The best chocolate Easter eggs for 2023, tried and tasted
Chocolate eggs have been associated with Easter since the early 18th century but each year the supermarkets and specialist producers turn out creations that offer a thoroughly modern mouthful.
This is the year of subtlety. Yes, there’s still pink gin, exploding candy and marshmallows for those who crave them, but the newest eggs to jostle for a place at Easter are understated and sophisticated.
Less plastic packaging (fantastic), fewer bells and whistles, and a trend for blonde chocolate – white roasted to be gently caramelised giving notes of toffee and butterscotch (we approve).
The most successful balance sweetness with other flavours: there’s orange, raisins and nuts in the mix.
Here, we put 12 of them to the test.
Lidl Deluxe Valencian Orange Milk Chocolate Easter Egg
£6.99 for 210g
The chocolate softens immediately with only hand warmth so don’t expect a satisfying snap. The orange flavour tastes of sugar and chemicals; sadly artificial.
Morrisons The Best Belgian Milk Chocolate & Orange Egg
£6 for 240g
A painterly design and the egg is a decent thickness but it doesn’t taste hugely chocolatey; the orange flavour is gentle and the whole thing tastes more like confectionery than a chocolate egg.
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Dark Fruit and Nut Egg
£8 for 275g
This has great thickness, shine and snap but it’s not very chocolatey at all. It’s sweet from golden raisins and crumbly from hazelnuts.
Hotel Chocolat Brownie Milk Chocolate Egg
£15 for 220g
Creamy and rich, but the flavour divided our tasters. Pecan praline seeks to emulate the fudgey texture of brownies but it’s a little musty and masks the cocoa.
Aldi Specially Selected Exquisite Wildflower Egg
£12.99 for 300g
A chic design for a thin but intensely nutty and rich milk chocolate shell. One for praline fans.
Chococo Milk Chocolate Orange Egg
£19 for 250g
Bright, sharp, zesty orange just about allows the chocolate flavour to emerge. The thickness of the shell is erratic; smash through it quickly to get to the excellent orange truffles inside.
Fortnum & Mason Dark Chocolate Decorated Easter Egg
£50 for 227g
Sugarpaste flowers on chocolate so cocoa-heavy it makes your mouth dry. This one’s for Grandma, a treat for someone fond of the dark stuff (with more chocolate shapes of the same intensity inside).
Daylesford Blonde Almond Egg
£28 for 250g
A small egg but substantial, incredibly creamy with a moreish almond crunch through the caramel-flavoured chocolate. The salt is strong and lingering; you’ll want to graze on this slowly.
Melt Vegan Wild Flowers Easter Egg
£49.99 for 300g
Very pretty, this egg is thick with a high gloss. It delivers the most wonderful scent of chocolate and tastes grown-up. Definitely one for purists.
Asda Extra Special Extra Thick Honeycomb, Pretzel & Caramel Milk Chocolate Egg
£7 for 400g
This has had everything thrown at it: fizzing honeycomb, super-salty pretzels, super-sweet chocolate. It’s thick and moreish, like a full-on chocolate bar in egg form, but great fun for it.
M&S Collection Handcrafted Golden Blond Egg
£12 for 300g
The shape is truly odd but the flavour is wonderful – buttery and tasting just like a Caramac thanks to caramelised sugar in the white chocolate. Truffle-filled mini eggs are a sophisticated addition.
