Easter, no matter your religious inclinations, is a time for leisure. When that long-awaited long weekend rolls around, it's all in on chocolate, but beforehand? A particular treat becomes the focus of bakeries around the world. And, thankfully, a stack of local Sydney bakeries are here to fix your hot-crossed cravings, both the classic and unconventional, launching their goodies from kitchens and storefronts all over town. Have a read of our selections, and we guarantee that soon you'll be tucking into some handcrafted Easter buns, plump with fruit, loaded with spices and slathered with lashings of butter. From the traditional glazed version to some crafty new-world remixes, here's where to get your sweet treat fix this Easter. Humble Bakery First things first, the classics. The classic hot cross bun is a simple thing, glazed bread, the definitive cross, spiced fruit…memorable, yet humble. Where else to get a refined example of the classic than at Humble Bakery? Returning for 2026, Humble's classic hot cross bun sees freshly ground cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger mixed into dough with raisins, sultanas, apricots, cranberries and an orange peel, then baked and finished with a spiced glaze. You can get them individually in-store or pre-order online, from now until Monday, April 6. Find Humble Bakery at Shop 2, 50 Holt Street, Surry Hills, Shop 1, 333 Kent Street and Shop 19, 16-20 Loftus Lane. [caption id="attachment_1082512" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Trent Van Der Jagt[/caption] Brooklyn Boy Bagels Brooklyn Boy Bagels is adding a bit of Manhattan-style spin to the Easter menu, with not one but three hot cross bun-style choices to keep us fed throughout the Easter period. There's a classic, made with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, sultanas, cranberries, and candied orange, then finished with an orange and maple glaze. But for the unconventional, the Hot Cross Bagel reimagines the treat in bagel form with a vanilla glaze cross, and a Red Velvet Hot Cross Bun puts some colour into the mix — and some cocoa, best enjoyed with Brooklyn Boy's cultured butter, hazelnut or cream cheese spreads. Get them individually in-store or by the six packs online. Find Brooklyn Boy Bagels at 74 Reservoir St, Surry Hills and 19 Carrington Rd, Marrickville. Tokyo Lamington The masters of cubed baked goods, Tokyo Lamington, is joining the Easter season with a few different treats. This year's spin on the hot cross bun is the product of a collaboration with Benriach Distillery called the Scotch Cross Bun — which sees the fruit infused with Benriach's The Original Ten and the bun finished with a scotch glaze. There's also the Scotch Caramel Easter Lamington, pairing a chocolate sponge with a decadent whisky caramel centre. Order yours online now. Find Tokyo Lamington at 277 Australia St, Newtown and 140 Marrickville Rd, Marrickville. Kafe Kooks If you've ever tucked into a side dish of crispy roti bread and thought, "why can't I eat more meals with this?", you've clearly never been to Kafe Kooks. This Ultimo eatery heroes the humble roti with every menu item, including an unconventional but delicious-sounding Easter treat. The Hot Cross Bom reimagines things with buttery, hand-stretched roti stuffed with cinnamon and raisins — a departure from the norm, but delicious nonetheless. You can get yours in-store now until the end of Easter. Find Kafe Kooks at 63 Mountain St, Ultimo. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sonoma Artisan Bakers (@sonomabakery) Sonoma Sonoma's hand-crafted breads and pastries have long had a cult following among Sydney's sweet-tooths and carb-lovers. Of course, that includes much-loved seasonal creation, the 'Not Cross Bun' — a riff on the classic hot cross bun featuring mixed fruits, sweetly spiced dough and an orange glaze, each emblazoned with a signature Sonoma 'S'. You can order them for pickup online, then enjoy them as Sonoma recommends, with cultured butter or a scoop of ice cream if you want to really indulge. Find Sonoma at 32-44 Birmingham St, Alexandria, R10/178 Campbell Parade, Bondi, 215a Glebe Point Road, Glebe, 80 Norton St, Leichhardt, Shop 1/12-16 MacMahon Place, Menai and Shop 1, 779 New South Head Road, Rose Bay. Loulou Since its beginnings, Loulou has opened up six locations across Sydney to serve its classy French fare — and that ethos extends to its take on hot cross buns. What's more French in a baked context than brioche? Loulou's Hot Heart Buns are brioche galore, a buttery delight of a base that uses 500 grams of butter for every kilogram of dough. The three choices? Traditional, chocolate chip, or chocolate-hazelnut custard-stuffed. You can get yours at Loulou Milson's Point, Petit Loulou and Cafe Loulou. Find Loulou at 61 Lavender St, Milsons Point, 1 Elizabeth St (Cnr Elizabeth & Hunter St), Martin Place and 168 McLaren St, North Sydney. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Concrete Playground Sydney (@concreteplayground) Shadow Baking Born from the same mad culinary geniuses behind Messina, Shadow Baking treats never disappoint. That much extends to their Easter range, which is seeing Hot X Scrolls land in their stores across Sydney. These are a marriage of a croissant and a hot cross bun, with two flavour options. Classic Fruit is a laminated spiced pastry filled with spiced fruit and vanilla custard, and Dark Chocolate, which adds that very ingredient to the mix — making a treat that tastes as good as it looks. Get yours by the six-pack in-store now. Find Shadow Baking at 243 Victoria St, Darlinghurst and 1 Rich St, Marrickville. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Flour and Stone (@flourandstone) Flour and Stone Woolloomooloo's cult-favourite neighbourhood bakery is being typically quirky for their spin on the Easter season. This year, it's Easter Buns inspired by a Florencian Easter treat named Panderamirino. These are brioche buns infused with orange zest, rosemary, cardamom and currants, glazed with egg wash and dusted with sugar. Get them in store or pre-order for delivery online now. Find Flour and Stone at 43 Riley St, Woolloomooloo. Baker Bleu Though predominantly a Melbourne bakery, Baker Bleu does indeed have a Sydney outpost where you can find its renowned Easter treats. While you can't go wrong with the cinnamon-and-ginger-spiced traditional variety, those in the know line up for one particular product during the Easter period: the sour cherry and dark chocolate buns. The mix of acidic sour cherries, creamy 64% couverture chocolate and warming spices makes this one of the best buns in the game. And this year, to complement said buns, Baker Bleu is adding an iced hot cross bun latte, an iced cherry chocolate drink, and hot cross bun soft serves to their Easter menu. Find Baker Bleu at 2 Guilfoyle Ave, Double Bay. Martha's We've explored plenty of gourmet tune-ups on the classic recipe, and plenty of fun alternatives too, but nobody other than Martha's has got a rotating mix of hot cross buns on offer. Starting this week, three flavours will roll out once a week. First up is a classic-style bun with whipped butter and pink salt, followed by a chocolate and dulce de leche bun in week two, and a finale of a peanut butter and jelly bun: a ruby chocolate bun with strawberry compote and whipped peanut cream. Find Martha's at 312 Great N Rd, Wareemba. Norma's Deli Ordering hot cross buns individually is the sensible choice, by the six pack, that's more fun — but how about in a wheel of 30 buns? Now you're talking. For that, you need to head to Norma's Deli in Manly, where you can order a massive made-for-sharing wheel of either classic or chocolate hot cross buns. Pick it up fresh for $68 and take it straight to the table, where you and any backup you might need can tear it apart with your bare hands and no small amount of festive Easter glee. Find Norma's Deli at 74-78 The Corso, Manly. Images: supplied Like what you see? Subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter to get stories just like these straight to your inbox.