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!

Christmas In Shops 2017 (ft Oreo Tins, Giant Toblerone, Mint Lindor & More!)

It's beginning to feel a lot like...actually, this year it felt like Christmas way back in September since most Christmas products started appearing on shelves then, but nevertheless I felt the need to do my yearly round up of some of the coolest/bestest/newest Christmassy products on shelves. You know you love it! So without further ado let's crack on and take a look at what's in the supermarkets this festive season...hopefully you might get a bit of gift inspiration! 

Firstly I have to mention the Oreo Cookie Tins (pictured above), which contain Original and Golden Oreos. They're £3 in Morrisons currently and supposed to be shared...yeah right!

Lindt Lindor Mint Limited Edition:

There's a new Lindor Limited Edition every year and this year it's the turn of Mint. Not groundbreaking perhaps, but it certainly sounds tasty. Spotted in Tesco.

Giant Toblerone 4.5kg:

Last year this Giant Toblerone was available from Iceland but Tesco are stocking it too this year. It costs a whopping £60...nice if you have the money!

Cadbury Dairy Milk Oreo Balls:

Mondelez brought these bite-sized Dairy Milk Oreo balls out last year and they're back again... Spotted in Sainsbury's.

Kellogg's Variety Cereal Advent Calendar:

There's a lot of unique advent calendars this year, with everything from cheese to beer to makeup to Pringles...but Kellogg's may have won the battle with this calendar containing Kellogg's cereals, a small box for every day until Christmas. Available at Tesco.

Tesco Festive Filled Cookies:

The mincemeat filled cookies return to Tesco, hurrah!

Whitworths Christmas Turkish Delight Fudge, Raisin & Chocolate Bags:

A festive snack mix of turkish delight fudge, raisins and chocolate chunks, available at Poundland.

Maynards Bassetts Jelly Babies Snowmen:

Jelly Babies have become snowmen! Available in festive colours, so basically red and green. How original. Available in Tesco, Asda, Wilko etc.

Haagen-Dazs Rum & Raisin:

A new variety of Haagen-Dazs just in time for the festive season. As a lover of the classic Rum & Raisin combo I really want to try this...I hope it'll be on special offer at some point! Spotted in Tesco.

Cadbury Layers of Joy Christmas Trifle:

A Christmas trifle with layers of white chocolate mousse, cinnamon sponge, Cadbury milk chocolate dessert topped with fresh cream...this sounds delicious! Spotted in Tesco.

San Pellegrino Clementine Winter Edition:

A Winter Edition of San Pellegrino sparkling juice, with clementine instead of orange. Spotted in Waitrose.

Ilchester Cheese Advent Calendar:

Another one of this years unique advent calendars, dedicated to cheese lovers. Because a cheese a day keeps the doctor away...or not?! Spotted in Asda.

Craft Beer Advent Calendar (Iceland):

Another unique advent calendar, this is one for those who like to start their days with a bit of booze! (No judgements here) Available in Iceland.

Bailey's Alcoholic Advent Calendar (Iceland):

For those who like some booze and cream, there's this Bailey's variety available in Iceland. You only get a bottle of mini Bailey's for Christmas Day; the other days you get chocolate.

Smirnoff Alcoholic Advent Calendar (Iceland):

Containing chocolates and a bottle of Vodka for Christmas day...because who doesn't love vodka for breakfast on Christmas day? Available in Iceland.

Merry Pringles Advent Calendar:

Confusingly, Pringles have opted for this 12 Days of Chrsitmas calendar, supposedly to save on costs. Spotted in B&M Bargains.

M&M's and Friends Advent Calendar:

For the chocolate lovers, this one contains mini bags of M&M's, as well as Snickers, Mars, Milky Way etc. Spotted in Tesco.

Cadbury Heroes Christmas Advent-ure:

Cadbury chocolates are pretty crap nowadays, but if you fancy a mini bar of Heroes every day then this is the calendar for you! Available in Tesco, Wilko etc.

Nestle Aero Festive Orange Sharing Bar:

Not a new bar at all, but it's made a comeback in the form of this Festive Orange Sharing Bar. Nice if you like orangey chocolates! Available in Tesco, Wilko etc.

Nestle Orange Smarties Tubes:

Another orangey chocolate making a welcome return are Orange Smarties in big tubes. Hurrah! They're also due to be given their own Orange Smarties Mini Eggs Easter Eggs next year, Double hurrah! Spotted in Asda.

Oykos Choc Orange (Asda Exclusive):

There's also this Oykos Greek Yoghurt with a choc orange layer, exclusive to Asda.

Galaxy Chocolate Orange Festive Cake Bars:

Another treat for chocolate orange lovers this year are these Galaxy Orange Festive Cake Bars. Spotted in Tesco.

