Bun season is always over too quickly. A fresh one toasted and spread with a thick layer of salted butter: nothing better. But, as cake king Andy Bowdy thinks, maybe their magic comes from the small window of availability. But if you need a little break, there are plenty of outstanding bun-less treats – and dressed-up buns – around the Harbour City.

Here are nine contenders if you’ve overdone it on the hot crossies.

Gelato-stuffed hot cross bun from Humble, Surry Hills

The reigning finger bun champs are jazzing up their hot cross buns. Similar to the slab of butter sandwiched in their iced-pink finger buns, the bakery’s filling its fruity buns with house-made salted butter ice-cream (made with Coppertree Farm’s cultured dairy). This could be Easter’s hottest treat, available till April 21. $12 each.

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Hot cross cruffins from Bar Mammoni, CBD

This hefty hybrid brings a croissant, muffin and hot cross bun to its mix. The cruffin dough is spicy, slow-proved overnight, crispy and piped full of milk chocolate and hazelnut praline. House-made classic and chocolate hot cross buns are available at Bar Mammoni, This Way Canteen and Martinez, too. $12 each.

The Easter Egg Cake from Dear Florence, CBD

A Cadbury Creme Egg is polarising: you either love or hate that fondant-y inside. Dear Florence, Prefecture 48’s patisserie, is the spot for a cake-ified version, from award-winning pastry chef Aoife Noonan. A golden passionfruit curd yolk is surrounded by coconut mousse and a coconut dacquoise. There’s a cereal shell then your choice of chocolate spray: white or dark. The eggs are available to pre-order or pick up in store from April 8 till April 17. $32 each.

Scotch Cross Bun from Koi Dessert Bar, Chippendale and Ryde

The celebrated sweet spot’s going all-in this year with a whisky-powered cake spiced with classic hot cross bun flavours. The many-layered treat shines with a vanilla mousse revved up with nutmeg and cinnamon, surrounding currants spiked with Benriach’s single malt. It’s coated in gold chocolate, with a cross on top. Available in-store in Chippendale and Ryde from April 1 to April 17. $22 each, including a 50-mil serve of Benriach’s The Original Ten.

Dubai chocolate babka from Tuga Pastries, Clovelly and Alexandria

Home to some of Sydney’s favourite pasteis de nata, Tuga bakery is big on Easter too. For 2025 they’re baking something decadent: a Dubai chocolate babka. Braided brioche is layered with dark chocolate sauce, crunched up with kataifi pastry, piped full of pistachio praline then topped with pistachios and shards of dark choc. The team’s also bringing back The Big Bun (its supersized, honey-butter-filled treat). Order online or pick up in-store. Dubai chocolate babka, $55; The Big Bun, $40.

Hot X gelato sandwich from Madame & Yves, Clovelly

This beachy family-run bakery is fusing its two specialties: gelato and buns. Head to the Clovelly Road joint for a fresh hot cross bun (classic or dark chocolate glazed with spiced espresso syrup) toasted then stuffed with a scoop of house-made gelato (the team recommends the salted caramel). The crunchy brûlée-topped hot crossies – plump with custard – are also excellent, as are the decadent “crosskies”, which pair a bun with choc-chip cookie dough and Pistachio Papi. Available online or in-store. Hot X gelato sandwich, $10; hot cross brûlée bun, $8; The Crosskie, $10.50.

Hokey pokey tart at Shadow Baking, Darlinghurst and Marrickville

The haven for laminated goods – think Vegemite-and-avo scrolls and nutmeg-topped, custard-filled danishes – is turning the Easter cheer on again this year, collaborating with Kiwi choc lords Whittaker’s. The hokey pokey tart goes all-in with baked chocolate custard, honeycomb Chantilly and shaved Ghana dark chocolate, held by a deeply golden croissant tart shell. It’ll knock you out (in the best way). There’s also a brownie-cookie hybrid carrying hot cross bun-flavoured custard and a coconut pain suisse. Available from April 9 till April 20. Hokey pokey tart, $10; pain suisse, $10; hot cross cookie, $8.

Hot cross lamington from Tokyo Lamington, Newtown and Marrickville

Tokyo Lamington – known for its playful twists on the Aussie cakes – is offering three Easter specials: hot cross lamingtons, yuzu hot cross buns and chocolate hot cross buns. For the hot cross lamington, the team takes two slices of spiced sponge cake, sandwiches them together with a filling of cinnamon-vanilla cream and mixed fruit, dips the whole thing in a white-chocolate sauce, rolls it in spiced cookie crumbs and tops it off with a white-chocolate cross. $5 each, six for $27, 12 for $50 or a six-part mixed box for $35.

Hot cross cruffin from Lune, Rosebery

For their hot cross cruffin, croissant queen Kate Reid and the team at Lune have taken the bakery’s buttery croissant dough and added dried fruit, candied peel and mixed spices. It’s then filled with brown-butter mousseline (made by whipping butter into pastry cream) and finished off with a classic cross. $10.50 each or $63 for a pre-ordered box of six.