“It might come in an adorable chicken shape, but there’s nothing cutesy about Pump Street’s Easter treat. This is classy cocoa for the serious chocolate connoisseur. Despite being dairy-free and vegan-friendly, the Suffolk-based chocolatier has used Scottish oat milk, which gives a sweet, smooth velvety texture, all offset with a tang of red berries, a sharp nuttiness and a dash of warming cinnamon thanks to the fact they roast their beans in-house. The result? One dangerously moreish hen.” 

Shop Pump Street Oat Milk Chocolate Chicken, £6.95 

“Easter doesn’t have to be egg-shaped. Why not break with tradition and go for Biscuiteers’ Easter Egg Hunt selection, a beaut of a tin box crammed with iced biscuits in the shape of bunnies, butterflies and bunting. Each one is a work of art and perfect for anyone planning an Easter tea party. And tbh, it was just nice to have a break from death by chocolate.”

 Shop Biscuiteers Easter Egg Hunt, £48 

“Vegan white chocolate is usually pretty grim (I’ve tried many options) but Happi’s white chocolate and raspberry egg is an absolute game changer. It’s creamy and smooth, peppered with hits of tongue-tingling freeze-dried fruit – making this egg quite a grown-up offering. For those of us who haven’t had a Terry’s Chocolate Orange since ditching dairy, Happi’s orange offering brings back memories of Christmas snacking… in March. The salted caramel egg is satisfyingly sweet and the regular milk chocolate is great on its own or, as I found out, melted over medjool dates (sorry to dentists everywhere).”

Shop Happi Easter Eggs, £11.99 each

“There’s something very Willie Wonka-ish about Pierre Marcolini – he’s just really good at creating mad, beautiful designs. The Easter collection is all birds and bunnies and the trays featuring Piedmont hazelnuts and pistachios from Iran are transportingly good. A proper Easter treat.”

Shop Pierre Marcolini Bird Bunny Easter Collection, from £14.90

“You can have your fancy-schmancy over-designed and over-priced easter eggs bought from the posh shops, but let’s all be honest, nothing tastes as good as a Cadbury Easter egg straight from the fridge! Don’t @ me. I am right. There isn’t a dud in the Cadbury collection but particular highlights include the Twirl orange egg (I know, right), a bag of Mini Mix eggs (a bag filled with 23 – I counted – individually wrapped mini eggs) and the new kid on the block, the White Hazelnut Creme. I could go on (Wispa gold hazelnut, Cadbury Fingers anyone?), but I won’t. Instead, I will just eat my third Creme Egg of the morning. Yes, I am that person!” 

Shop Easter 2022: Cadbury’s Easter Collection, from 68p

Shop Blushing Cook Floral Brownie Mini Easter Eggs, £45 

“I didn’t grow up with simnel cake, so marzipan was only ever picked off and eaten from the Christmas cake that lasted about seven months in the tin at the top of the cupboard. But I LOVE marzipan and am very much for resurrecting it to be enjoyed for all occasions, so let’s start with Easter. Each Niederegger Desserts Edition Marzipan Egg is super tasty, bitter and individually wrapped to be enjoyed as and when. Or in one sitting if you are me!”

Shop Niederegger Desserts Edition Marzipan Eggs, £8

“Aside from the excellent logo featuring a baseball-capped pheasant and psychedelic 60s packaging, this is top notch chocolate. The nifty letterbox package contains eight moreish milk chocolate bunnies and a choice of two flavoured bars (I rate the milk chocolate billionaire shortbread) – all ethically sourced and housed in fully recyclable packaging. A worthy Easter gift for distant friends and family.”

Shop Resident Pheasant Easter Build Your Own Chocolate Letterbox Gift, £9.75   

“As a fan of salted caramel, I adored this milk chocolate luxury egg from Fairtrade chocolate experts Divine. Smooth but not at all sickly, this is a 100% feelgood option as the egg and packaging are palm oil and plastic-free. Plus, find bonus mini-eggs lurking in the base of the packaging.” 

Shop Divine Luxury Milk Chocolate Salted Caramel Easter Egg with Mini Eggs, £10

“They haven’t skimped on the oats in this vegan egg. The chocolate itself is deliciously smooth and dark, but there’s an almost porridgey aftertaste. Perhaps one for those who will be scoffing in the early hours of Easter Sunday?”

