Cheap Easter egg beats top brands in taste test

The Chokablok American Dreamcake egg sold at Tesco scored 84/100 to take the title of Good Housekeeping Easter Egg of the Year, impressing the judging panel with its “varying textures, enticing design and value for money”.

Among its competitors were the £70 Hotel Chocolat Half and Half Ostrich Easter Egg, which scored 80/100 and the Harrods Chocolate Brownie and Raspberry Egg, which costs £24.95 and scored 70/100.

Tasters sampled 193 chocolate eggs to decide the winners of four categories: eggs for kids, eggs for grown-ups, eggs for sharing and the overall winner.

Marks & Spencer’s £6 Colin the Caterpillar won the kids category with 80/100, while the £19.99 Lindt Heavenly Hazelnut Milk egg encrusted with roasted hazelnuts took the grown-ups title with a score of 84/100.

Marks & Spencer also won the sharing category, with its selection of five topped chocolate eggs for £10.

Good Housekeeping consumer director Caroline Bloor said: “We’ve really noticed how Easter eggs, even at the cheaper end of the market, have become far more eye-catching and imaginative over the last couple of years.

“But at the end of the day, behind the fancy designs, you are as likely to find a delicious chocolatey treat in the supermarket as you are in the luxury shops.

“In our tests, cheaper chocolate eggs continue to beat the opposition. So why pay more? The variety of eggs available in 2013 is fantastic, but we all agree that the Chokablok American Dreamcake egg is a deserving winner of our Good Housekeeping Easter Egg of the Year title.”