Your City guide to this year’s must have chocolate Easter eggs: From exploding candy to hot cross bun flavoured treats
We’ve nibbled, munched and even crunched some of this year’s chocolate Easter egg offerings, and we even tried a donut-egg; you’ll have to read on to find out how that fared.
Here’s our review of the best and the worst Easter eggs you can buy this year; we’ve included City-based retailers as well as supermarket favourites, so there is something for all the family and all chocolate tastes.
Twix giant white chocolate easter egg (247g) £3 (Tesco)
Some of our tasters loved this white chocolate treat but for others it was just too sweet, the three white chocolate Twix bars that came with this proved a hit though. Lots of chocolate for the £s – so a good one to share.
Score: 6/10
Wicked Kitchen – salted caramel (316g) £5 (vegan) 4/10 (Tesco)
This Easter egg got a huge thumbs down from all but one of the team, there was an aftertaste of amaretto -which our one taster enjoyed but the was an ovewhelming grittiness which may have been a result of the pea protein used to make the egg. “Wicked’s vegan easter egg was not something I’d go for again. It tastes like a slightly stale chocolate bar,” said one taster. Not too unpleasant but maybe for the vegan(s) in your life.
Score: 4/10
WINNER: Terry’s chocolate easter egg exploding candy (297g) £5 (Tesco)
This won hand’s down. Although the addition of crackling candy to the accompanying chocolate orange wasn’t so popular. “This was the right balance of chocolate and orange, not overly sweet and with plenty of cocoa bite.”
Score: 8/10
Lindt strawberry gold bunny (100g) £3 (Tesco)
Cute packaging but for ones who like white chocolate with strawberry in, for one of our testers this was their favourite:”The subtle hint of raspberry was delightful. While it may be the most decadent, it was a nice change from the traditional plain easter-themed chocolate.”
Score: 7/10
Deluxe dark chocolate and coffee (200g) £4.99 (Lidl )
An opinion splitter of an egg – some loved it – the chocolate and coffee hit the mark while for others it was too intense. ” A chocolate version of Pro Plus that’s not too sweet, not too bitter.”
Score: 6/10
Deluxe pink gin easter egg (200g) £4.00 (Lidl)
Alcoholic chocolate may sound like a great idea, especially if you gave up chocolate for Lent but this was a bit too sweet for most of our tasters, and we spent a good few minutes debating whether pink gin belongs in an egg.
Score: 5/10
Deluxe half-filled egg with truffles (300g) £9.99 (Lidl)
The chocolate was thick, and not too sweet and the truffles were a good mix, this was felt to be good value and the chocolate was neither too sweet nor bitter. The truffles inside were as good as the more expensive ones we tested.
Score: 7/10
WINNER OF NON EGG BUT CHOCOLATE TREAT: ‘Donut easter egg’ – Longboys £4.50 (available until 10 April https://longboys.co.uk/)
This was a surprise hit. Longboys specialises in finger doughnuts, the first and only in London and were created by pastry chef, Graham Hornigold. This one has vanilla cremeux filling, chocolate crumbs, flakes, and topped with chocolate filled golden eggs. One of our tasters called this the “easter egg for those who hate easter eggs”.
“This calls itself a “long” doughnut, but tastes and feels more like an eclair. The only easter eggs are posh versions of Cadbury Mini Eggs that litter the top of the yellow-brown creamy filling. Not bad tasting, certainly, and suitably bad for you, but it lacks the sweetness and firmness of a genuine easter egg.”
Score: 8/10
Marks and Spencer – Percy Pig egg (270g) £6 – M&S and Ocado
You can’t beat a classic and is a reasonably priced egg with a decent sized bag of Percy Pig sweets included. Compared to some of other chocolate we tasted this was bland but our junior tasters gobbled up the sweets.
Score: 6/10
MOST INNOVATIVE EGG: Marks and Spencer – extremely chocolatey giant hot cross bun egg (340g) £9 – M&S and Ocado
This was a unexpected hit among our largely conservative crowd. The thick chocolate was well-balanced with nuts and fruit it even won around even our ‘hot cross bun averse’ tasters “It’s got a hint of orange peel which is not overwhelming.” “I’m not a fan of fruit but I like this” “This would be a good one to share with the family. “
Score: 8/10
Cadbury Dairy Milk giant egg (515g) £9 (Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Ocado)
This large version of Cadbury’s most popular chocolate went down well; its size meant it was “better for sharing”. “You know it’s Cadburys – you can tell,” said our nine year old tester. “This is my favourite, can I have the rest?” asked another. For the price you can’t really go wrong, one for the whole family and the fussy eater.
Score: 7/10
Smarties incredible egg (470g ) £10-£12 (Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Ocado)
The adjective for this egg might be more appropriately “weird” as tasters were not so keen on the inclusion of the chopped Smarties in main egg, this may be more of a novelty egg, one to get out when all the others have been eaten. It got largely left uneaten, though the pack of Smarties was soon snaffled.
Score: 6/10
Hotel Chocolat – salted caramel egg (220g) £15 – Hotel Chocolat (stores throughout the City and via John Lewis)
This chocolate egg “skirts the fine line between sweet and sickly” and one taster recommended dipping it in strong coffee. Of the few salted caramel eggs we tasted this was the best and worth the price.
Score: 8/10
Hotel Chocolat – chocolate spread Easter sandwich £11
The half eggs on each slice are made with chocolate hazelnut praline – it’s a pleasant enough chocolate but the packing and presentation is probably too outre for Easter as one taster also noted: “All this packaging can’t be great for the environment, but it’s easily forgotten when you dig into treats as tasty as these”.
Score: 7/10
BEST LUXURY BUY: Hotel Chocolat – extra thick rocky road to caramel egg £30
If you have the budget this egg was the favourite among the premium brands we tasted. It came in a re-usable tin too. The truffles were rated as complete luxury with the balance of sugar and cocoa just right. Even so it was considered a rich treat to “enjoy in small dose”s. “It describes itself as half caramel-milk, whatever that is, and half 40 per cent milk chocolate egg with cookies and puffed rice”. It sounds complicated, but it tastes delicious: sweet, salty and chocolatey.”
Score: 8/10
Charbonnel et Walker egg and milk chocolate truffles and chocolates, 240g – £36 (stores in the city)
The packaging made these stand out. The box was extremely easy on the eye,. The easter egg was encased in a box with a door, the chocolates wrapped in a tidy box with ribbons, and the various truffles complete with fake straw and doilies. But the chocolate didn’t live up to the packaging. “While the brand says the Royal Family eats these chocolates, I’m not sure One would actually enjoy them that much. The truffles were quite sickly, with salted caramel being far too salty, and the strawberry liquor version being hard to stomach. The easter egg was quite small, and truth-be-told a bit bland, and the saving grace was a box of chocolates, rich with varieties.” One taster, who likes dark chocolate, said the dark chocolate truffles were “they best they had ever had”.
Score: 7/10
Charbonnel et Walker Egg Shaped Sea Salt Truffles, 200g – £22 and Charbonnel et Walker mini eggs and rabbit shaped box, 150g – £11
Although the truffle in the main egg was quite salty these were a nice treat and the chocolate content couldn’t be faulted, the price may put some off though. The eggs in the rabbit were not that disimiliar to better known brand of mini eggs although our younger tasters thought they tasted a bit greasy.
Score: 6/10