It’s well and truly hot cross bun season. These spice- and fruit-loaded bundles have been on supermarket shelves for months, but now we’re within weeks of Easter, London’s best bakeries have started releasing their buns from the ovens. Here are our favourites for 2026.
Toad Bakery
Gleaming with a thick, citrussy glaze, the HXBs from Camberwell’s always-busy Toad are worth queuing for: the initial sweet hit of the glaze is tempered by a richly spiced and satisfyingly chewy bun with notes of citrus peel, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon.
toadbakery.com
Toklas
The waft of blood orange is immediate when releasing a Toklas hot cross bun from its paper bag. Seasonal produce is Toklas’s MO – both in its restaurant and the bakery offshoot – and in these chewy buns, candied end-of-season Todoli Foundation citrus peel brings the zest to a dough enlivened with spiced tea, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon.
toklaslondon.com
St John
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. St John’s hot cross buns are popular each year for a reason: they’re on the breadier side of the spectrum, having been long-proved and slow-risen, giving them a sturdiness which is all the better for lathering on the butter. Crystallised ginger dials up the comforting warmth, together with candied peel and a restrained amount of dried fruit.
stjohnrestaurant.com
Miel Bakery
Classically trained baker Shaheen Peerbhai is known for putting elegant twists on old favourites at her Warren Street bakery Miel. For this Easter’s batch of hot cross buns that means raisins and currants soaked in hojicha, mixed in with candied orange and ginger and a dough with a spice mix with a bit of punch.
mielbakery.co.uk
Fortitude Bakehouse
Much-loved Bloomsbury bakery Fortitude is known for its slow fermented bakes – and you’ll know why after biting into its pleasingly weighty buns, made with an Earl Grey-enriched sourdough base. Relish the salty-sweet dance of butter and plump sultanas, with the tang of orange peel for extra depth.
@fortitudebakehouse
The Newt
The Newt in Somerset’s HCB recipe leans classic. Bundles of cinnamon-, nutmeg- and cardamom-spiced dough are studded with sultanas, currants and orange and lemon peel. Head baker Paulo Silva says not to mess with a good thing when serving: just slice, toast and spread with salted butter. Order them online.
thenewtinsomerset.com
Fink’s
Sticky fingers are an unavoidable – yet not unwelcome – side effect of enjoying a Fink’s hot cross bun. These bad boys are brushed with an Amalfi lemon and vanilla marmalade glaze – the shine on top of a bun that’s made with currants, raisins and Turkish golden raisins soaked in earl grey, as well as a melange of peel: blood orange, bergamot, Amalfi lemon and Todoli Foundation orange.
finks.co.uk
Jolene
The cross gives good crunch on Jolene’s sturdy, plump buns, which are woven through with candied citrus peel and raisins. Wildfarmed regenerative flour means the dough itself has a complexity of flavour – and the whole shebang is finished post-baking with a blast of Earl Grey syrup.
jolenebakery.com
Eric’s
Hot cross buns were among the first creations at Eric’s – the independent East Dulwich bakery that opened in 2023. Since then, the bakery has developed a loyal fan base, with its Easter treats flying out the door. They come bursting with raisins, currants and candied citrus peels, plus some more unexpected ingredients like blood orange, yuzu and bergamot.
ericslondon.com
Jean-Georges at The Connaught
A refined Easter afternoon tea at Jean-Georges at The Connaught wouldn’t be complete without petite hot cross buns. These plump little beauties offer just the right level of sweetness in their glaze, with a subtler spice profile than most, so as not to overpower the selection of finger sandwiches and delicate patisserie that form the afternoon tea experience.
maybourne.com
Panzer’s
Kit Delamain – the pizzaiolo behind Panzer’s in-house pizzeria Circus Pizza – also trained as a baker at St John. So expect a well-considered bun: one heaving with spices and stem ginger, tea-soaked currants and raisins, and a taste-amplifying marmalade and ginger glaze.
panzers.co.uk
