Each year it’s a dilemma for millions of Australians. When it comes to buying Easter eggs, is it better to make a trip to a boutique chocolatier or leave it until Easter Saturday to stock up on supermarket specials?
According to a survey last year, almost 50% of Australians estimated they would spend up to $50 on Easter eggs, while some would lash out and spend between $100 and $200 each. Clearly it’s a decision worth careful deliberation.
And so we put some of Guardian Australia’s top journalists in a room laden with this year’s best chocolatey offerings, and what we get, apart from a few stomachaches, are some considered observations. Or so we think while munching on the goodies.
The spread includes eggs from Haigh’s, Koko Black, Max Brenner, Lindt, Aldi’s Choceur range, Cadburys and Red Tulip. Given these are self-confessed chocoholics, we ask the journos to consider the most impressive, most delicious, most sophisticated and best value. And finally we round up some children to give us their verdict on eggs aimed at the under-12s. It’s a tough afternoon but the team get cracking and give the assignment their best.
Most impressive
When it comes to giving chocolate eggs to your nearest and dearest, impact counts. And so it is with Koko Black’s caramelised coconut egg milk ($24), which takes out the top gong for looks and taste.
Senior editor Lucy Clark gives the milk chocolate egg top marks, saying: “[It] scores a 10/10 for being both the most impressive and the most delicious product on offer (and slightly reminiscent of an upmarket Coconut Rough).”
For news editor Mike Ticher, Haigh’s dark chocolate egg ($15.50) hits all the right notes: “Elegant packaging, solid understated dark chocolate. Looks and tastes like an Easter egg should.”
Another popular choice is Koko Black dark choc hot-cross truffle eggs ($2.30 each) presented in a gift box for maximum impact. Says subeditor Susan McDonald: “Luxurious, cocoa-dusted, and expensive-looking. And taste lives up to expectations.” Producer Anna Livsey notes: “Simple white and gold packaging and an assortment of delicious truffles done in a muted palette inside.”
The surprise favourite is Haigh’s milk half egg with milk speckles ($16.95). Assistant news editor Bridie Jabour confesses to being somewhat dazzled by the egg: “At first encounter you think you are getting a simple freckle, as we called them when we were kids, but it’s a solid amount of creamy chocolate with delicious sprinkles for texture.” And as McDonald says: “Freckles! An old favourite – and presented in a half-egg. What’s not to like?
Honourable mention: Red Tulip’s classic bunny ($4.50): “[It’s] the Easter bunny of your childhood for the adult. The bunny packaging is a joy but the chocolate is not too sweet, so you don’t feel like you’re regressing too much.”
Most delicious
Taste is of course utterly subjective when it comes to chocolate eggs: swerving from slightly bitter dark chocolate through smooth creamy milk chocolate to the ultra sweet white chocolate. And while those in the know quibble about “continuous phase lipid composition”, as Clark points out: “There’s really only one question you need answered: does it melt in your mouth?”
Haigh’s premium milk chocolate egg ($24.75) does just that for Livsey, who gives her points to the time-honoured classic. As she points out: “If you can’t get the basics right what is the point?” Jabour goes to the other end of the spectrum, surprised to find herself falling for Aldi’s chocolate truffle eggs ($4.29): “These were creamy and just the tiniest bit bitter.”
This year’s consistent favourites, Haigh’s milk half egg with milk speckles and Koko Black’s caramelised coconut egg milk, pick up points again – yet the egg judged the most delicious over and over is Haigh’s milk chocolate honeycomb egg ($20.50).
The comments are convincing. Says McDonald: “Evocative of childhood for me. Honeycomb with chocolate can sometimes be too sweet but this isn’t. Just right.” Jabour: “It was the chocolate I went back to the most.” Even the discerning Ticher is impressed by how much he enjoys it: “The honeycomb works surprisingly well in egg form. Gives it a lot of weight, and it’s not quite as sweet as some honeycomb chocolate bars (though you couldn’t brand it as a healthy option).”
Honourable mention: Koko Black dark choc hot-cross truffle eggs: “Soft powder cocoa on top of luscious toffee centre. These look first-rate and taste first-rate too. Heaven!”
Best value
If we’re spending up big, it’s worth getting the best-value chocolate for our buck, so it’s no surprise one of Australia’s favourites walks away with this prize. The Lindt gold bunny ($5) appears on three out of five lists. As Clark puts it: “The Lindt bunny is reliable smooth milk chocolate from the world’s most famous chocolate brand. Consistency, consistency, consistency.”
A family favourite, the Red Tulip milk chocolate bunny ($4.50) with its foil wrapper and beatific grin, also comes up trumps. “Fancy chocolate that can be picked up in the supermarket,” reports Jabour.
And given that good things come in three, Koko Black’s pack of three mini praline bunnies ($6.50) is a shoo-in. “Sometimes you don’t want a great big egg and these little quality dark choc bunnies are a great-value alternative.”
Honourable mention: Aldi chocolate truffle eggs ($4.29), “Elegantly packaged but at Aldi’s low price.”
Most sophisticated
Sophistication is in the eye of the beholder but when it comes to chocolate, it seems truffles are the way to go. Haigh’s milk chocolate egg, with its shell filled with mini truffles ($32.50), and the Koko Black dark choc hot-cross truffle eggs are firm favourites.
One of those in favour of Koko Black says: “My kids wouldn’t like these – too rich to eat a whole box of. But that makes them perfect for when you want one (or two) with a glass of wine (or muscat).”
Jabour comes down on the side of Haigh’s, saying: “Anyone who pays $30 for an Easter egg is first against the wall in the revolution, but the chocolates inside are tasty.”
But in the immortal words of Ticher: “Easter eggs should not aspire to be sophisticated.”
Honourable mention: Haigh’s dark chocolate egg. “Smooth, not too sharp, the perfect egg for the person who wants to pretend they’re above eating chocolate at 9am.”
Best for kids
They may be young but the under-12s are true chocolate egg connoisseurs. With the help of three enthusiastic volunteers, we put an array of eggs aimed at children to the test. These tasters know their eggs, so they are asked to judge on looks, taste and the amount of chocolate provided.
The most popular egg is undoubtedly Koko Black’s caramelised coconut egg milk, which appears on all three top-five lists for the kids. As 11-year-old Angus notes: “It’s visually appealing, tastes amazing and provides a fair amount of chocolate.” Koko Black’s pack of three mini praline bunnies ($6.50) is also rated highly. (Angus: “In my opinion, tastes the best.”)
The other favourite is Aldi’s Choceur 100s & 1000s Easter egg ($4.99) – not least because, as 12-year old Theo, who makes it his top pick, says: “It looks really nice to eat, and you get a decent amount of chocolate.” For six-year-old Matilda, its presentation makes a big impact, because: “I like the sprinkles and it looked pretty.”
The kids also love Haigh’s milk chocolate frog egg ($15.95): a thick chocolate shell that, when smashed open, reveals one of the popular frogs; and Max Brenner’s Hugs the chocolate bunny ($12.90). Another favourite is Cadbury’s marvellous creations gift pack ($10), which, says Theo, “has a creamy texture and isn’t too sweet”.
Honourable mentions go to the white chocolate Choceurs popping candy, $4.99 (thrilling for kids, not so much for adults), perennial favourite the Lindt gold bunny ($5) and Haigh’s milk chocolate bilby ($26.50) because, in Matilda’s words: “He looked cute and tasted like Easter egg.”
Overall winner
When it comes to presentation, taste and sheer yumminess, Koko Black’s caramelised coconut egg milk ($24) walks away with all the categories.
