Low Calorie Hot Cross Buns - Tried & Tasted

by Food Information Assistant, Tim Sharp

The hot cross bun is a favourite at this time of year and it seems that we can’t get enough! This cinnamon and fruit treat, which is sort of a cross between a bread and a cake, now comes in a low calorie version.

A hot cross bun is just perfect mid morning or as an afternoon snack. Enjoyed cold or toasted, hot crossed buns can keep away the hunger pangs until your next main meal – as long as you remember to log your calories, you can enjoy a bun any time!

At Weight Loss Resources we are big fans of the toasted treat and noticed that this year, more than ever, there are healthy options a-plenty – but which one to choose! So once again we’ve saved you the arduous task of trying all those hot cross bun recipes, and as you would expect we hated every minute – not!

Remember the nursery rhyme?
Hot cross buns!
Hot cross buns!
One ha' penny, two ha' penny,
Hot cross buns!
If you have no daughters,
Give them to your sons
One ha' penny,
Two ha' penny,
Hot Cross Buns

Table 1: Low Calorie Hot Cross Buns Compared

Product Name	Asda Hot Cross Buns Less Than 3% Fat	Tesco Light Choices Less Than 3% Fat Hot Cross Buns	The Co-operative 50% Less Fat Hot Cross Buns
Ranking	Joint 1st	Joint 1st	3rd
Appearance	Looked homemade, large fruit pieces and the right amount of glaze	A good glaze with a sticky appearance and chunky fruit pieces	Looked pale, dry and artificial with small looking fruit pieces
Smell	Very strong essence of cinnamon and nutmeg, some thought a little over powering	Very pungent cinnamon and yeasty smell. Someone even suggested it smelled of Fairy Liquid!	Lots of contradiction over this one, varied from Strong spices, sweet, little smell and over spiced.
Taste	A nice balance of fruity spiciness was the overall comment	Opinions varied from bland, sticky, fruity, sweet and spicy,	Not impressive, dry, floury, but fruit was moist, generally not good.
Filling/Satisfying?	A nice balance of fruity spiciness was the overall comment	Considered to be very filling with the right amount of spice and fruit. Yummy.	Oh yes voted as filling but mainly because it was so dry.
Texture/ Consistency	Hollow yet spongy texture with the right moistness	The most fruit content of them all with a well balanced consistency	Evaluations of this were in general that it was too dry except for the plump juicy fruit
Conclusion	On the whole it was voted as the equal best with the yummy satisfying flavours	A well deserved joint 1st having the right balance of fruits body and spiciness.	Only just behind the winners and some even said it was the best, but that’s allowed.
Serving Size per Bun (g)	63	70	61
Calories (kcal) per serving	149	185	155
Fat (g) per serving	1.57	1.9	1.5
Price	£0.20	£0.21	£0.18

Table 2: More Low Calorie Hot Cross Buns Compared

Product Name	Morrisons Eat Smart 50% Less Fat Hot Cross Buns
Ranking	4th
Appearance	Comments ranged from dry, dull, lacking glaze and very little fruit.
Smell	A sweet spicy cinnamon aroma was the general consensus for this offering.
Taste	Evaluations for this one were sweet, dry and fruity, but lacked the punch of the others.
Filling/Satisfying?	Not very filling in general due to it being to light in body.
Texture/ Consistency	Light texture yet with a chewy fruity consistency.
Conclusion	Trailing in last position this one was not considered as good as the rest.
Serving Size per Bun (g)	72
Calories (kcal) per serving	161
Fat (g) per serving	1.5
Price	£0.18

Conclusion:

Although a very tight competition, the panel picked out Tesco Light Choices & Asda Good for You Hot Cross Buns as undoubtedly better than the other brands. If you're looking for a bun that’s low in fat, with taste and substance, these two are the ones to try.

Serving Suggestions:

Serve hot accompanied by:

• Butter and jam,
• Peanut butter,
• Honey
• Or dress them with your own special toppings, how about your favourite sliced fruit as a topping, and they will all taste divine.

Go on, be a devil and try it your way!!