Shop Selfridges Vegan Easter Egg, £22.99 

Shop Paxton & Whitfield Easter Cheese Box, £30

“10 out of 10 for good looks, The Drippy Egg also has a practical flat base for easy ‘crackabilty’. It boasts a classic easter egg flavour, creamy with honey topnotes. The yellow, blue and white drips are white chocolate, which adds in a dash of extra sweetness. Love the re-useable tin too – it makes for a handy pencil pot to assist in the writing of post-Easter thank you notes.”

Shop Marks & Spencer The Drippy Egg, £10 

“The perfect solution for an Easter egg hunt that also needs to be dairy-free and vegan, the Moo Free box comes with seven foil-wrapped eggs. It’s particularly good for toddlers who’ll happily go hunting with the box in their hands.”

Shop Moo Free Easter Egg Hunt Box, £2.99

“Oh dear lord. How good are these Easter cupcakes? With Tony’s mini eggs, ganache and sprinkles, our personal favourite was the bunny disappearing into a mound of buttercream. Kitsch and cute, you can pick up in store or send by post to someone you love very much.”

Shop Lola’s x Tony’s Chocolonely Cupcakes, from £21

“In Italy, Easter is all about dove-shaped cakes of candied fruit and almonds – very similar to a panettone. We tried serving up Muzzi’s beautifully wrapped version slightly warmed up with chantilly cream. We ate it all. If you want to stick with the Italian theme, Eataly also have an incredible selection of Venchi eggs.”

Shop Eataly Muzzi Colomba, £22

“Sainsbury’s has nailed the fun bit of Easter with a selection of tasty eggs that range from the high-end (Belgian Milk Chocolate Tiramisu Egg anyone?) to the plain bonkers (The Yolkers Hollow White Chocolate Egg with Pink Lips Decoration is our personal favourite). They look and taste equally good.”

Shop Sainsbury’s Easter Collection, from £4.50

“Beautifully presented in a pretty tin, Lavolio’s Italian handmade sweets are almonds, pistachios and hazelnuts covered in dark, white and Gianduia hazelnut chocolate or crisp shells. I basically opened the box and started stuffing them in by the handful. And it was glorious!” 

Shop Lavolio Nutty Mini Eggs, from £16

“Vegan chocolatier Doisy & Dam is your first port of call for ethical chocolate and its bags of dark chocolate mini eggs are seriously delightful. Mix and match with their bags of truffles for a really good Easter present for adults (and also kids, come to think of it).”

Shop Doisy & Dam Easter Collection, from £1.99

“We tried the Love Cocoa Luxury Giant Egg. It really is huge! The chocolate is tasty, smooth and thick. My children weren’t sold on the truffles because of the cocoa dusting but I loved them. They felt healthier than eating a Caramel bar.”

Shop Love Cocoa Luxury Giant Egg With Salted Caramel Truffles, £36

“Imagine a really moreish tasty Malteser and you have Creative Nature’s inventions. They’re made with nut-free chocolate and are entirely plant-based, gluten, dairy and wheat-free. Genius!” 

Shop Creative Nature HazelNOT Bunny Droppings, £5.99

“For instant Scandi cool and plastic-free packaging, these are the Easter eggs you’re looking for. Their reusable tin eggs look really good (we’re suckers for leopard print, natch) and you can fill them everything from tiny gin and tonics to Swedish Pick’n’Mix.”

Shop Easter Äggs by Gåva, from £12

“Love a truffle? Willie’s Cacao Easter boxes (perfectly designed to fit through letterboxes) have dark, white, champagne, praline and fruit truffles galore. Pop in your mouth and let them explode for the full hit is our recommendation.”

Shop Willie’s Cacao Easter Collection, from £22 for truffle boxes

“If you want to mix up your Easter presents and go for something non-food related, Meri Meri’s selection of paper rabbits, flower garlands, surprise carrots filled with gifts and colourful baskets is the thinking alternative for the tablescaper in your life.”

Shop Meri Meri Honeycomb Spring Bunnies, £22

“Not a chocolate fan? This surprisingly moreish spreadable cheddar or Blacksticks Blue “egg” from Butlers is delivered with a pack of crackers and chutney in a letterbox package.”

Shop Butlers Cheese Easter Eggs, £8.50 each

“Hotel Chocolat’s ingenious eggs make Easter in my humble opinion – the extra chunky shells are so enjoyable to eat while the inside chocolates of brownies, blondies and mousse au chocolat are little pops of joy. Plus, I like their sense of humour with chocolate sandwiches and egg on toast lollies. Well done them.”

