Hotel Chocolat & Vegan Easter Egg Guide 2018

There's an increasing range of dairy free/vegan chocolates in supermarkets these days, and Hotel Chocolat are really championing quality vegan eggs with their range this Easter. Today’s post will focus on vegan eggs available from there as well as a few other companies.

Hotel Chocolat 100% Dark Egg:

This is one I reviewed last year - check it out here. It includes 100% cocoa solids dark chocolate, Californian almonds and Turkish raisins in the shell, plus panned 100% dark chocolate Piedemont hazelnuts separately. It's definitely one for the serious dark chocolate lovers!

Hotel Chocolat Dark Egg Sandwich:

The unique "egg sandwich" treat from Hotel Chocolat, suitable for vegans and dairy free!

Hotel Chocolat Dark Big City Bunny:

A cute hollow dark chocolate bunny without the dairy.

Hotel Chocolat Dark City Bunnies:

Plus, mini city bunnies that are perfect for sharing!

Hotel Chocolat Dark Kids Easter Egg:

One for the kiddies is this smaller 70% cocoa Dark egg. Also contains dark orange bunnies - yum!

Hotel Chocolat Ginger Dark Chocolate Egg:

This is one that tickles my fancy this year...a ginger flavour dark chocolate egg studded with Piedmont hazelnuts, plus Dark Chocolate Crunchy squares with hazelnuts and ginger pieces. Yum!

Hotel Chocolat Dark Chocolate Rabbert:

A bouncing 70% dark chocolate rabbit hops over dinky drops of dark chocolate. Cute!

Thorntons Dark Chocolate Easter Egg:

Good old Thorntons are also doing a dairy free dark chocolate egg.

Lindt Dark Chocolate Noir Gold Bunny:

Plus the classic Lindt Gold Bunny comes in a Dark version that is dairy free.

Lindt Excellence 70% Cocoa Dark Eggs:

There's also these Lindt 70% Cocoa Eggs available from most supermaarkets.

Lindt Excellence Dark Extra Fine 70% Easter Egg:

Plus a larger Lindt Excellence Dark Easter Egg complete with mini dark chocolate eggs. 

Montezuma's Absolute Black 100% Cocoa Egg with Chocolate Buttons:

Montezuma's have promised me one of these to review, which I am rather excited to try. Features their Absolute Black sugar free dark chocolate studded with cocoa nibs, as well as Absolute Black dark chocolate buttons.

Montezuma's Dark Chocolate Egg with Mini Dark Peanut Butter Eggs:

For those who like a bit of sugar in their chocolate, Montezuma's are also doing this vegan friendly egg complete with mini dark chocolate peanut butter eggs, hurrah! Who said being dairy free must be boring?

Montezuma's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Mini Eggs:

As well as the Easter egg, the Dark Peanut Butter Mini Eggs also come in their very own pack! Available from motezumas.co.uk.

Montezuma's Organic Dark Chocolate Eco Egg with Cocoa Nibs:

One for the eco-conscious with eco-friendly degradable packaging, this egg has cocoa nibs in the shell.

Booja Booja Artists Egg:

No post on Vegan Easter eggs would be complete without Booja Booja, who make some beautifully decorated gourmet eggs filled with their classic truffles in a variety of flavours, from Champagne to Almond Sea Salt to Hazelnut. Available online and from selected stores.

Moo Free Easter Eggs:

Available from Waitrose, Holland & Barrett and supermarkets like Morrisons, the Moo Free brand make an excellent variety of dairy free creamier eggs, in flavours such as Honeycomb (or "Bunnycomb"), Cheeky Orange and Original with Dairy Free Drops.

Plamil Organic Easter Eggs:

Also available from Holland and Barrett, online or at selected stores are these Organic Milk Chocolate Alternative eggs from Plamil, which are Fairtrade and made with rice milk.

Plamil Organic Milk Chocolate Alternative Half Eggs:

Also available from Plamil are these "half eggs", a dairy free alternative to mini eggs. Available from plamilfoods.co.uk or selected stores.

Plamil No Added Sugar Dairy Free Half Eggs:

For those who want to go a step further, Plamil also make these Dairy Free Milk Chocolate halves without sugar, using the sweetener xylitol instead. Available from plamilfoods.co.uk and selected stores.

Coco Caravan Vegan Caramel Easter Eggs:

Made with raw chcoolate, these caramel filled eggs from Coco Caravan are vegan and dairy free, with caramel made from coconut sugar, coconut cream and cashew paste. I have some of these to review so stay tuned for that soon! Available from the Coco Caravan Webstore.

Asda Extra Special Belgian Dark Chocolate Cherry Egg:

Asda are also doing some rather special dark chocolate eggs this year, including this Extra Special Cherry Egg!

Asda Free From Chocolate Bunny:

And for fans of sweeter chocolate, there's this Free From Bunny!

Tesco Finest Free From Salted Caramel Flavour Egg:

Tesco also increased their Free From range this Easter, with this Salted Caramel Flavour Egg complete with Fondant truffles.

