Easter has nearly arrived, here’s where to get hot cross buns across the Geelong region
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30.03.2023

Easter has nearly arrived, here’s where to get hot cross buns across the Geelong region

FUNK by Botanical Brew

We're making sure that this Easter is one packed full of hot-cross bun deliciousness. Bun-Appetit!

Is there anything better than starting your morning by waking up to the smell of delicious hot cross buns warming in the oven? Nothing quite beats that aroma of spices and fruit mixed with the fluffy dough that only a hot cross bun offers.

With Easter rolling around at high speed this year, there’s a slew of small businesses and local bakers in town lovingly whipping up batches of the perfect creations for our eating pleasure. To help you consume as many as possible before they disappear for another year (cue the tears), here’s where you can find Geelong’s best hot cross buns right now.

Go forth, and indulge.

FUNK

Nestled inconspicuously amongst the Shannon Avenue shopping village is Funk, a little oasis for lovers of baked goods, paired with a well-kept garden from the family behind Botanical Brew.

This year FUNK are bringing back their sensational Sourdough hot cross buns for Easter. These buns of joy are vegan and made with organic flour, sultanas, spices and a mandarin glaze. Purchase in-store or place an order with the team at FUNK stat.

Address: 152 Shannon Avenue, Geelong West

That Place Patisserie

Made using sourdough flour and yeast (for the perfect balance of flavour and texture), complete with fruits and spices, these buns are full of flavour. These babies are also glazed with a mouth watering Spiced Golden Syrup Glaze and are ready to be inhaled right up until Good Friday. The That Place team are currently taking pre-orders for buns so you don’t miss out on the day, however, these orders close this Friday, 31 March unless they reach capacity earlier.

They’ll also be slinging these babies everyday until Easter, so simply head on in and pick up a tasty bun for a snack. While you’re there you might as well pick up some Pain Au Chocolat’s and specialty croissants.

Address: 110b Mt Pleasant Rd, Belmont

Ferguson Plarre

We have no doubt you’ve visited a local Ferguson Plarre at least once in your life, but if you haven’t, now is a real good time to start.

For Easter, Victoria’s iconic home of baked goods will be offering their iconic hot cross buns. Baked with more fruit than flour, they now come in a variety of innovative flavours, including Jam Donut, Raspberry & White Chocolate, and Choc Chip. Of course there’s the traditional recipe too if you’re just after the classic. Handcrafted daily in Melbourne, grab a half-dozen for just $9 at their 80 Victoria-based bakehouses or online.

Pick them up and devour it in-store or order here.

Address: Locally, you’ll find FP at Westfield, Newcomb Central Shopping Centre, Waurn Ponds Shopping Centre, Bell Post Shopping Centre and Corio Village Shopping Centre. Explore further locations here.

 

Need The Bread

Located in Newtown, Need The Bread is the local business making small-batch artisan bread made to order by Audrey Foy.

Available in the lead up to Easter, her sourdough Hot Cross Buns and Choc Cross Buns feature a fluffy spiced sourdough, jam-packed with all the good stuff. The traditional HCBs are loaded with mixed dried fruit and finished with an Apricot Conserve glaze, while the chocolate lovers (or dried fruit non-lovers), will love the CCBs that are packed with a chocolate hit with just the right amount of orange peel, finished with our Plum Conserve glaze.

Available every Friday and Saturday up until and including Easter.

Order online here.

 

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Born and Bread Bakehouse

Located just off Pakington Street, this family-owned business is all about making delicious treats and baked goods. Stocking various loaves of bread, you can pick up croissants, baked treats and now thanks to Easter time, you can stock up on some of these seriously delicious doughy, spicy, fruity, buttery balls of joy.

Their traditional buns are made with organic fruit from Tabletop Grapes and finished with a sticky glaze, so you know they’re going to be good! They’re currently taking orders for Easter weekend now so get in before they hit capacity, you can order here. They’re also available at the Newtown venue every day so pop on in.

Address: Shop 2, 364 Pakington St, Newtown.

Kilgour Street Grocer x La Madre

A go-to for many cafes when it comes to stocking baked treats, La Madre is also all about making a damn fine hot x bun. Up until Easter, the team will be elbow-deep in flour, sugar and spice, making the very best deliciously intense, sourdough fruity buns to see you through.

