate that could tempt you in the shops right now, from the<a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/02\/21\/tried-waitroses-expensive-easter-egg-see-worth-17-22601696\/\"> viral Waitrose Cracking Pistachio egg<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/02\/02\/supermarket-unveils-new-chocolate-range-fans-saying-outdone-themselves-22478577\/\">Chocolate Croissant<\/a> to the<a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/02\/20\/morrisons-shoppers-divided-7-50-loaded-chocolate-ruined-one-ingredient-22593659\/\"> loaded eggs at Morrisons.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Do you have a story to share?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Get in touch by emailing <a href=\"mailto:MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk\">MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The hot cross buns were hailed as \u2018top notch\u2019 (Picture: M&S) It\u2019s that awkward time of year when Easter eggs and hot cross buns are absolutely everywhere, despite it being several weeks too early. But the premature arrival of the seasonal treats in supermarkets means you\u2019ve got time to do your research and pick the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":377,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":382,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375\/revisions\/382"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}