After attending a chocolate lock-in and armed with a £10 rebate to spend, I spotted some Easter Eggs on clearance. I couldn't pass on the chance of trying a Hotel Chocolat Hard-Boiled Easter Egg - or two.
The dark chocolate ginger egg caught my eye first, so I popped one in my basket.
Packaging
While other brands tend to hide their Easter Eggs in oversized cardboard boxes, Hotel Chocolat's decision here was to showcase it in clear plastic.
Aside from a brushed gold decoration on the top and bottom of the plastic outer box, the majority of the box was clear and see-through. That meant I could clearly see the condition and quality of the Easter egg I purchased. It also acted as a very visual indicator as to how well I treated it in getting it back home.
The plastic box had a softened corner on the front, where the Hotel Chocolat logo and product name sit.
The rear panels listed the ingredients and nutritional information for the 220g chocolate Easter egg in both English and Danish.
Hotel Chocolat Hollow Egg of Ginger Dark Chocolate ingredients:
Cocoa solids (cocoa mass, cocoa butter), sugar, emulsifiers (soya lecithin, sunflower lecithin), organic coconut flour, flavourings, organic caster sugar, ginger powder, essential oil (ginger), natural colour (carotene). Dark chocolate contains minimum 70% cocoa solids.
This British made Easter egg was suitable for vegetarians and boasted an alcohol-free recipe. Text on the box explained that Hotel Chocolat believed their egg was suitable for vegans too, with the caveat that it was produced in a factory that also handled milk.
From a chocolate blogger perspective, a transparent plastic package was a nightmare for product photography. Plus, we're in an age where plastic packaging is generally frowned upon. However, the plastic packaging used here was fabricated from 70% recycled materials and was 100% recyclable according to Hotel Chocolat.
Hotel Chocolat Hard-Boiled Ginger Easter Egg Review
As you can see from the minimal packaging, there was little standing in between me and the egg. And what a beautiful creation the Easter egg was.
A traditional Easter egg at heart, this egg featured a cool geometric design down one side, punctuated by three dots of orange colour.
The aroma of ginger hit me as soon as I opened the box. It was a spicy and fiery aroma that smelled like freshly cut ginger. Behind that aroma was a subtle fragrance from the dark chocolate, but it was hard to pinpoint any flavour notes from this as the ginger was so fierce.
At 220g, there was a good weight to the hollow Easter egg. It was heartbreaking smashing into something so pretty, but it had to be done. With a clean snap each time, my egg split easily into more than a dozen good-sized nibbles.
The thickness of the shell felt around twice a thick as the mass-produced eggs I purchased for my son in the supermarket. You certainly get a good helping here.
The fiery properties of the Indian ginger oil was far tamer on the palate. While it was the dominant flavour, there was barely any heat to it.
After the initial burst of fresh ginger flavour, the richness of the 70% dark chocolate rushed through, along with a gentle sweetness to raise the overall profile of the chocolate. However, no flavour from the dark chocolate itself came through, but it did add a slight bitterness and a depth to the overall taste of the Easter egg.
The ginger flavour lingered long into the aftertaste, along with a short-lived very slight warmth at the back of the throat. There was a very slight bitterness present too.
Overall, it was a pleasant Easter egg that delivered on its promise of a ginger taste. The ginger dominated, but masked the flavours of the dark chocolate. As such, if you love ginger but are not a dark chocolate fan, you will probably really like this egg for that.
Personally, I would have preferred to feel more of the heat of the ginger, or seen the addition of crystallised ginger decorations to add both texture and spice. While I'd love to taste more of the chocolate itself, I recognise the ginger would have to be tamed drastically to do this, compromising the overall quality of the egg. Right now, it's all about the ginger and nothing else, and I respect it for that.
If you love ginger, you'll love this egg.
The Hard-Boiled Ginger Egg is available to purchase around the Easter season.
Hotel Chocolat Hard-Boiled Ginger Easter Egg Review
RRP: £15.00 | Hotel Chocolat | Shop now
It's a sleek, good-looking dark chocolate Easter Egg. While punchy and vibrant, the fresh flavoured ginger oil masks the flavour of the chocolate but will undoubtedly be a hit with anyone who loves ginger chocolate.
Do you prefer fresh ginger oil or crystallised ginger in your chocolate? Leave a comment below with your thoughts.
