Easter Hot Cross Buns | Picture: iStock
The Easter season is in full swing and The Citizen’s Lifestyle team, with the help of some colleagues, couldn’t help but indulge in hot cross buns and other Easter treats.
This soft, sweet bread dough mixed with dried fruits and finished with a cross on top has become a staple during Easter. Dating back to the 12th century in England and has become a religious symbol.
The cross on the bun represents the cross on which Christ died and the spices (ground clove, nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice) in the hot cross bun were used to embalm Christ after his death.
This sweet and spicy treat is commonly sold and eaten in the lead-up to Good Friday and until the end of the Easter period.
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We devoured many store-bought buns, as our experts from The Citizen rated Shoprite, Woolworths, Food Lovers Market and Pick n Pay’s hot cross buns offerings.
On the panel were lifestyle journalist Sandisiwe Mbhele and football editor Jonty Mark.
The first thing we noticed was the fruit distribution, which was plentiful. The dough was nicely cooked throughout and not stodgy. However, the buns were lacking in the traditional spicy flavours.
Extra spicy hot cross buns: Because these are made to have more spice, the classic flavours of cinnamon and nutmeg etc were noticeable, however they needed more fruit. We also tasted their chocolate buns, which were tasty and would be great with a cup of tea but we felt the chocolate chips needed to have more of a bite.
As raisins aren’t everyone’s favourite, there is now a fruit-free version available, but for us traditional lovers we didn’t understand them as they were dry and lacked flavour.
From appearance alone, Woolworths’ buns are the most aligned, similar in appearance and have a sticky shine on top.
They are a bit smaller in size, however they are packed with flavour with plenty of fruit in the bun. They are also slightly chewy. Very tasty.
Vegans aren’t left out with Woolworths’s ClemenGold and Sultana hot cross buns costing R39. 99 with four inside.
The citrus flavours were divine, however we wish there was more fruit in the buns as the dough was slightly dense.
Larger in size, the buns were springy with spicy flavours. The cross on top of the bun wasn’t as noticeable as their competitors as it could easily be mistaken for a normal bun.
The buns needed more fruit too.
These buns were certainly not stingy with the fruit, as they were evident on top of the buns. The dough was fluffy, it had good overall spice and aromas.
The cross was thicker than their competitors.
Cadbury has made a limited easter range, ranging from their Hollow eggs filled with Whispers or Astros, mallow eggs and the top Deck bunny slabs that we couldn’t get enough of.
The chocolate hollow eggs are quite crunchy and hard to eat, it’s advisable to break them into pieces to enjoy. This range would be enjoyable if you are planning an Easter hunt for children.
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