Tesco Finest Free From Belgian Dark Chocolate Egg with Orange Truffles:

Plus a Blegian dark chocolate egg with dark orange truffles.

Lidl Deluxe Ecuadorian Single Origin Dark Chocolate Egg:

Even Lidl are doing dairy free dark chocolate eggs this year, with this Deluxe Ecuadorian Single Origin 73% Cocoa egg...

Lidl Deluxe Madagascan Single Origin Dark Chocolate Egg:

Plus a 66% cocoa Deluxe Madagascan Single Origin egg. Fancy!

Marks & Spencer Made Without Dairy Dark Chocolate Egg:

As always, M&S are not doing just any Dairy Free egg, but a Made Without Dairy Dark Chocolate Egg complete with fancy wrapping in both blue and pink.

Green & Blacks Organic Dark 70% Easter Eggs:

It would be wrong for Green & Blacks not to do a dark chocolate egg at Easter! I have only seen these in 70% versions - no 85% unfortunately.

Waitrose Salted Hazelnut & Raisin Dark Chocolate Egg:

Waitrose also do a few dark chocolate eggs in their own label range, including this Salted Hazelnut & Raisin Egg. Sounds a bit different!

North Chocolates Hot Cross Fun Bar:

Last but not least, these Easter bars from North Chocolates are available from Fenwicks and consists of dark chocolate with spices, orange and sultanas.

Well, that's all for this post - there's a few other companies making vegan Easter treats so this is by no means an exhaustive list. Hopefully though it will help anyone needing dairy free chocolates find something suitable!

Holdsworth Fiery Stem Ginger Dark Chocolates

A huge thankyou to the lovely Holdsworths Chocolates for today's review; they kindly sent me some of their delicious handmade chocolate range recently including milk and dark varieties. I thought I'd start with the "Fiery Stem Ginger enrobed in Dark Chocolate" first since I'd been avoiding dairy for a while - these contain no dairy and are suitable for vegans. Described as "The finest crystallised stem ginger enrobed in dark chocolate - a spicy exotic treat coupled with the secret powers of ginger", they are available direct from Holdsworths website or from department stores like John Lewis. I believe Waitrose also stock some of their range.

So what sets these apart from other chocolate gingers? Are they worth going out of your way for?

Firstly I have to say I do love the pack design, it looks premium and makes the chocolates feel extra special indeed. These would definitely make a lovely gift, whether for a loved one or all to yourself! The gingers are wrapped in a plastic inner bag, which I carefully opened.

Right away I could tell these were better quality than your average chocolate gingers; the chocolate actually smells like a good quality dark chocolate. I cut one of them open (above) so you get an idea of the ratio of chocolate to ginger.

Taking a bite, I was actually surprised how good these tasted! I usually think of chocolate gingers as an overly sweet snack only suitable at Christmastime, but these proved me very wrong, the ginger tastes warm and spicy but isn't overly sugary like most. It's just sweet enough to be moreish, and paired with the flavoursome dark chocolate it's the perfect balance. A few of these make for a very satisfying and indulgent little snack! And they're warming on a cold, wet day (which we've been having a lot of lately it seems), so you can eat them "for medicinal purposes" if you need an excuse to indluge ;)

As my introduction to Holdsworths Chocolates I have to say I was very impressed with these. The quality is excellent and they taste superb. Are they worth the extra money compared to cheaper brands? Yes, definitely! They're also worth going out of your way for - not only are you supporting a smaller local business, but you will get more enjoyment from these than a cheaper version. Highly recommended especially if you're dairy-free or vegan and need some chocolate variation!

Available from http://www.holdsworthchocolates.co.uk, as well as John Lewis.

Ingredients: Dark chocolate 55% (cocoa mass, cocoa butter, emulsifier soya lecithin, natural vanilla), Ginger 45% (sugar, preservative sulphur dioxide). Cocoa solids 60% minimum. 

8.5 out of 10.

Tesco Gingerbread Flavour Milk Limited Edition

Kev's Christmassy Reviews have returned, hurrah! Although I've already reviewed a few festive treats this year such as the Tesco Candy Cane Crisps and M&S Milk Chocolate Cinnamon Tortillas, it's now December so it's "official" Christmas Review time. Hope you all enjoy reading! Today's review is a new limited edition from Tesco...

I have a love/hate relationship with ginger. It can be nice in puddings and cookies and mixed with other spices but I'm not a big fan of Gingerbread. I don't know why but I never liked it - even as a kid, I found it very boring. However, when paired with other ingredients it seems to work alot better, and creamier flavours balance out the spiciness and add a new dimension to it. So I was very curious indeed when I saw this new Gingerbread Limited Edition in Tesco recently.

Launched just in time for the Winter months, this cost a mere 50p for 330ml, is suitable for vegetarians and contains flavourings. It's made with 1% fat milk, so is good if you're watching your fat intake.