Shop Hotel Chocolat Easter Collection, from £2

“I’ve got a theory that Tony’s Chocolonely did some sort of scientific experiment to find the perfect density of chocolate and have then translated it into both their bars and their eggs because I get a psychological boost from them which no other chocolate brand can reach. 100% slave-free and delicious, the foil-wrapped eggs are the best way to do Easter IMHO.”

Shop Tony’s Chocolonely Easter Collection, from £3.98

“Galaxy has always been my go-to Easter Egg of choice after winning one aged nine at school – literally the only thing I’ve ever won. Cracking a Galaxy egg is nostalgia in Easter form and now a Blonde Chocolate with Sea Salt and Dark Chocolate with Raspberry Meringue edition has been launched, which I can also attest is seriously good.”

Shop Galaxy Easter Collection, from £5

“What I really like about this Waitrose 2022 Easter collection is how fun it is: a Sunny Side Up Easter egg of white chocolate, Heston’s Golden Apple (inspired by Isaac Newton) and salted caramel carrots. They all taste excellent and properly enchanted the smaller taste tasters of my acquaintance.”

Shop Waitrose Easter Collection, from £3.50

“Why did no one tell me before now that Hot Cross Bun ice cream is a thing? Well, mostly because it’s the first of its kind from Hackney Gelato. Rich and comforting with salted butter and sultanas, it’s Easter in a pot.”

Shop Hackney Gelato Hot Cross Bun Ice-Cream, £5.50

“Yes – this is exactly how we’ll be toasting in that Thursday evening before the long Easter weekend (the best night of the year, in short). House Of Zing’s craft Hot Cross Bun-hattans and Chocolate Orange Negronis are fun, satisfying and really, really tasty. Big thumbs up and a hiccup from us.”

Shop Hot Cross Bun-hattans and Chocolate Orange Negronis, from £15

“OK this is possibly the nicest gift you could send someone: a little Liberty print suitcase filled with a Chococo Milk Chocolate Honeycomb Studded Easter Egg and Rococo Salted Caramel Seagull Eggs plus Liberty Heritage bars. Soothing, moreish and a real treat to tuck into with the seagull eggs especially good with a cup of tea.”

Shop Liberty Mitsi Easter Suitcase Hamper, £99

“There’s something incredibly elegant about Cartwright & Butler’s hampers and I think they’re a really good idea if you want to spoil someone at Easter but don’t want to do chocolate. Everything in the box – especially the English Breakfast Teabags and the traditional Simnel Cake – is made for leisurely mornings in bed on a long weekend. A pure crowd pleaser.”

Shop Cartwright & Butler Easter Collection, from £10

“Farhi is a craft chocolate brand that always does gorgeous packaging (their papier-mâché Bonbonnières make excellent gifts all year round) and when this box of dates arrived, I didn’t want to open it and spoil it. But in the name of journalism I did, and they were so good with cashew, pistachio, dark chocolate and walnut toppings. They’re the perfect gift for Ramadan and Eid too.”

Shop Farhi Vegan Chocolate Stuffed Medjool Date Selection Gift Box, £35

“In my house, Lindt has always been considered the master confectioner of the spring season – and for good reason. After all, what is an Easter celebration without a Lindt bunny – and a 500g one at that? For egg lovers, choose between classic original, tasty salted caramel and decadent double chocolate flavours. Each comes with a delightful handful of mini Lindor truffles that offer a perfect Easter treat in every bite.”

Shop Lindt Easter Chocolate, from £4

“I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anything quite like this very grown-up answer to Easter chocolate before. How the genius team at Cartografie translated the experience of a warm, toasted and buttered hot cross bun into a perfectly textured ganache hidden in exquisite chocolate casing, I’ll never know. But I am confident that this limited edition chocolate treat is the perfect gift for a foodie or the family member you’d like to impress this year.” 

Shop Cartografie Easter Collection, £15

“The most luxurious mini eggs I’ve ever tasted. The delicate dark chocolate shell gives way to a rich pistachio cream balanced by the crunch of tiny nutty fragments sprinkled on the outside. If this is how the Sicilians do Easter, you’ll find me on the next flight to Palermo.”

Shop Strazzanti Sicilian Pistachio-Filled Mini Easter Eggs Box of 12, £18

“Even though I have (and would again) serve a ready-to-be smashed Easter egg as a post-dinner party dessert, there was something wonderful about being able to give my friends delicious, creative artisan chocolate from beautifully designed packets and not smushed up foil. There was a flavour for everyone – including classic milk and an almond brittle that was immediately devoured. As an ardent Easter egg lover, I have to admit this selection box might be the way forward. Yum.”      

