There’s nothing quite like a toasted hot cross bun slathered in butter.
Now, experts have suggested an unusual way to make them taste even better – by slicing them into thirds.
Butter & Crust, a London–based breakfast delivery service, says this trick provides more surface area to spread butter on.
In a video, uploaded to TikTok, someone can be seen thinly slicing their hot cross bun into three sections.
‘The hack you need in your life!’ they wrote. ‘We love cutting our buns this way so we have more surface area to slather on our butter.’
They’re not the only ones to have caught on to the trick.
Another user, a dietician who goes by @cookedbyclauds, also shared a video of the hack and wrote: ‘This is your annual reminder to cut your hot cross buns into thirds for more surface area = more butter.’
So, would you give it a try?
A separate account, called ‘Getting Cooked With Annie and Will’, also suggests slicing your Easter treat into thirds.
‘We’re coming at you this morning with a kitchen hack,’ they said. ‘Take a hot cross bun, but instead of cutting it into two…cut it into three.’
They said double–cut hot cross buns are ‘completely logical’.
‘Halving the bun usually leaves the bun too thick, burnt on the corners, and your hands sticky from trying to push the fat pieces into the toaster,’ they added.
‘When you double–cut it, you feel as though you’re getting more bang for your buck. It makes the toasting process quicker, and there’s more space to spread glorious butter on.’
Commenting on the hack, Charles Spence, Professor of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford, said people tend to prefer plates of food when it ‘looks like there is more’.
Cutting your hot cross bun vertically is not an option, he explained, as the butter ‘would melt right off’.
Slicing it horizontally, however, ‘makes it more like a double–decked burger’.
Experts from Butter and Crust say you shouldn’t cut your hot cross buns into halves. Instead, you should slice them into thirds to have more surface area to put butter on
While hot cross buns are delicious for humans, vets have previously warned the popular Easter treat could be lethal to dogs.
The Kennel Club says that dog owners should be wary of hot cross buns and Simnel cake, as well as chocolate.
‘Easter brings a wealth of different festive food into the household, and although highly dangerous to dogs, their acute sense of smell means they can sniff them out and get hold of poisonous food,’ the Kennel Club said.
‘Owners should be mindful of any chocolate brought into the house, as well as other traditional treats, such as hot cross buns and Simnel cake which are also highly toxic to dogs, as they contain grapes, raisins, currants and sultanas.
‘These should be placed safely out of reach – high up and behind closed cupboard doors.’
