Whether you prefer traditional fruit-filled or decadent chocolate hot cross buns, this deliciously easy recipe from Le Petit Gâteau is sure to impress.
Food & Wine
All Are Welcome
Babka
Batman Bakery
Bread Club
Candied Baker
Flour House
Le Petit Gateau
Penny for a Pound
STREAT
Wood Frog Bakery
Hulms Bakery
Red Beard Bakery
Best hot cross buns in Melbourne and regional Victoria
Sate your appetite for hot cross buns with our guide to the best ones in Melbourne and Victoria - or make your own at home following our video.
We protest when hot cross buns hit the supermarket shelves months before Easter, but our appetite for these traditional treats shows no limit. Who can resist a fruity, fragrant, fluffy bun, especially one that’s lightly toasted and smothered in butter?
Annual polls show that fruity hot cross buns remain Australia’s favourite, while demand for artisan hot cross buns is as strong as those that grace our supermarket shelves.
Easter is also one of the busiest times of the year for Le Petit Gateau patisserie in Melbourne’s CBD, which caters for both traditionalists and chocolate lovers. They are also available at RACV City Club for members to enjoy in the refurbished Coffee Lounge or in the refined Gallery Lounge, which features Australian artwork. You can also try your own at home using Le Petit Gateau's recipe and following the video.
So, where can you get the best hot cross buns in Melbourne and regional Victoria? Which ones are worth crossing town to try? Here is a list of mouth-watering bonzer buns based on your recommendations on social media, our own taste tests, and the Baking Association of Australia’s annual hot cross bun competition.
Melbourne's best hot cross buns
All Are Welcome
Northcote, Thornbury, and Ivanhoe
Made with stoneground wheat flour and rye flour, nicely spiced, and loaded with sultanas, currants, raisins and candied orange, these hearty hot cross buns are worth ordering online so you don't miss out.
Babka
358 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
Soft and scrumptious, Babka’s hot cross buns are packed full of fruit, with a balance of spices, and a hint of orange. Delicious with or without butter.
Baker D Chirico
178 Faraday Street, Carlton
These spiced sourdough hot cross buns have serious street cred, with Melburnians beating a path to Carlton or South Yarra to join the daily queues (and grab some bread too). Brimming with Australian sultanas and currants, plus a smattering of orange peel, they have heft and zest.
Batman Bakery
26 Batman Ave, Sunbury
Nominated on social media, there’s a lot of love out Sunbury way for this traditional bakery. Best known for its banh mi and donuts, its hot cross buns are also hitting the spot with locals. They are traditional fare with sultanas and no lemon peel.
STREAT's traditional bun is hand-glazed and generously studded with fruit. Image: Supplied
Bread Club
North Melbourne and Albert Park
Bread Club doesn’t do things by halves. Their Hot XXX Buns come in different flavours, but if you’re going for the traditional option, it’s a melody of fresh citrus and ginger, cardamom and nutmeg, and sultanas, currants, and cranberries.
Candied Baker
81a Hudson’s Rd, Spotswood
Soft but substantial, these delicious hot cross buns have a kick of clove that complements the cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Add juicy, plump sultanas and currants (and leave out the lemon peel), and you have a great tasting sourdough-based bun.
Fleischer Continental Cakes
96 Glenferrie Rd, Malvern
These hot cross buns are all taste and texture. Slightly denser than many on the list (thanks to lashings of fruit and peel) they are spicy and sweet with a sticky glaze, and a nutty undertone (although they are nut-free).
Flour House
3 Graham St, Highett
Lovingly handmade, Flour House uses a blend of cinnamon, cardamon, nutmeg and allspice. They also marinate the Australian fruit in fresh ginger and homemade confit orange puree. The result is moreish hot cross buns that have the richness of plum pudding.
Just Yummy
13 Meadowgate Dr, Chirnside Park
Gluten may be the key to that fluffy texture, but specialist gluten-free bakery Just Yummy manages to rise to the challenge and create hot cross buns that are soft and sweet. Their lightly spiced fruit, fruit-free and choc-chip buns are vegan too.
