You can keep your three for €10 Nestles, when it comes to Easter Eggs we're going hard or going home. Yes some of these might seem like a monumental cost for a chunk of chocolate, but think of the work that's gone into creating each perfect piece, the moulding, the filling, the hand-painting. Plus we have no upper limit when it comes to quality chocolate. Here's what we're hoping the Easter bunny leaves behind this year.
Bon Chocolatiers
The ATF team are majorly crushing on Bon Chocolatiers at the moment (run out of Athlone by young couple Georgia Quealy and Daniel Linehan), with each bite of their bonbons eliciting gasps and sighs and "why doesn't all chocolate taste like this?", so top of our must haves are their layered, OTT in all the right ways Easter Eggs. Choose from Pretzel crunch filled with caramel crunch truffles; Sweet and Salty filled with salted caramel, crunchy caramel and malt biscuit pieces; or Blackberry and vanilla filled with blackberry caramel and dark chocolate crunch, among others. Eggs are €43 - €50, and mini filled ones are €11. Check them out here.
If you needed any more convincing about Bon Chocolatiers, feast your eyes on this egg break video.
Temptation Patisserie
An Irish chocolatier we haven't tried yet but plan to, Temptation Pâtisserie was set up by twin sisters, Kate & Ruth O’Hara, from Laois in 2021. They're self-taught chocolatiers, and each of their hand-painted bonbons takes three days to make. Their Easter eggs are €45 and come in sea salt caramel; hazelnut and almond praline; banoffee; and salted pistachio, and they also do mini eggs (€4) and mini bunnies (€3.50) if you want to bulk up your order.
Bakeology
Argentinean bakery and café Bakeology in Dublin 8 is doing something a bit different, with their cake and dulce de leche filled eggs. Choose from chocotorta (thin chocolate biscuits), marroc (a layered chocolate cake), brownie or alfajor, and orders can be collected on Friday 7th, Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th. A medium egg serving two is €15, and a big serving three or four is €20. Order by sending them a DM on Instagram.
Hazel Mountain Chocolate
Hazel Mountain's Wild Atlantic Easter egg (€29.50) is one of the most beautiful on the market, and there's a choice between milk and dark (and the dark is very, very dark). Controversially we think their salted caramel Easter bunnies (€15.95) are even more delicious, so don't forget to add on a box. Shop the range here.
Bean & Goose
Bean & Goose's chocolate hares and geese (€22.50) are synonymous with Easter at this point, but this year we've also spotted milk and dark sea salt caramel goose eggs in the range (€19.50). See their Easter collection here, and you'll also find them in Lotts & Co.
Koko Kinsale
Koko is one of Cork's most loved chocolatiers, with their picture perfect chocolate shop a must visit when in Kinsale. Their hand-painted, milk, dark and white chocolate shells (€20 - €28) are on the simpler side of Easter options, but creme eggs, bunnies, and eggs in cups can be added on too. See Koko's range here.
Grá Chocolates
Another eye-catching option, Grá Chocolates' Easter eggs are super-sized versions of their truffles, in flavours including Lil' Bit Salty, Nuts About You, and Bee My Honey (€45). The hand-painted, thick chocolate shells are filled with caramel, nuts, praline and honeycomb, or there's a more basic range filled with truffles for €25. Check them out here.
Sugar Loaf Bakery
Sugar Loaf's spoonable Easter Eggs are more dessert than chocolate, with options including Kinder Bueno, Strawberry Bombom, and Lemon Pie.. They're priced at €25 - €30, and they're also doing truffled shells for €20. You can order everything for collection online here from their Dorset Street or Pearse Street locations.
Santo Eggs @ Sfuso
Chef and baker Domenico Santo's Easter eggs are sold exclusively through 'Italian Gastronomia' Sfuso in the Italian quarter. The handmade eggs come in three flavours - 66% Mexican chocolate; Zephyr white chocolate and Sicilian pistachio; and Zephyr caramel chocolate and hazelnut, and are priced at €30-€35. Order online for collection only.
The Proper Chocolate Company
Dublin's bean-to-bar chocolate company Proper Chocolate's eggs come in three options this year - milk chocolate and salted caramel (which they've nicknamed the giraffe); dark chocolate with Achill Island sea salt; and a speckled egg with salted caramel and cocoa nibs. They're €22.50 which feels like a good price in comparison to some others, and can be delivered nationwide or collected from their stand at the Honest2Goodness Market in Glasnevin on Saturdays. Shop here.
Lorge Chocolatiers
Kerry chocolatier Lorge is a longtime favourite of ours, and their eggs come filled with the truffles we find ourselves eating year round. You can choose from small, medium or large, hollow or filled, and prices range from €9.70 for a small hollow to €40.70 for a large filled. Shop here.
Skellig's Chocolate
Irish chocolatier Skellig's are getting a bit of flack since being bought by Press Up, but their filled, solid eggs were one of our highlights of 2022, and we can't see them having changed much. Small eggs start at €13, while the filled ones are €30.50, and they can be bought online or from plenty of good retailers like Sheridan's (whose concessions in Dunnes usually have them too).
Have we missed any great Easter eggs? Let us know by emailing info@allthefood.ie.
