New World South Island’s Caramelised White Chocolate Hot Cross Bun

New World South Island’s Caramelised White Chocolate Hot Cross Bun

Easter 2020 was a tough one for New Zealanders. We were in the middle of Alert Level 4 lockdown and pivoted physical family gatherings to virtual ones, and had nationwide ‘hunts’ for Easter eggs in windows across New Zealand.

The desire to give New Zealanders something extra special this Easter led New World South Island bakers to stage a friendly competition to whip up the next craze in Hot Cross Buns for customers  – introducing the Caramelised White Chocolate Hot Cross Bun.

The Caramelised White Chocolate Hot Cross Bun was submitted by New World Cromwell’s award-winning bakery team and is now ranged across New World South Island stores only for Easter 2021.

The judges awarded the Caramelised White Chocolate Hot Cross Bun the top spot thanks to its sticky, delicious texture and tapping into the caramel-flavoured craze which took off last year with caramel-infused and flavoured chocolate, cheese and other products landing on shelves.

“New World is known for its in-store fresh experts, with bakery teams around the country whipping up freshly-baked cakes, breads, doughnuts and other sweet and savoury treats every day for hungry customers,” said Braden Hill, Bakery Operations Manager at Foodstuffs South Island. “Teams put forth more than 18 hot cross bun concoctions to a panel of 11 New World staff who had the lucky job of tasting and ranking the top buns.”

Other top flavours included a Lamington Hot Cross Bun which was submitted by New World Bishopdale, and a Belgium Hot Cross Bun submitted by New World Kaikoura.

“The rollout of the Caramelised White Chocolate Hot Cross Bun to New World South Island stores builds upon the success we saw with our baked in-store Apple and Cinnamon Hot Cross Buns which we introduced last Easter,” says Hill. “Customers gravitate towards Traditional, Chocolate and Spiced Fruitless Hot Cross Buns year after year, but we’re always looking for opportunities to deliver new and inspiring flavours that will make the Easter season that much more special and memorable, especially this year.”

“A friendly competition amongst fellow bakers and the opportunity to deliver something new especially for South Island customers makes this Easter season special and memorable for us too,” says New World Cromwell Bakery Manager, Mary Calvo. “We saw how popular our caramel-flavoured breads and bakery treats were last year and thought we should bring that same excitement to hot cross buns and do something different for customers.”

The Caramelised White Chocolate Hot Cross Bun is a brioche bun with a rich, infused and deliciously sweet caramel flavour. 

Although the Caramelised White Chocolate Hot Cross Bun is only ranged in New World South Island stores this year, Hill says they’ll be eager to hear customers’ response to the buns.

“It’s a win-win when there’s an opportunity to engage our teams with a friendly competition and deliver something innovative for customers,” finishes Hill. “Watch this space.”

For New Zealanders who are looking to celebrate the last of summer and put a festive spin on a non-locked down Easter this year, New World stores nationwide welcome back its fan-favourite Apple and Cinnamon Brioche Hot Cross Buns. And for customers who want to take their Easter confections to the next level this season, look no further than New World’s Hot Cross Bun Bread and Butter Pudding recipe.

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