Our list of the choicest eggs to crack open this Easter

The hunt is over: get the Easter celebrations started with our round-up of the most tempting chocolate treats around. From gianduja to ganache, intricately moulded chocolate crustaceans to more traditional tempered orbs, feast your eyes on the creations of the London chocolatiers pulling out all the stops for the spring festivities…

Melt

The only thing better than one Easter egg? A hamper full of them. 

And that’s exactly what anyone staying at one of our short-stay homes this Easter can expect. Curated by the master chocolatiers at Melt, sink your teeth into an array of delectable bonbons and bars of popcorn and roasted hazelnut chocolate, alongside a sea salt milk chocolate egg. 

Not making one of our design-forward abodes your home-from-home this month? Pay Melt’s Notting Hill or Holland Park boutiques a visit to pick up everything from toast and marmalade eggs made with sourdough and soft confit orange, to bittersweet 70% dark chocolate creations flecked with Maldon sea salt. 

For something more adventurous still, roll up your sleeves and make your own at one of Melt’s Easter egg masterclasses, or simply watch the professionals at work as they temper and craft to perfection in the open kitchens. 

Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse

Octopus rocks and snapping lobsters: decorated French chef Alain Ducasse is putting his imagination – and three Michelin-star know-how – into play at his eponymous chocolate boutique in Coal Drops Yard. Unexpected flavour combinations span almond praline with lemon zest and wakame seaweed to more traditional dark chocolate and hazelnut praline, moulded into a menagerie of novel creatures (think crabs and shoals of sardines). For the purists, there are chocolate hens and bunnies to deliberate over, filled with almond and coconut pralines. 

Pierre Hermé

Another chocolatier straying from the traditional Easter tropes, patisserie primo Pierre Hermé has taken inspiration from the Art Brut movement this Easter. Pebbles smoothed by the sea, driftwood shaped by water and fossilised plants are all recreated in chocolate form, resulting in a line-up of delicacies that (almost) wouldn’t look out of place on a mantlepiece. Alongside the new varieties, perennial favourite the Lapin Pompon returns. Inspired by François Pompon’s sculpture of a rabbit perched on a rock, it comes in single origin Belize dark, milk or caramelised blond chocolate. 

William Curley

A five-time winner of Britain’s Best Chocolatier award – and the youngest ever chef pâtissier at The Savoy – William Curley knows a thing or two about crafting the most exquisite Easter eggs. His recipes use only fresh and natural ingredients without any preservatives or excess sugar. This season swing by the Soho flagship to stock up on eggs of the extra thick variety, which come filled with delectable treats such as salted maple caramel coutures, gianduja almonds, dark chocolate-coated cinder toffee and classic framboise truffles. 

The Chocolate Detective

As the mastermind behind Rococo Chocolates, Chantal Coady’s creations – from Earl Grey tea-infused thins to golden sea salt slabs – have long satisfied the sweet cravings of discerning chocolate lovers. With her latest brand – The Chocolate Detective – Chantal is on a mission to unearth the most ethical ingredients by working closely with cocoa farmers in Grenada. The Easter chocolate collection comprises punnets of colourfully speckled birds’ eggs that enrobe delicate praline, buttery salted caramel and ganache. Posting treats to your nearest and dearest? Don’t miss the build your own ‘flat pack’ eggs, made from Grenada Chocolate Company chocolate that’s gently matured as it sails across the Atlantic. 

Venchi

Appearances can be deceptive – take these seemingly classic eggs from Italian chocolatier Venchi, which when broken into, reveal a host of surprises. Those looking for crunch will be fans of the chocaviar eggs that come studded with toffee, pistachio paste and nibs. Equally irresistible is the piedmont hazelnut egg, embedded with whole hazelnuts, or for something sweeter, there’s a white chocolate orb encrusted with lightly salted pistachios. Need some mini eggs for an Easter egg hunt? Venchi’s are filled with a variety of flavours, from sumptuous tiramisu to raspberry and roasted cocoa grains.

Dark Sugars

More than two decades worth of chocolate making have been poured into Dark Sugars, an artisan chocolatier inspired by years of cocoa research in West Africa and South America. Back in London this Easter, shop for futuristic dark chocolate bunnies, which come in eye-catching silver, bronze, black, red and pink at the Brick Lane or Greenwich outposts. For something more traditional, there are luxury filled eggs (choose from mango alphonso, hazelnut praline, liquid sea salt caramel and pink champagne); vegan truffle-stuffed options of the coffee and walnut or red ginger variety; or a limited number of bespoke Easter eggs, packed with golden mini eggs.