Product review: Nonie’s hot cross buns

Nonie’s hot cross buns are an Easter treat by the artisan gluten-free bakery from Botany NSW. They come in classic and chocolate flavours.

Nonie’s hot cross buns

Nonie’s hot cross buns come in two flavours: classic and chocolate. They are gluten-free and vegetarian. You can buy them in bags of 4 or 6 buns, each weighing 125g (classic) or 110g (chocolate). They are available on the weeks leading to Easter at Nonie’s HQ in Botany and some of their stockists. Check their website (at the bottom of this post) for more details.

Ingredients

The ingredients list in these buns is long, mainly because getting a good texture in gluten-free baked goods is very hard.

• Classic: Water, free range eggs, *sultanas, rice flour, potato flour, tapioca, buckwheat flour, almond meal, sunflower oil, *coconut sugar, candied peel (citrus peels, glucose-fructose syrup, sugar, food acid [citric acid E330]), *psyllium, apricot jam (apricot, grape & date juice concentrates, fruit pectin, lemon juice), honey, salt, yeast, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger.
• Chocolate: Water, free range eggs, rice flour, potato flour, tapioca, buckwheat flour, almond meal, sunflower oil, Callebaut chocolate (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa powder, emulsifier, soy lecithin), *coconut sugar, candied peel (citrus peels, glucose-fructose syrup, sugar, food acid [citric acid e330]), *psyllium, apricot jam (apricot, grape & date juice concentrates, fruit pectin, lemon juice), honey, salt, yeast, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger.

* These ingredients are certified organic

Nutrition information

I think I don’t need to tell you that hot cross buns are not a health food. These are no exception: they are high in energy, fat, carbs and sugar, so enjoy them as a treat.

Below are the nutrient information panels as per the packaging and the manufacturer’s website. The energy content seems off, as I’ve calculated them to be 1616.2 kJ (classic) and 1658.4 kJ (chocolate).

Nutrient	Classic Per serve (125g)	Chocolate Per serve (110g)
Energy (kJ)	1690 (see notes above)	2790 (see notes above)
Protein (g)	7.0	7.4
Fat, total (g)	15.7	19.0
– Saturated (g)	1.9	4.2
Carbohydrate, total (g)	53.9	48.8
– Sugars (g)	21.5	15.5
Sodium (mg)	483.0	46.0

Taste test

We tried the classic buns. We loved them as much as other Nonie’s products we’ve tried before. They are not extremely sweet (although I wouldn’t mind them with less or zero sultanas) and have the right amount of spice. As other gluten-free baked goods, these are a little crumbly. They are nice fresh but better toasted and buttered, in my opinion.

Summary and recommendations

If you are following a gluten-free diet and are looking for an Easter treat, give these a go. Just make sure you don’t eat the whole bag 😉

More information

For more information about these hot cross buns and Nonie’s excellent range of gluten-free bread, head to Nonie’s Foods website.

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