The humble hot cross bun is a mainstay for a reason, but there’s nothing wrong with breaking tradition. If you’re going beyond the bun this Easter, here are some of our favourite treats – some chocolatey, others boozy – to add to your table.

Piccolina’s Uovo di Pasqua (Easter egg), $39
Piccolina has brought back its Italo-inspired, gelato-filled Easter eggs for another year. There’s the dark-choc-coated Ferrerolina Rocher, with hazelnut gelato, caramelised hazelnuts and house-made Nutella Ice Magic; the Cold Cross Bun, a mix of HCB-flavoured gelato and crunchy chocolate shards with a raspberry jam swirl; and the Caramello, with sea-salted-caramel gelato, crispy milk-chocolate pearls and a caramel popcorn centre. Delicious. Each egg comes in a limited-edition retro tin.

Tarts Anon’s hot cross tart
Cult Instagram bakery Tarts Anon – which recently found a real-life home – has released a hot cross tart for Easter. The signature pastry is filled with spiced frangipane (made with an infused butter), brandied raisins and candied citrus peel, then topped with a brown-butter glaze. Limited numbers are available by the slice this week.

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Mork’s bean-to-bar chocolate eggs, $36 for a sixpack
The hot-chocolatiers at Mork have created two brand-new bean-to-bar chocolate eggs for their Easter range this year. The hand-moulded treats are made from scratch in the new small-batch chocolate factory in North Melbourne. But if your heart is set on something doughy this season, Mork is also baking a limited-edition Swedish take on a hot cross bun. It’s an orange-scented sticky bun layered with generous lashings of butter and spices. There’s also a custardy Easter bun pudding with brandy-soaked fruit and dark-choc chunks.

Lune’s hot cross cruffin ($9.50) and Moon’s hot cross cruller ($5.50)
The croissant crew at Lune is once again baking hot cross cruffins this year, filled with a spicy, fruity creme patissiere, topped with the signature cross and brushed with a clear, sweet glaze. The flaky, buttery baked goods are a “hybrid of a hybrid” says Lune’s founder Kate Reid. Meanwhile, its sibling Moon Cruller is getting in the spirit by debuting an Easter-fied cruller – its signature choux dough has been spiced and dotted with brandied fruit, with a delicately piped cross.

Yugen Tea Bar’s Easter Lilly tart, $16
Peerless, strikingly angular South Yarra tea bar Yugen has crafted some intricate, one-off Easter treats that would make for a chic seasonal gift. The Lilly tart places a delicate milk-chocolate bird’s nest, filled with white-chocolate eggs and feathers, atop a coconut tart with mango jam. Plus, there are some very shareable chocolate bonbons on offer. They come in three flavours: hot cross bun; carrot, ginger and walnut; and lemon and vanilla.

Koko Black’s Hippity Hop Pop-Up Box, $149
Melbourne-based chocolatier Koko Black continues to go all-out this year with an elaborate hamper – in a super-cute box – that reveals a pop-up garden scene. The Hippity Hop Pop-Up Box is filled with a burrow of chocolate eggs, carrot-cake bites and the much-loved praline eggs. You can also buy an intricate rabbit warren filled with clusters of chocolate bunnies and eggs on a playfully illustrated box backdrop.

Buns Bunny’s hot cross bun cocktail, $14.90
A holiday where chocolate becomes breakfast is very much geared towards the littlies. But it doesn’t have to be that way. New business Buns Bunny wants to give us an adults-only option. Its bottling up ready-to-serve hot cross bun cocktails, which meld the flavours of HCBs and chocolate with a touch of coffee and orange. To drink, just pour it over ice and garnish it with an orange peel (if you’re feeling fancy), then hop to it.