Just Yummy's gluten-free hot cross bun is suitable for vegans too. Image: Supplied
Le Petit Gateau
458 Little Collins Street, Melbourne CBD
The smell of cinnamon and nutmeg fills the Le Petit Gateau kitchen in the lead up to Easter, with the pastry chefs pulling out tray upon tray of traditional buns studded with raisins and candied orange. Chocolate lovers will also appreciate the high-quality Swiss chocolate that’s used in the chocolate-chip hot cross buns.
More: Hot cross buns recipe from Le Petit Gateau
Menzies Bakery
66 Menzies Ave, Dandenong North
Nominated on social media, this humble bakery in the outer suburbs proves you don’t need to be fancy to make a great hot cross bun. Soft and fluffy, these hot cross buns are delicately spiced and full of juicy sultanas. Delicious fresh or toasted with butter.
Penny for a Pound
Richmond, Camberwell, Moorabbin
These sticky, moreish hot cross buns ooze with mixed spice, fruit, and tastiness. Get in quick for their traditional buns, they are usually sold out by noon.
STREAT
66 Cromwell Street and 71 Gipps Street, Collingwood
STREAT's traditional-style bun is laden with spice and a zesty orange kick, generously studded with vine fruits and then hand glazed to finish. You can buy them at the social enterprise’s Collingwood outlets.
Wood Frog Bakery
14 outlets across Melbourne
Soft, sweet, and citrusy, Wood Frog’s hot cross buns are a crowd-pleaser. Widely available, you can stock up for Good Friday.
Located in Dandenong North, Menzies Bakery's hot cross buns are a hidden gem. Image: Supplied
Regional Victoria's best hot cross buns
Gaffney’s Bakery
63-65 High St, Heathcote
Gaffney’s is a “must stop” for many people travelling along the Northern Highway and in need of an award-winning pie. Their hot cross buns are also highly desirable, with a traditional mix of spice and sultanas and currants.
Hulms Bakery
66 Murray St, Colac
Hulms Bakery has stood the test of time, delivering hot cross buns with a dollop of nostalgia. “They taste like your great grandmother made them. They are spectacular,” according to Rebecca, who responded to our call out for recommendations on social media.
Hudaks Bakery
Mildura Central, 848A Fifteenth St, Mildura
Hudaks Bakery in Mildura came third in a field of 143 contenders for Australia’s Best Hot Cross Buns. Mildura may be one of the furthest towns from Melbourne, but it sounds like they’re not missing out on quality buns.
Jane Dough Bakery
Shop 3, Centre Point Arcade, 147 Liebig St, Warrnambool
If you’re going on a road trip to find the perfect hot cross bun, then Jane Dough Bakery could be your destination. Their generously proportioned hot cross buns have bounce and character, with lovely moist fruit and well-balanced spices. Plus, they’re not too sticky on top.
Jane Dough's hot cross buns are worth a road trip to Warrnambool. Image: Supplied
North End Bakehouse
2 Grant Ct, Shepparton
North End Bakehouse is no stranger to success. The bakery won the title for Australia’s Best Hot Cross at the Baking Association of Australia (BAA) Victorian Baking Show in 2021 and 2022. This year their vegemite hot cross bun dazzled the judges, winning the most innovative category. These are selling for $8.50 for six.
Parkview Bakery
Maryborough and Saint Arnaud
This family-owned bakery caters for locals and tourists alike, with its award-winning pies and speciality cakes. It’s not surprising that their traditional hot cross buns are also delicious.
Ranga’s Bakery
205G Bayview Rd, McCrae
In the backblocks of McCrae, this small family-owned bakery punches above its weight. The queues for the pies and bread do not lie, and the hot cross buns, resplendent with Australian fruit, are equally popular. They are available up until Easter Sunday, so if you’re on the Mornington Peninsula for Easter swing by and try one.
Red Beard Bakery
38a High Street, Trentham
Certified 100% organic, full of luscious fruits and spices and baked to perfection in a historic oven, many a Melburnian takes a day trip to Trentham to get their hands on some of Red Beard's famous Easter buns. Open Friday to Monday, try one of their savoury treats and pick up a loaf of bread while you’re there.
The Good Loaf, Bendigo
404 Hargreaves St, Bendigo
An artisan sourdough bakery, The Good Loaf has had its fair share of awards. Like their savoury pastries and cakes, their classy hot cross buns are made from scratch, and include an even distribution of sultanas, currants, and mixed peel.
