An Invercargill bakery is challenging Easter tradition with a hot cross bun filled not with chocolate or fruit, but creamy garlic pāua — and customers are snapping them up.
The unconventional creation comes from The Pioneer Bakery, where baker Callum Innis says the savoury sweet hybrid began as a joke and has since become one of the bakery’s most popular Easter offerings.
"It started as a bit of a laugh at work," Innis told Seven Sharp.
"I felt like some pāua, the hot cross buns were fresh out of the oven, so I thought — why not give it a go?"
The bun uses the bakery's traditional spiced fruit dough, filled with sultanas, currants and mixed peel soaked in brandy and lemon juice.
Once baked, the bun is split and filled with a creamy garlic pāua mixture, made using the same filling as the bakery's popular pāua pies.
While the flavour combination may sound unusual, Innis says the result is more balanced than people expect.
"Pāua can be tricky — if you cook it slow and low, it stays tender," he said.
"We wouldn't recommend chucking a pāua steak in there, but this way it works."
Customer response has been strong.
Innis said the pāua hot cross buns have matched sales of the bakery's custard filled versions this year, sitting alongside traditional fruit and chocolate chip options.
"We've had customers come back for half a dozen at a time," he said.
"That's always a good sign."
The Pioneer Bakery has built a reputation for experimental flavours, regularly releasing a "crazy pie of the week". Innis said more unconventional creations were planned in the coming months.
Among them is a Biscoff, jalapeño cheese and slow braised brisket pie — another combination that was initially met with scepticism.
"That's actually one of my favourites," he said.
"A lot of people say things won't work until they try them."
Innis said the reaction to the pāua hot cross bun reflected a broader hesitation to move away from tradition.
"People can be scared to think outside the box, but everything starts somewhere — someone had to put cheese with steak for the first time."
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