A hot cross bun is a spiced bun, usually containing small pieces of raisins and marked with a cross on the top, which has been traditionally eaten on Good Friday in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, India, Pakistan, Malta, United States and the Commonwealth Caribbean.

[12] The first definite record of hot cross buns comes from a London street cry: "Good Friday comes this month, the old woman runs.

One is that if the bun was made from dough kneaded for the host and baked and served on Good Friday, it would not spoil or grow mouldy during the subsequent year.

[16] In the United Kingdom, the major supermarkets produce variations on the traditional recipe such as toffee, orange-cranberry, salted caramel and chocolate, and apple-cinnamon.

[19][20] This bun is eaten with cheese in islands such as Jamaica and Guyana and served with beverages such as mauby or ginger beer.

[22] The traditional method for making the cross on top of the bun is to use shortcrust pastry,[23][24] though some 21st century recipes recommended a paste of flour and water.