You pick up your La Madre Easter buns from Kilgour Street Bakery every day until Easter. You can get them individually or in take-home packs of six.

Address: 164 Kilgour St, Geelong

Zeally Bay Sourdough

This little spot is renowned on the coast as bread-lovers heaven. And once again, they’re making hot x buns! The bonus is that with this artisan bakehouse, the slow-ferment sourdough hot x buns are slightly better for you. Made with certified organic heritage white wheat and wholewheat flours, the most delicious organic currants and sultanas, spices, bakery roasted Ayurvedic spices, hand-cut lemon peel and a little EV olive oil, these put ZBS high on the bun-lover’s radar.

They don’t stock them directly but they make them for a bunch of retailers across the region. Check out their store locator here.

Want to melt your butter over these? Reheat tip: Place in a warm oven 160 degC for 5-10 minutes (not too long!) until warm through.

Address: 10 Sawmills Way, Torquay

Local Geelong

Local Geelong is a well-loved cafe slinging coffee, cake and pastries for all the humans out the east side of Geelong. With sourdough baking being at the heart of the business, the venue are offering delicious vegan hot cross buns. Made with organic sun dried fruit folded through a soft organic sourdough bun, with the right amount of spices, these are an absolute treat warmed with a lashing of butter.

They are available for pre-order via the website, or you can pick up in store.

Address: 175 McKillop Street, Geelong

 

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Pane di Matteo

Pane di Matteo has long had a love for the finer things in life, oh, and baked goods of course.

They’re back into making hot x buns for the year, so stop by and get yourself a collection of these floury heroes. They’re making both traditional fruit sourdough buns and sourdough chocolate buns for when you truly feel like indulging.

You can go in-store to pick up these babies every day they’re open until Easter.

Address: 12 Porter Ave, Highton

 

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Ket Baker

An artisan bakery with a big heart, Ket Baker is a real gem on the beautiful Bellarine Peninsula. Limited batches of high-quality, local produce are baked daily from Tuesday to Sunday every week. Sourdough is definitely the champion here with table loaf, baguettes, and rye bread all on offer. For the sweet tooth (with that sour twang) Ket Baker are masters of the croissant and danish too.

With the arrival of Easter, easter buns have also risen here and they are 11/10. They’re also open across the entire Easter long weekend so pop on in if you’re feeling snacky.

Address: 377 Grubb Road Wallington, Victoria

 

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Piknik Café

What started as the restoration of an old scotch oven has resulted in the continued creation of some of Bellarines best baked goods. Alchemy Woodfire Bakehouse sells its goods at Piknik Café now, but the focus is still on quality, naturally leavened, organic bread and pastries.

For Easter, they’ll be doing traditional fruit buns in small batches. They’re also taking pre-orders for these babies so get them in by Wednesday.

Address: 1195 Queenscliff Road, Swan Bay

 

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Little Wings Artisan Bread

TLC is the essential ingredient for all of the tastiest sourdoughs, and at Little Wings Artisan Bread the story is no different. Little Wings is a small, family-run business operating out of Drysdale. Head baker Miriam has been obsessed with perfecting the sourdough for some years. So obsessed, in fact, that herself and her partner David spent time travelling Australia to uncover the best flours and ingredients to use in their bakery – now that’s dedication! The years of trial and error have paid off, with their all-natural sourdough goodies being undoubtedly some of the Bellarine’s best.

In saying that, you’ll find hot cross buns here in the lead up to Easter. They’re also taking pre-orders for buns so head on in and secure your Easter treats.

Address: Unit 2/34 Murradoc Road, Drysdale

Sunbakers

Located in Barwon Heads, this coastal bakery is a real treat for all, whether it’s before or after a hard day at the beach. With a fun but relaxed vibe and a bright look, Sunbakers is a must when it comes to sourdoughs, breads, donuts, pies, pastries and baguettes to fill up your picnic basket.

For Easter, Sunbakers will be baking hot cross buns every single day until the end of Easter.

Address: 49 Hitchcock Avenue, Barwon Heads

 

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The Source Bulk Foods Geelong

Feel like giving hot cross buns a crack yourself? The Source Bulk Foods in Geelong, a zero waste shop with a large selection of bulk whole foods, are selling some incredible Hot Cross Buns Recipe Kit.

