MISSION: TO TASTE MELBOURNE'S BEST HOT CROSS BUNS – CANDIED BAKERY

As you know, Easter is around the corner.  This means delicious specialty food, including the hot cross bun.

I know that Candied Bakery has already been blogged, but as a lover of baking, I wanted to write one myself about their now famous and very hard to get hot cross buns.

After The Age newspaper’s Epicure article ‘Who has the best buns?,’ the demand for Candied’s hot cross buns has skyrocketed.  Why?  Because they received the highest overall score, in a blind tasting of a dozen different buns, chosen from metropolitan Melburnian and regional Victorian bakeries.

Luckily for me, I actually work just up the road from Candied Bakery in Spotswood.  For the past week, it seemed like every second Melbourne-based client I spoke with asked me if I had tried a Candied hot cross bun!  Consequently, this became a mission of mine; I needed to see what all the fuss was about.

Firstly, I called Candied on Sunday to see if I could pre-order some buns, but was told that they were unfortunately not taking any more pre-orders before Easter, due to the overwhelming demand.  To their defence, they are a boutique bakery and closed Mondays and Tuesdays, however I was still a little disappointed.  It then became a race against the clock.  If I wanted to try these hot cross buns, I needed to get there early.  So, Wednesday morning I rocked up at 7:45am (they open at 7:30am) and was greeted by the delicious smell and sight of freshly baked goods, a.k.a. heaven.  Candied already had a steady stream of customers with the lady before me walking out with 3 full trays.  I was told that the guys had been baking since 2am. 

Elated with my own secured stash of Melbourne’s best hot cross buns, it was time to put them to the test.  I purchased 14 buns in total, some for workmates and the rest to take home for family.  The buns definitely went down a treat.  Fluffy, full of flavour with a lovely glossy top - just delicious.  Everyone who had a bun loved it, however a couple did comment on how these buns had a strong clove or nutmeg taste to them.  I agree that they have a good hit of spice, but I like it.  I think it adds depth and helps distinguish these hot cross buns from the rest.  One other thing I noticed, that the bun I had in the morning was better than the one I had after work.  I suppose there really is nothing better than freshly baked bread, straight out of the oven.

So, my advice to you, if you can get your hands on some Candied Bakery hot cross buns, do, because they are amazing and definitely worth trying.  Don’t save any for later because fresher is better.  However, they are that good fresh that I doubt they would last long anyway.

 

Candied Bakery’s Hot Cross Buns

Half a dozen for $13.50 or $2.70 each

81A Hudsons Rd, Spotswood - ph: (03) 9391 1335