The first thing judge Raymond Clark looks for in a bun is its appearance. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
Fruity, zesty, glazed, or with chocolate. Hot cross buns of all shapes and sizes have found their way to Palmerston North as they vie for the coveted crown of New Zealand's best.
From 46 entries, four clear favourites have emerged after judging Friday morning, as well as a No 1 pick.
The winner, though, of Baking New Zealand's Great New Zealand Hot Cross Bun competition will not be announced until Tuesday morning.
One of the three judges, Raymond Clark, cast his eyes over the top choice.
"The best thing about the whole bun is it's very appealing on the eye. It's got great volume. You look at the colour - it's very appealing.
"The white cross as well is very clean, very clean lines. To me that's a 10-out-of-10 bun."
Clark's favourite is in the top four. It had a strong flavour of orange, zest and rum.
The first thing he looks for is appearance.
"It's like building a house. It's got to be inviting. It's got to be appealing at the start if you want to try it."
The judges use a set of criteria and record their thoughts on each bun into iPads.
Some traditional hot cross buns are among those the judges nibbled and sniffed. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
After a couple of hours, where the judges nibbled, sniffed and poked their way through entries, competition manager Dave Bradley and RNZ had a try.
Glazed, or unglazed, the traditional buns were all good.
Some entries tried something different too, including berries and even coriander. There was a tropical take, a gluten-free option and one covered in breadcrumbs.
Buns with a tropical flavour. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
Forty-six buns are a lot to get through. Clark said he and the judges would drink plenty of water to cleanse their palates.
"You get through about five and all your senses start to play up on you. Some of the spices are quite strong, especially cloves. I really react to that."
Bradley's a baking tutor and a past judge, and he gives away plenty of tips - including why sultanas are important: They help soak up the alcohol or whatever the fruit is soaked in.
"It's quite imperative actually to soak your fruit. If you don't, generally, once it's baked, it's going to be quite hard and rocky, and unappealing to eat."
Bernie Sugrue and Dave Bradley chew the fat on buns. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
Baking New Zealand president Bernie Sugrue was on hand to cast his eye over the competition too.
He pointed out the larger crosses on some buns and said it was important these didn't overpower the bun's flavour.
"We're also looking for where the fruit is inside the bun - not sitting in the top. When it sits on top of the bun it dries out in the oven."
He also said looks were important.
"If it looks really really ugly and tastes beautiful I still think it would get marked down just because of appearance."
The winner gets a trophy, a pallet of flour and, no doubt, an upturn in pre-Easter sales.
