olive Easter Supermarket Awards 2021

Best hot cross buns

We chose the best supermarket buns in the following categories:

• Best classic hot cross bun
• Best alternative hot cross bun
• Best vegan hot cross bun

For classic and vegan hot cross buns, we wanted each fluffy bun to be filled with plump, juicy fruit and have a well-spiced flavour. For the alternative hot cross buns, we wanted to see an exciting twist on the classic Easter bake.

Discover olive's best supermarket hot cross buns 2021

Best Easter eggs

We chose the best supermarket Easter eggs in the following categories:

• Best dark chocolate egg
• Best milk chocolate egg
• Best white chocolate egg
• Best luxury chocolate egg
• Best vegan egg

Each egg had to impress with its flavour, texture and appearance. For dark chocolate, we were after a good snap and glossy shine, while we wanted a creamy mouthfeel and rounded flavour for the milk chocolate. Quality was key when it came to the white chocolate Easter eggs, and luxury eggs needed to wow in every aspect. The best vegan egg could have been rich and dark or creamy milk, as long as it would impress as much as its non-vegan counterparts.

Discover olive's best supermarket Easter eggs 2021

Best simnel cake

We wanted to see the best simnel cake, be it plain or decorated. We were after a moist, well-spiced sponge with juicy dried fruit.

Winner: Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference simnel cake (850g), £10, Sainsbury’s

This rich cake is packed with juicy fruit, including big chunks of glacé cherry and is nicely, but not overpoweringly, spiced. The marzipan is sweet and well-balanced and the lattice design gives it a bit of extra flair.

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Highly commended: ASDA simnel cake bar (400g), £3.50, ASDA

What this small, undecorated loaf cake lacks in appearance, it makes up for in taste. Deep, dark and rich in flavour, it’s packed full of fruit for a super moist texture. The marzipan layer on top is thin, so doesn’t overpower.

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How we chose the winners

The olive team chose nine categories having researched which products you, our readers, would be most likely to buy this Easter. We invited all the big supermarkets to select the products they wanted to nominate (just one entry per category, so they had to choose carefully). Our expert panel of judges blind-tasted them, rating each on taste, texture and appearance. We then awarded winner and highly commended accolades to our favourites.

Look out for these olive badges as a mark of excellence: