Easter is one of our favourite holidays, because it’s defined by periods of eating delicious things. Pancakes on Shrove Tuesday; buns on Good Friday; chocolate on Easter Sunday. Here are a few of the best local twists on these classics.
Abbots and Kinney’s Hot Cross Punts
There are two things every Australian loves: days off and the start of footy season. Abbots and Kinney’s Hot Cross Punts are a celebration of both. “Ours are a lot softer as we’ve done a take on an Asian bun with the essence and flavour of a traditional hot cross bun,” says owner Jonny Pisanelli. The punts, which are topped with laces instead of crosses, come in fruit and choc-chip varieties.
Sugar Man’s Easter Chocolate Bars
Alex “Sugar Man” Crawford has released a duo of from-scratch chocolate bars with an Easter theme. Our pick is the Miss Hot Cross Bun Bar, made with fresh spices, mashed up hot cross bun pieces (also handmade), fresh Riverland glacé orange peel and dried sultanas. There’s also the Mr Peanut Butter Bar with ground-to-order Australian peanuts topped with a pinch of Murray River pink salt. Both bars have a base of 41 per cent Ecuadorian single-origin milk chocolate. The wrappers are illustrated by Crawford’s partner, Alexandra Lloyd AKA Le Meow Design. Available only at Fred Eatery and the Smelly Cheese Shop.
Caffiend Coffee Company's Hot Cross Bun Pancake
Shrove Tuesday may have passed, but there's always time for pancakes. Especially when they're topped with whipped honeycomb butter, mixed nuts and seeds, fresh fruit and an easter egg. Head to Caffiend Coffee Company this week to enjoy exactly that, paired with one of owner Kostas Trakas's house-roasted coffees.
The Beigelry’s Hot Cross Bagels
Adelaide’s dedicated bagel shop The Beigelry is rolling out fresh hot cross bagels again. They’re made with the same fruit-and-spice recipe as a hot cross bun but hand-rolled, boiled and baked like a bagel. The hybrid creations are so popular they’ve already sold out, but we hear there’s more on the way this week.
Sit Lo’s Nutella Hot Cross Bao
Sit Lo’s pillowy nutella-stuffed baos are back; deep-fried and dusted with a cross of icing sugar. Run, don't walk. These are guaranteed to sell out.
3rd by NNQ’s Hot X Gin
3rd by NNQ’s Jennifer Luong has taken her love of gin to its predictable end and created her own. Less predictable is her Hot X Gin recipe, which uses London dry gin, cinnamon, sultanas, nutmeg, allspice, cloves and orange rind. “I added sugar just to keep a little sweetness,” she says. The drink is poured over the bar at 3rd by NNQ (while stocks last) and is garnished with gin-soaked sultanas.
Steven Ter Horst’s Rocky Road Easter Egg and Bunny Pops
Adelaide’s premier chocolatier is catering to everyone this Easter. For the young, there’s rabbit-shaped chocolate pops with marshmallow, freeze-dried raspberry or chocolate crisps. For the grown, pick up a hemi-egg made from Steven Ter Horst’s signature chocolate, combined with marshmallow, glace cherries and nuts, weighing in at 220g.
Oh Deer Sugar’s Creme Egg Bubble Bath and Hot Cross Bun Body Scrub
Take care of your outside, as well as your insides, this long weekend. Soak in the sudsy aroma of candy with a Creme Egg bath bomb or perfume yourself with a vanilla-and-spice “hot cross bun” body scrub. Both are handmade by vegan “non-edible bakery” Oh Deer Sugar.
Just Bliss Chocolates’s Gin and Tonic Easter Eggs
Don’t leave these out for the kids. Each handmade chocolate egg carries 10 G&T candies made using tempered couverture chocolate and filled with “tonic” (a calamansi lime confit), layers of chocolate ganache and a generous amount of South Australian gin.
Kytons Bakery’s FruChocs Hot Cross Buns
The argument over fruit versus chocolate hot cross buns is always divisive. So why not do both? Iconic Adelaide confectioner Menz is collaborating with fellow local Kytons Bakery to produce FruChocs buns, featuring the famous chocolate-coated apricot balls baked into a traditional bun recipe.
Renn Artisan Macarons
Decorating eggs for Easter is an age-old pastime. Renn Artisan Macarons is giving this tradition a sweet spin with a limited run of Easter macarons, each carefully piped by hand. The cute designs include Easter Bunny (strawberry), Easter Chick (lemon), Easter Egg (chocolate and mint), Lamb (blueberry) and Hot X Bun (Nutella) – available in a pack of six.
