Carlton traders team up for Easter gelato and hot cross bun collaboration

Two of Carlton’s newest artisan food businesses have teamed up for a limited-edition Easter collaboration, bringing together gelato and hot cross buns in a new dessert jar launched just in time for the holiday.

Glo Gelato on Lygon St and Luna Bakery on Faraday St, located around 650 metres apart, have created a special Easter gelato jar that blends traditional baking with small-batch Italian gelato making. The dessert features an Italian milk chocolate gelato base, folded with white chocolate stracciatella and layered with Luna’s chocolate hot cross buns.

The collaboration brings together two local operators with shared Italian heritage and a similar approach to craftsmanship.

Luna owner and baker Daniele Crisante said the bakery had approached the Easter staple with the same technical care it applied to all of its products.

“Hot cross buns aren’t an Italian tradition, but we approach them with the same care and technique we apply to all our baking,” he said. “Softness, fermentation and balance are everything.”

Mr Crisante said he preferred to pipe the cross onto the buns after baking, a detail he believes helps keep them lighter and more defined. He said pairing them with artisan gelato felt “fun and unique, but still true to what we both do”.

For Glo Gelato co-owner Alfredo Mercuri, the partnership made sense from the outset.

“We both share Italian heritage and a real respect for traditional technique,” he said. “Proximity, philosophy and quality – it just made sense.”

He said bringing together an artisan bakery and gelateria from the same neighbourhood felt like the right collaboration for Easter.

The jar is being positioned as a premium layered dessert for sharing over the Easter period, rather than simply a novelty seasonal flavour. It will be available at both businesses from Saturday, March 21 until Easter Sunday, April 5, or until sold out. Prices start at $20.90 for one jar, or three for $48.

In a suburb long associated with strong Italian food culture, the collaboration reflects the next generation of small artisan makers putting their own spin on tradition.