ferrule, cakes, biscuits
餑 centers on baked food items: cakes and biscuits. The ferrule meaning is a rare, unrelated sense that does not connect to the food idea.
餑 combines 飠 (food) with 孛, which likely contributes the sound. The exact historical development of 孛 is uncertain, but the character is associated with cakes and biscuits.
The left side is food 飠, and the right side 孛 looks like a child 子 under a cover 冖 with a cross 十 on top. Imagine a child baking cakes and biscuits under a covered tray, with a cross-shaped decoration on top.
For ホツ, imagine a hot biscuit fresh from the oven: hot -> ホツ, and the food radical 飠 reminds you it's a baked treat.