Hotel Chocolat, Harvey Nichols and Fortnum & Mason are all trying to nibble into Cadbury’s dominance this Easter and we ask: Should you shell out for a posh ‘crème egg’?
- It has been 60 years since the launch of the Easter classic – the cream egg
- Here, Emma Rowley samples which fancy iterations of it are worth the hype
- READ MORE: Mum shares her trick to save money on Easter gifts
How do you eat yours?’ So the adverts used to go. The answer has to be: with as much luxury as possible, please. Because 60 years since its launch, the humble cream egg is posher than ever.
First up, the Cadbury’s staple has had a makeover and is now available with a white chocolate shell covering the swirl of white and yellow ‘yolk’ fondant.
Initially released as part of a competition to win a £10,000 cash prize if you stumbled across one in store, they are now on sale in shops for around 72p for a 40g Creme Egg White.
My verdict? Delicious, if not quite as tasty as the traditional offering, where the sultriness of the milk chocolate somehow helps to balance the sugariness of the fondant inside.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg, with a host of brands rolling out luxury rivals to the much-loved treat. So, just what will the smart set be nibbling this Easter — and can this new batch possibly measure up to the originals?
CHAMPERS CHAMP
Fortnum & Mason Creme de la Cream Easter Eggs (£18.95 for 130g, fortnumandmason.com)
Sixty years since its launch, the humble cream egg is posher than ever. So, just what will the smart set be nibbling this Easter?
Fortnum & Mason Creme de la Cream Easter Eggs (£18.95 for 130g, fortnumandmason.com)
Fortnum’s has thrown down the gauntlet with the name of this quartet of eggs, which come in a navy paper case — two milk and two dark, hand-decorated with edible metallic swirls.
The royal grocers use their own Blanc de Blancs Champagne to make the fondant inside: the milk chocolate cases are filled with a strawberry and champagne cream, while the dark ones are buck’s fizz (think: orange with a twist).
Sophisticated treats that are certainly not for children.
FASHIONISTA’S PICK
Harvey Nichols Dippy Eggs Caramel-Filled Chocolate Easter Eggs (£15 for 440g, harveynichols.com)
Harvey Nichols Dippy Eggs Caramel-Filled Chocolate Easter Eggs (£15 for 440g, harveynichols.com)
In a pretty pink cardboard carton, these six handmade eggs have a neat feature: each generously sized egg has a top that lifts off, as if you’ve just scalped it with your spoon, to reveal a white and gold swirl.
But this is just decoration, and not the soft inside. To access the filling is a challenge, since the Belgian chocolate shell is far thicker than Cadbury’s.
I used a carving knife in the end, but the caramel centre was worth the effort. Tasty and stylish, these are what Ab Fab’s Eddie would give Patsy for Easter.
A FLAVOUR FOR ALL
Hotel Chocolat A Dozen Quail Eggs (£11 for 145g, hotelchocolat.com)
Hotel Chocolat A Dozen Quail Eggs (£11 for 145g, hotelchocolat.com)
Small, prettily decorated milk and dark chocolate eggs with soft centres in half a dozen different flavours, packaged in a see-through plastic carton (albeit 90 per cent recycled, and both it and the cardboard sleeve are recyclable).
They include a vanilla cream, ‘simple dark’ (a dark chocolate shell to match the filling), ‘nuts about raspberry’ (which tastes more berry than nutty),
salted macadamia, salted caramel cream and ‘illegal gianduja’ — a chocolate and hazelnut blend so-called because there are strict rules on how traditional gianduja paste is made, and Hotel Chocolate wanted more nuts in the mix than the 40 per cent limit. Rich and intense, one of these will surely take your fancy.
CONVINCINGLY CHIC
Rococo Chocolates Salted Caramel Superior Seagull Eggs Crate (£12.95 for 145g, rococochocolates.com OR £9.50 at harveynichols.com)
Rococo Chocolates Salted Caramel Superior Seagull Eggs Crate (£12.95 for 145g, rococochocolates.com OR £9.50 at harveynichols.com)
These dozen eggs really do look fresh from the nest in their see-through plastic carton. Each dainty egg has a sweet crunchy shell, flecked to look like the real thing, wrapped around a thin milk chocolate layer. Then inside is a soft dark ganache, coupled with a little blob of salted caramel that cuts through the sweetness. Each egg makes for a deliciously moreish mouthful.
FEELGOOD OPTION
Mummy Meegz Chuckie Eggs (£6.99 at mummymeegz.com)
Mummy Meegz Chuckie Eggs (£6.99 at mummymeegz.com)
At first bite, these foil-wrapped eggs seem to veer the closest to the Cadbury’s version. But they contain no animal ingredients, meaning the casing is actually oat milk chocolate — slightly darker than the usual shell —while inside, the white and yellow fondant tastes familiar, if not quite the same.
For those wanting to have a vegan Easter or hosting strict guests, these are a convincing substitute.
BLOND AMBITION
M&S Eggstra Gooey Caramel Eggs, £5 for 160g (in store at Marks & Spencer or ocado.com)
M&S Eggstra Gooey Caramel Eggs, £5 for 160g (in store at Marks & Spencer or ocado.com)
Marks has done it again with these four eggs, nestled in paper wrapping inside a neat cardboard carton.
Two are milk chocolate, and two golden ‘blond’ versions — apparently, this is a fairly new discovery in the chocolate world, being a roasted version of white chocolate that was discovered when a pastry chef left some over the heat for too long. The result is a chocolate shell with a subtle toffee-like flavour.
Each egg is filled with a vanilla cream — flecked with real vanilla bean — with a large dollop of caramel in the centre. A luxe taste that won’t break the bank.
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