Do you like them soft and chewy, or toasted and slathered in butter? How about sultanas or some secret spicy flavour combination? Where do you sit on the addition of chocolate?
Hot cross buns are a hot cross topic for debate. Hop to the shop, treat your taste buds, and cross these buns off your list.
There’s a Korean/Japanese twist to Easter treats at April Patisserie. Hot Cross Salt Buns are the offering. Filled with warm spices, house-made candied citrus, and currants, they are soft, fruity, buttery, and packed with flavour. Owners Jocelyn and Eddy studied at Le Cordon Bleu and hold degrees in Culinary Arts, so it’s safe to say you’ll be eating a beautifully crafted masterpiece.
Pop by this Kelburn restaurant and wine bar for a sit-down hot cross bun.
This year, Graze is doing a spin on a traditional hot cross bun. Inside the doughy creations you’ll find dried figs and blue cheese. Each is glazed fresh to order with a kawakawa caramel, and finished with a pumpkin pie custard cross.
Paired with a local, organic wine, it’s a very indulgent take on the Easter treat.
Tucked into Leeds Street, you’ll find some buns fresh out of the Shelly Bay Baker oven.
This local bakery has been providing the goods to Wellingtonians in the form of bagels, baguettes, and fresh bread creations since 2017. This time of year, the team turns their talents to hot cross buns.
The buns are crafted with organic, freshly milled local flour, citrus peel, raisins, and sultanas, and a special spice mix. They are then finished off with a sticky-sweet glaze cross.
In pretty pink packaging, these are great treats for impressing whānau.
With five locations around Upper Hutt, Ngaio, and central Wellington, you’re not far from a perfect pack of buns. Dough’s are full of fruit, with cranberries, raisins, and preserved oranges giving plenty of flavour. They are then topped with a maple and cinnamon glaze. Grab a pack with a coffee to go for a delicious start to your day.
With its very own secret special mix of spices handed down through the family, Nada Bakery’s hot cross buns are 50 years in the making.
The team makes the award-winning buns using a slow fermentation process to develop the flavour. Loaded with sultanas, currents, and mixed peel, they are then covered with a yuzu-infused apricot glaze. Nada also offers chocolate hot cross buns, made from local Whittaker’s chocolate.
An icon of the Wellington baking scene, Aro Bake delivers tasty hot cross buns every Easter.
The Aro Valley bakery’s buns are a traditional fruit style, made with an overnight ferment. They’re loaded with fruit and spices and baked to retain moisture. The result is a plump and chewy piece of perfection. It’s finished with a rum glaze — just enough decadence to make you return for more of the tasty seasonal treat.
Central-city café, August makes beautiful hot cross buns daily.
The team puts in plenty of fruit — you’ll find orange and lemon zest, mixed peel, cranberries and currants. Spices like cinnamon, ginger, star anise, and nutmeg add to the experience. Paired with a fresh coffee, it’s a great way to start your day.
August’s buns perfectly match the café’s colour scheme, with a deep red cross on top. It’s almost too pretty to eat.
Plant-bakery Belén ensures that nobody misses out on Easter treats.
Three varieties of hot cross buns are on offer. The traditional fruit buns are made with brioche dough, packed with sultanas steeped in Earl Grey tea and an aromatic blend of warm spices and citrus zest. Also on the menu is a Biscoff bun filled with caramelised biscuit butter. For the chocolate lovers, try a fruitless bun with Whittaker’s dark chocolate chunks and extra orange zest.
Rise and shine for your daily dose of carbs at these Wellington bakeries. From pillowy doughnuts and flaky croissants, to crunchy, chewy loaves of bread, the proof here is in the pastry.
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Wellington takes its coffee seriously. Whether you’re after a creamy flat white, a jet-fuelled long black, or something in between, there are plenty of places to keep you caffeinated.
When it’s hot out (and even when it’s not), cool down with your frozen treat of choice. Whether you prefer a scoop, soft serve, gelato, or sorbet, Wellington has it all.
Cosy up in a casual café, or get your crew together to debrief on the week.
It’s the power of flour — pizza dough topped with quality ingredients (and plenty of cheese) is all you need.
Wellington is fortunate to have a batch of fantastic restaurants that have stood the test of time.
The Hutt Valley has a generous helping of artisan bakeries. From sourdough to pastries, here’s where you can find delicious goods wherever you go.
If a sweet treat is what you’re after, then Porirua is a great place to begin. From homemade shortbread, to chocolate, tortes, cupcakes, and croissant — Porirua has the sugar fix to appease you and please you. You’ll find the city is your home sweet home.