As a journalist, it is my responsibility to go behind the lines and find the truth by whatever means necessary, even, at times, putting myself in harm’s way to deliver you the information you need to know.
Rest assured, at the peril of my waistline and blood sugar levels, I, along with my trusty panel of tasters, endeavoured the arduous task of taste testing Easter eggs of every category, make and quality to bring you, our reader, a comprehensive recommendation of which Easter eggs to snaffle and which to avoid this holiday season.
* The marks are out of 5.
Hard candy eggs
As a kid, I remember not really getting the point of these eggs. They were so much work to eat, with so little chocolate as a reward! The older I’ve got, the more my appreciation for them has grown, and now I find they’re the thing I look forward to most about Easter. Each of the major supermarkets stocks their own brands – but we quickly discovered that all hard candy eggs are not created equal. The Easter eggs were tested by the full range of ‘eaters’ – both those who like to lovingly suck the candy off before savouring the chocolate, and those (like myself) who prefer to smash it up and gobble it down in crunchy appreciation.
First place: Beacon
Average mark: 4.8
Price: R24,99 for 8
Beacon pulled ahead by a mere hair on this one. The overall feeling was that this is the egg from our childhood, it tastes, feels and looks right. There is a good candy to chocolate ratio and all elements were of a delectable quality.
Second place: Checkers Eggs Galore candy coated milk chocolate eggs
Average mark: 4.6
In a surprise coup, the Checkers brand of hard candy eggs pleasantly astonished us with their really tasty offering. The eggs themselves are a bit smaller than some of the others, but the chocolate is nice and thick and of good quality, and the candy enthusiasts recommended these as the most pleasant for licking off.
Third place: Woolworths Hens eggs
Average mark: 4
Price: R24,95 for 6
These eggies had a strong twist of vanilla in the candy, which went down well, and added to the anticipation before eating. The eggs were a little smaller than some of the others, and while most of the tasters really enjoyed the chocolate component, I found it had a distinct ‘talcum’ aftertaste that allowed me to identify it as a Woolworths egg instantly.
Fourth place: Pick ‘n Pay Choice speckled eggs
Average mark: 3.1
Price: R27,99
The chocolate in this one had a hint of coffee to it, but didn’t go down as well as some of the others – I, for one, found it a bit too sugary sweet. The colourful speckles were appreciated as a nice aesthetic touch.
Fifth place: Kayley’s hard eggs, available from Spar
Average mark: 3
These guys were also a little overly sweet, with the chocolate being not as good quality, or as thick as some of the others.
Marshmallow eggs
Marshmallow eggs are another league unto their own. They’re a staple of Easter eating, and woe-betide you disappoint on something so highly anticipated!
First place: Beacon traditional marshmallow eggs
Average mark: 4
Price: R4,49
The Beacon eggs took the prize by far for meeting expectations of a ‘classic’ marshmallow egg. Chocolate was tasty and even, with a sufficient thick layer at the bottom for a bit of a crunch.
Second place: Pick ‘n Pay marshmallow eggs
Average mark: 2.6
Price: R3,99
While the squishiness (yes that’s a technical term) of the marshmallow was appreciated for this one, the chocolate was too thin and flaky, which detracted heavily from the presentation. A couple tasters also commented on a strange synthetic aftertaste.
Tie third place: Beacon marshmallow eggs with chocolate centre
Average mark: 2.5
Bizarre is the discrepancy between this and the traditional Beacon eggs, but justified. While the outer chocolate shell was just as good, the soft chocolate filling or ‘brown goo’ wasn’t particularly well received. The consensus was there wasn’t really enough of it to taste it well, but there was just enough to detract from the texture of the mallow and give it a kind of gritty composition.
Tie third place: Checkers mallow eggs
Average rating: 2.5
Price: R3,99
The layer of chocolate on this was one completely measly – not even enough to taste, and the mallow was shining through in places. Such a poor follow-up from Checkers on their amazing hard candy eggs!
Fourth place: Woolworths mallow eggs
Average rating: 2.4
Price: R6,95
I’m quite surprised by Woolies’ poor performance, but the tribe has spoken. The chocolate shell was commended on being nice and thick and even, but once again the chocolate had that distinctive ‘talcum’ taste that so severely detracts from the product. Other tasters described the chocolate as ‘stale’, ‘cheap’ and ‘waxy’.
Mini filled eggs
Big isn’t always better, we discovered, as we explored the huge variety of smaller chocolate eggs with fillings available this year. In a way they even stole the show, with one pleasant surprise following another.
First place: Witors Noir (available from Pick ‘n Pay)
Average mark: 4.8
Price: R49,99
These babies were apparently the closest thing to chocolatey perfection the group of tasters could fathom. The dark chocolate was refreshing in a sea of milk chocolate; it wasn’t overly bitter and melted in your mouth with a deliciously nutty centre. These guys definitely take the ‘Best in Show’ award.