Shop Crosstown Artisan Chocolate Bars, £5.95 each

“This egg with its beautifully tempered marble-like chocolate speckled with white and blue was almost too pretty to eat. But when I did, it was thick, decadent and packed full of shards of salted caramel. Delightful.”

Shop Dukeshill Salted Caramel Milk Chocolate Egg, £24

Shop Cake Or Death Easter Brownies, £18

“Handpainted Jackson Pollock-style, this indulgently thick, diamond-faceted egg gives good crack to reveal yet more treats inside: six caramel chocolates made pleasingly bitter with Dorest sea salt. Rich and creamy thanks to 45% Venezuela-origin milk chocolate, this is easily the tastiest Easter egg I’ve ever eaten. Bonus points for non-plastic, recyclable packaging.”

Shop Chococo Sea Salt Caramels Egg, from £19

“I’ll be honest, I’m fairly basic when it comes to munching on mini eggs, so these giant, vegan, peanut butter-filled eggs are quite the upgrade. They each offer two decadent bites worth of smooth peanut butter covered with the high-quality chocolate you’d expect from Montezuma – no pesky palm oil here. Salty and sweet, these are so indulgent that I had to stop at two.”

Shop Montezuma Dark Chocolate Mini Eggs, £4.50

“Wickedly Welsh is a small craft chocolatier based in Pembrokeshire and its Bryn egg is a cute little baby white chocolate dragon in a salted caramel egg. If you want to gift an egg that’s got an excellent story and is totally original – Bryn is your guy.”

Shop Wickedly Welsh Bryn The Dragon Easter Egg, £8.99

Shop Morrisons Easter Collection, from £5

“If you’re looking to go all out this Easter, you’ll definitely want to check out Melt’s range of eggs. Handmade in Notting Hill, these luxury, sustainably sourced eggs are presented in beautiful, plastic-free packaging – and the chocolate inside is just as moreish as you’d expect.”

Shop Melt Luxury Easter Eggs, £24.99

“If you eat a chicer-looking Easter biscuit than those produced by the Honeywell Biscuit Company we are going to need photographic proof before you eat the evidence. From jars of speckled egg biscuits to beautifully gift-boxed bunnies with your name piped on their belly, its Easter range of hand-iced vanilla biscuits is both charming and seriously moreish. Our fave? The six Easter Biscuits in an egg carton: £22 for two pigs, lambs and chicks that we quickly captured for an Instagram snap before they became crumbs.”

Shop Honeywell Bakes Easter Biscuits in an Egg Carton, £22

“If you’ve ever been overwhelmed by the volume of chocolate that often comes with most Easter eggs, perhaps you’ll prefer the artisan stylings of Brik’s flat ÆG offerings. Available in caramel chocolate, dark chocolate and ruby chocolate, the flat series shows off delicate flavour pairings in palm-sized treats. Fruity ruby is by far the most interesting to taste, with a pleasantly punchy bitterness behind the deceptive sweet pink colour.”

Shop Easter 2022: Brik Ruby Chocolate Flat Egg: £9.95

“Aldi’s strawberry cone was nice and the popping candy in the bottom was a fun treat while the Belgian blonde chocolate geometric egg is so delicious! Gives me Caramac bar vibes. I’ve hidden it so I don’t have to share.”

Shop Aldi Easter Collection, from 99p

“We had a feeling that Cutter & Squidge would be the place to get the most joyful Easter offering but were pleasantly surprised when we opened up this egg. As well as a delicious milk chocolate shell, it’s packed with ganache-filled eggs and fudge cubes, which all lie atop a honeycomb digestive crumb chocolate dreambar. But the real surprise comes when you dig a little deeper to uncover a hidden treasure trove of decadent salted caramel. This is an egg that calls for a spoon – but that just adds to this egg’s extravagance and all-round fun.”

Shop Easter 2022: Cutter & Squidge Billionaire Filled Easter Egg, £21.99

“Coffee snobs will be all over these flat white and double espresso flavoured eggs from master roasters Allpress. Despite being flat white fiends, we preferred the dark chocolate espresso flavour – the taste of coffee permeates every mouthful but never overwhelms, while the milk chocolate flat white variety is a sweeter, creamier affair.”

Shop Easter 2022: Allpress Chocolate Easter Eggs by Bennetts Of Mangawhai, £15