Whether you prefer traditional hot cross buns with fruit or without, with chocolate or gluten-free, they’ve put everything together for you to create a delicious batch of homemade hot cross buns. The recipe kits are also great for budding little master-chefs, as all the dry ingredients have already been measured out. Help them follow the recipe and watch as they enhance their culinary skills.

Shop Hot Cross Buns Recipe Kits in-store or online. You can smell them baking already!

Newfolk Café

With hand-painted stools, a deep blue feature wall, indoor plants and stunning pendants, Newfolk sports a casual and mellow neighbourhood vibe, and one that all of Newtown know and love. It’s not just the happy vibes and the friendly barista’s perfectly steamed milk and Small Batch coffee that has the locals coming back time and time again, but this time of year, it’s also for the delicious hot cross buns.

Supplied by Traditional french bakery Noisette, these babies are available with or without butter right up until Easter.

Address: 105 Skene Street, Newtown.

 

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Iberia

House-made hot crosses from this little gem is always a good idea!

You can indulge in toasted hot x buns in-house or take them away with butter.

Address: 137 Shannon Avenue, Geelong

 

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Wild Goat Coffee

If quick, cheap and delicious is your type of Easter bun, then Wild Goat have you sorted this year.

Served with butter, you can indulge in hot cross buns for just $2 with any coffee purchase.

Address: 42 Fellmongers Road, Breakwater

Gluten Free 4 U

For all you that need some gluten-free bad boys, hit up Gluten Free 4 U for all your hot cross bun needs this Easter season. Available in sultana, chocolate chip and plain, they are also 100 per cent vegan as well as GF. You can suss out the ingredients here or just head on in-store to pick them up.

Address: 110 Pakington St, Geelong West

 

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Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie

If you love chocolate like we love chocolate, you’ll know that the Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie has long been the place to go to treat yourself to an abundance of the sweet stuff, and this year, that includes Easter buns! Armed with a Chocolaterie twist, they’re serving up traditional fruit, triple choc chip, and biscoff bliss buns smothered in butter with an extra chocolate shot in the Café or you can take home one or half a dozen too!

Address: 1200 Great Ocean Road, Bellbrae

Fleur Wolves

Guided by the vision to create all things magical and support local creatives, Fleur Wolves is truly a thing of beauty with coffee, flowers and interiors all being as gorgeous as each other.

As pretty as it sounds, Fleur Wolves is serving hot cross buns. Make sure you pick up some local goodies while you’re there too.

Address: 6-24 Moorabool Street, Suite 49, Geelong

Visiting Melbourne and having cravings? Here are some of our favourite Melbourne spots!

The Hamptons Bakery

The Hamptons Bakery is the place to go with their *exclusive* signature Hot Cross Buns, known for selling out as quickly as the team can bake them. This year, they’re available in cranberry & chocolate, featuring premium single-source chocolate from the Yarra Valley or the classic hot cross bun recipe we all know and love.

Each bun is meticulously crafted in-house, both containing a caramel-glazed blitzed orange and a carefully macerated dried fruit mix, aged to perfection over three months with spiced sugar blend.

The Hamptons Bakery Hot Cross Buns are available now until Easter Sunday in single or 6-pack options at Post Office Club Hotel, Rumour Has It Cafe, and The Hamptons Bakery.

Pre-ordering is available online here.

Address:427 Hampton street, Hampton

Penny For Pound

Penny for Pound’s freshly baked Hot Cross Buns are available in three fantastic flavours: Traditional, Double Chocolate and their signature, Sticky Date.

An oldie but a goodie, the traditional Hot Cross Bun features earl grey soaked raisins, currents and sultanas paired beautifully with the subtle zing of orange zest and cinnamon. Chocolate lovers can indulge in the Double Chocolate flavour, which is decadently filled with milk and dark chocolate chips. Those looking to try a Penny for Pound speciality, the Sticky Date hot cross bun has been crafted with the plumpest of dates and expertly caramelised white chocolate.

The hot cross buns retail for $5 each, and can be purchased in a 6 pack for $24.

Address: 7 Cochranes Rd, Moorabbin, 387 Camberwell Rd, Camberwell and 418 Bridge Rd, Richmond.

If you know a business baking or stocking these buns of joy, please let us know.