Second place: Woolworths Quail eggs
Average mark: 4.5
Price: R24,95
The Woolies Quail eggs are just as pleasing to the eye as they are to the palate. The box comes with a variety of chocolates and fillings, and the little eggletts themselves and drizzled in different colours. Most importantly they’re delicious, and made of great quality chocolate. One taster commented that these are ‘grown-up dinner party eggs’ – they certainly do make an impression!
Third place: Cemoi praline eggs (available from Checkers)
Average mark: 3.8
Price: R9,99
What a stunning surprise – especially at that price! These delicious melt-in-your-mouth milk chocolate robin’s eggs taste as if they’re filled with chunky nutella – creamy and praliney.
Fourth place: Woolworths caramel eggs
Average mark: 3.5
Price: R16,95 for a pack of 12 mini eggs
These sweet-treat butterscotch centred eggies are all too easy to pop in your mouth – and another, and another…
Fifth place: Cadbury dairy milk mousse centre eggs (available from Checkers)
Average mark: 2.5
Price: R24,99 per packet
Cadbury, usually renowned for their superior chocolate, were a bit of a disappointment this time around. Their greatest failing was the ‘mousse’ was more of a ‘goop’, and was a bit too synthetically sweet.
Sixth place: Walkers giant eggs (available from Checkers)
Average mark: 2
Price: R14,99 per packet
I was delighted to see Walkers of London in a South African store – that was until I tasted them. First of all, they are bizarrely named – the eggs are itty bitty, not giant. They’re super hard too, so watch out if you’ve got weak teeth! While they are attractive with their little speckles, they taste pretty unremarkable.
Hollow eggs
Big foil-wrapped or bunny-shaped hollow eggs are what gets kids hearts beating everywhere. Unfortunately, just because they look good, it doesn’t mean they taste good.
First place: Lindt chocolate bunny
Average mark: 4.5
In this case, the obvious choice was really the best one. Lindt chocolate bunnies outshine all other eggs in this category both from an aesthetic point of view, and, most importantly, from a tastiness point of view. As always, you can’t go wrong with Lindt!
Second place: Woolworths 30g Hollow egg
Average mark: 4
Price: R6,95
It this egg needed to do to win, it seems, was to meet expectations. The chocolate was of good quality (no weird talcum taste!) and the egg looked good.
Third place: Schoh Caramel crunch hollow bunny 70g (available from Pick ‘n Pay)
Average mark: 3.3
Price: R19,99
The flecks of caramel in this hollow egg was such a pleasant deviation from all the milk chocolate standard. The little bunny shape was super cute too – a winner!
Fourth place: Nestle Milkybar hollow egg (available from Clicks)
Average mark: 3.1
Price: R19,99
This egg is quite simply a hollow egg made of white Milkybar chocolate. Again, it’s nice to have a deviation from the mass of milk chocolate options out there, but moreover I think the hollow egg shape really did Milkybar some favours – it tastes good like that – to me, better than in slab form! Creamy, white chocolate with condensed milk flavour.
Fifth place: Cadbury dairy milk hollow egg (available from Checkers)
Average mark: 3
Price: R7,99
Rather than being the standard milk choc one would expect from Cadbury, this hollow egg had a strange fruity tinge to it – as one taster observed, like watermelon Skittles. On the whole the chocolate was pleasant though.
Tie sixth place: Friedel bunny-shaped hollow egg 60g (available from Pick ‘n Pay)
Average mark: 2.9
Price: R11,99
The taste of coffee was so strong in this chocolate, I felt it should have been advertised as such. Overall good tasting though, and a sweet-looking bunny.
Tie sixth place: Nestle Aero giant egg (available from Clicks)
Average mark: 2.9
Price: R59,99
This is a typical example of bigger isn’t always better. An impressive giant hollow egg, in smart ‘Aero’ themed wrapping, it looks just amazing, but when it gets down to the chocolate leaves you a little wanting. Then again, if you’ve giving this to a kid, are they really going to notice, or will they just be taken in by its size and shininess?
Tenth place: Woolworths Bobby bunny
Average mark: 1.7
Price: R24,95
If there was a ‘biggest disappointment’ award, sadly this guy would take it. The bunny itself looks so sweet and tasty in its clear wrapping with a little bow; you get your expectations so high. When it comes to tasting it though, you’ll soon find that one bite is enough. It tastes as if it’s made of cooking chocolate, waxy and plastic.
Which are your favourite eggs?
For my comprehensive hot cross bun taste test (and to find out which are the best buns in the land) click here.
When you’ve eaten your fill of eggs, move onto these yummy Easter recipes, like karoo lamb shank and carrot cupcakes.
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