Cadbury Roses Cake Bars Orange Creme:

If you prefer Cadbury chocolate there's also these Orange Creme Cadbury Roses cake bars. Available in Tesco.

Cadbury Roses Cake Bars Strawberry Dream:

If you're more a fan of strawberry flavours there's also these Strawberry Dream cake bars, with a layer of strawberry fondant. Available in Tesco.

Celebrations Cake Bar Selection Cracker:

This 11 pack contains all the various cake cars made by Mars, perfect for any "Celebration"! With Mars, Galaxy, Galaxy Caramel, Bounty, Snickers and Milky Way. Spotted in Tesco.

McVitie's Digestives White Chocolate Nibbles:

Limited Edition white chocolate coated nibbly biscuits - the perfect snack for the festive season!  Available at Tesco, Asda etc.

Haribo Sweet Medley Selection Box:

A selection pack containing Starmix, Jelly Babies, Goldbears, Tangfastics, and Super Mix. Perfect for any Haribo lover! Spotted in B&M Bargains.

Maltesers Teasers Gift Pack:

It may look like a giant Malteser, but don't be fooled, it's not! This is a gift pack containing mini Maltesers Teasers truffles. Spotted in Sainsbury's.

Maltesers Luxury Chocolates:

Seemingly a cross between Ferrero Rocher and Maltesers, these Luxury chocolates are available in Sainsbury's.

Ferrero Nutella with Festive Design:

A lot of products have been given a festive makeover, but probably the best is this cute snowman wrapper on Nutella jars. Because snowmen like Nutella for breakfast...even if Ferrero have changed the Nutella recipe recently! Available in Tesco.

Cadbury's Dairy Milk Classic Collection:

Cadbury's chocolate used to taste pretty good back in the day and they also had different wrapper designs. Now you can buy their classic bars in these selection boxes with the old designs, but not with the old chocolate recipe. Sadface. Available in Tesco, Wilko etc.

Green & Blacks Velvet Edition Dark Chocolate Pralines:

Mondelez continue their push of the Green & Blacks Velvet Edition range with these new Pralines, containing dark chocolate, praline and whole hazelnuts. Also available in Milk Chocolate. Spotted in Tesco.

Cadbury Dairy Milk Snowy Delight Pots of Joy:

Cadbury have brought back their limited edition Pots of Joy Snowy Delight, containing milk and white chocolate dessert. Available in Tesco.

Reese's Lovers Collection Box:

Peanut Butter lovers rejoice, there's a special selection box just for you this Christmas! Containing all your favourite Reese's products: Reese's Cups, Reese's White Cups, Reese's Dark Cups, Nutrageous, Reese's Sticks and Reese's Nut Bar. Sounds like heaven! Spotted in Bargain Buys/Poundworld Plus.

Thorntons Seasonal Selection:

The classic Thorntons selection includes a spiced fudge chocolate for the festive season, available in Tesco, The Co Op etc.

Haribo Giant Trees:

Some new Christmas gummies from Haribo, these Giant Trees are available from Asda.

Treat Factory Unicorn Lolly:

Unicorns are the biggets trend of 2017, and it's culimanted in these Unicorn Lollies. Facepalm. Spotted in Peacocks and Fenwicks.

Muller Corner Christmas Bakery Limited Edition:

Containing gingerbread biscuits with vanilla yogurts, these limited edition Muller Corners sounds nice. Spotted in Asda.

Muller Corner Winter Limited Edition:

With spiced plum yoghurts there's also this fruity festive limited edition from Muller. Spotted in Asda.

Tesco Finest Candy Cane Limited Edition Crisps:

In case you haven't already seen it, check out my review of these novel and quite weird seasonal crisps from Tesco.

Kellogg's Cornflakes Season's Greetings Edition:

The yearly festive design for Kellogg's Cornflakes boxes is this smiley, jolly Santa. He clearly must love his cornflakes! Spotted in Asda.

Choc on Choc White Chocolate Unicorn Slab:

Another Unicorn product, this one is made by Choc on Choc, available in Fenwicks.

Taylor's of Harrogate Limited Edition Christmas Blend:

A crisp Winter roast from Taylor's of Harrogate. Spotted in Home Bargains.

Food Connections Winter Spice Flapjack:

A vegan flapjack containing spiced mincemeat, available from Holland and Barrett. The perfect snack for doing some Chrimbo shopping!

Phew...that's a lot of festive food! But it doesn't stop there because supermarkets are doing lots of own-brand goodies which I'll be doing a separate blog post for in the coming days...stay tuned for that! And Happy Festive Snacks Hunting!