Everyday Sommelier: Easter eggs

Any plan for a strict not-before-Easter approach to chocolate eggs was quickly (like, February quickly) discarded as we took on the entirely selfless to find the best out there. Here are our favourites.

Exceptional by ASDA Orange & Ginger Dark Chocolate Egg
£10 (200g), asda.com
Might be our favourite supermarket dark egg. The chocolate is dark and rich with a good snap, there’s nice warm spice from the ginger. Tastes more expensive than it is. (See also, the excellent “ultimate” egg from Aldi (£8.49), also dark chocolate with ginger, as well as orange and pecans.)

Pierre Marcolini Malline £39.90 (235g), marcolini.co.uk
Don’t tell the other eggs, but if we were only going to eat one kind this year (we’re definitely not) it might be these from Belgian chocolatier Pierre Marcolini. We don’t entirely understand the haberdashery theme of his spring collection, but these mini eggs are the most beautiful we’ve seen this year, and are filled with a range of velvety pralines and crisp nuts.

Waitrose No.1s Mini Blonde Chocolate Croissants
£7 (99g), waitrose.com
Again unsure about the theme here, why viennoiserie is now an Easter thing (this is a repeat year for Waitrose’s giant blonde chocolate croissant (£15), and Nicolas Rouzard has a marshmallowy chocolate brioche (£45) to order), but we’re definitely on board with these mini ganache-filled croissant-shaped chocolates. The correct dosage for blonde chocolate.

Montezuma's Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Mini Eggs
£5.50 (120g) ocado.com
Every year, we make a case that not only are these one of the best mini eggs available in supermarkets (and some corner shops), but they're also probably the best peanut butter chocolates out there. Decent chocolate, the milk version not too sweet, and a properly salty peanut filling.

Maison Francois Cochon Easter Egg £35, maisonfrancois.london
A pig in an egg from the pastry chefs at Maison Francois. The pig was right to look alarmed: it was soon smashed, to retrieve two kinds of truffles hidden inside the egg.

Neuhaus Spring Voyage £33.50 (160g), neuhauschocolates.com
Rhubarb and olive aren’t the easiest flavours to capture in (or pair with) chocolate but these little colour-split eggs showcase both brilliantly (though not in the same egg). Other flavours in his mixed box from the Belgian praline-specialist’s collab with chef Marcelo Ballardin include black tea, corn, and mango.

M&S Collection Pistachio Filled Shell Easter Egg
£18 (416g), ocado.com
If you’re wondering if Dubai chocolate is still a thing, it definitely is. We could have written a whole column about the range of pistachio-filled Easter eggs that we’ve seen this year. This one caused the biggest stir in the office. It's large, with a generous amount of pistachio cream stuffed into the shell. Feels abundant and indulgent.

Khourys Beirut Easter Egg £7-£48 (80g-450g), khourys.co
You don’t have to be a vegan to enjoy Phil Khoury’s chocolate, but if you are, know that he makes a very good almond-milk chocolate. The Beirut bar is his take on Dubai chocolate, stuffed with orange-blossom caramel, cashew cream and cashew baklava for crunch – and he’s made it into an egg shape for Easter.

La Perla di Torino Pistachio & Raspberry Filled Easter Egg
£12.99 (100g), souschef.co.uk
An outer shell crunchy with pistachio; a slightly different texture inside, tangy with freeze-dried raspberry. The only white chocolate egg you'll ever need.