Thanks to the addition of thickeners it had a nice gloopy texture, despite the carton being quite small it felt more filling than it should have done. It tasted pretty good for such a cheap drink. The ginger comes through nice and strong and actually works well with the milk, and is balanced nicely. This made for a rather novel and different drink, something you wouldn't usually find!

Overall, I have to say this gingerbread milk is a definite win for Tesco - it's a nice novel limited edition that anyone who likes festive spices will be sure to enjoy. Pick one up whilst doing the Chrimbo shopping!

Do stay tuned for more Kev's Christmassy Reviews over December...there's a lot more to come! 

8 out of 10. 

Dean's Gluten Free Choc Chip & Stem Ginger Shortbread

You can't beat shortbread. It's one of those classic, timeless biscuits that's easy to make and always tastes good. All thanks to the wonders of butter. But when you're gluten free, sadly it's a lot harder to find a good quality shortbread, even if you make it yourself. Luckily, Dean's Original Family Recipes have come to the rescue! They are currently selling a few varieties of their Gluten Free shortbreads in the Free From section of Morrisons, including this: Choc Chip & Stem Ginger. By chance I found this for a mere 50p in a local discount store, so snapped up a couple of packs before they had all gone (the regular price in Morrisons is over £2 so these were a real bargain!)

Made with rice, potato and maize flour and butter, these also include dark chocolate chips and stem ginger pieces, for a nice warming spiciness. I don't usually go for ginger biscuits but on this occasion I couldn't say no since they were gluten free and so cheap.

They tasted absolutely delicious. I wasn't expecting a lot since many gluten free cookies don't taste of much, but these were just as good as regular shortbread. They were light, crumbly and buttery and very very moreish! The ginger and dark chocolate chips go perfectly together, a nice spicy and rich combination that tones down the sweetness of the biscuits a little. It didn't take me long to munch through most of the box - thank goodness I had bought another!

Overall, these are a definite win and biscuits that I would highly recommend if you're gluten free. A shame they're not dairy free, but if they were I suspect they wouldn't be half as good. Would I pay full price for them? As a one off treat, yes, I probably would! Find them in Morrisons, and if you're lucky enough possibly discount stores too.

Ingredients: Rice flour, butter (28%), sugar, potato starch, dark chocolate chips (sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, soya lecithin, natural vanilla flavouring), stem ginger (7%) (ginger, sugar), maize flour, ground ginger, xanthan gum, salt.

9 out of 10. 

Montezuma's Spice It Up Dark Chocolate with Dragon Ginger

Since Montezuma's bars started appearing in my local Sainsbury's I've been gradually making my way through the range, they do everything from the intense Absolute Black 100% Bar, to the fruity Black Forest Gateau Pudding Bar, both of which are great so I thought I'd try another in their range: Spice It Up with Dragon Ginger. This bar is vegan, dairy free, gluten free and non GMO. The chocolate contains 70% cocoa solids and ginger is listed as 7% in the ingredients.

I do like 70% cocoa bars, and even more so when they have some added ingredients so this bar was an absolute delight. The chocolate is rich and good quality, with a slight fruity edge. The crystallized ginger brings a warming burst of sweetness with every bite, it's gentle and fiery and definitely fits with the name "dragon" ginger. It's a tasty and moreish combination, I imagine this bar would be great in the Winter months with a cuppa!

Overall, this a tasty and great quality bar - Montezuma's have done it again! I'm struggling to find a favourite from their bars that I've tried recently, they're all so good, but I would say the Black Forest was pretty special.

Nutrition (per 25g): 10g Fat, 8g Carbohydrates, 8g Sugars, 2g Protein, 2g Fibre. 

8.5 out of 10.

Crabbie's Alcoholic Ginger Beer Original & Scottish Raspberry

A big thankyou to Crabbie's for providing me with these bottles of alcoholic gluten free ginger beer for todays review, they were very much appreciated! What with the hot, changeable weather recently it's always nice to have something refreshing on hand to cool down with, especially when it's alcoholic.

Crabbie's have been going since the 1800's when Scottish pioneer John Crabbie started creating drinks from steeped ginger and exotic spices from the far east. For more info on their history, do check out Crabbie's website: www.crabbiesgingerbeer.co.uk.

The Original variety is made to Crabbie's "unique steeped ginger recipe" and contains 4% alcohol. I chilled it in the freezer, before pouring into a glass to drink ice cold. It was lovely; super refreshing, spicy and fiery with a lovely ginger warmth. The low amount of alcohol was just right, enough to make you feel a slight merriness but not keel over. Great for a summers day! 8.5 out of 10.

The Scottish Raspberry variety had a lovely pink hue to it, with that unmistakable aroma of sweet raspberry. I was worried this wouldn't mix well with ginger beer but to my surprise it was lovely, it gave a nice tart refreshing edge to the more fiery sweet ginger. It somehow works really well! I would definitely try this again. 8.5 out of 10.

Hats off to Crabbie's, these are two lovely drinks for the summer months. I would highly recommend them if you're in need of a light, gluten free alcoholic refreshment - they're perfect for picnics and barbecues. I'll be seeking out their other flavours now!