Crème De La Crème Eggs (Artisan Du Chocolat, Selfridges) [By @Cinabar]

Easter is becoming more and more predominant in terms of stock in shops, eggs are everywhere and other themed goodies are appearing too. Wondering around Selfridge's food hall you feel like you have been transported to some type of Easter Land, as there are just some many impressive seasonal goodies, from giant eggs to almost life size chocolate chickens. In my favourite corner of Selfridges sits the Artisan Du Chocolate stand, with its refreshing range of intriguing fresh chocolates. I was on a mission last Saturday looking for these Crème De La Crème Eggs, but I couldn’t see them and had to ask. I was actually standing right next to them, but I hadn’t spotted them as I was looking for something egg shaped and in their layers of wrappers had dismissed these as being giant chocolate sweets (like the giant Quality Street chocolates available at Christmas time).
Inside the pretty bag, are two varieties of Crème De La Crème Eggs, with three dark and three milk chocolate ones. The eggs themselves aren’t a perfect egg shape once they have been opened. Each egg has a patch of flat surface on its base which stops it rolling and directly above this there is a slight dimple in the chocolate on the top. I cut both types of the egg in half to have a sneaky peak at the contents. Both eggs had a lovely thick chocolate shell, the egg white in each consisted of a vanilla fondant and the yolk was a fruity one.


I decided to try the dark egg first, and bit in. The chocolate released a rich cocoa flavour, balanced by the smooth, but wet creamy filling. The flavour was predominantly vanilla, with a hint of fruitiness from the yolk. The yolk did have an orange taste, but it wasn’t very strong. As a whole, the mix of textures from the smooth shell cracking, and its wet truffle made for a pleasant mix of contrasts and the sweet filling made it an enjoyable egg.
The milk chocolate egg had a similar appearance, as the dark, with a similar ratio of yolk and white fondant within. What was amazing though was the flavour sensation within this egg. The yolk had a wonderful golden mango taste, sweet, and fresh and it added a lovely tropical twist. The creaminess from the vanilla shone too, and with the sweet milk chocolate it was just the kind of treat that made you wish you had another one (lucky for me I bought a bag). ;-) It is so nice to see mango getting centre stage in such a lovely chocolate egg, and proving that it can shine perfectly with the traditional flavours.
The milk chocolate egg was truly the crème de la crème, with its flavour balance it is absolutely perfect. All the ingredients work together and the chocolate and fruit tastes just melt in the mouth. If you are looking for a different Easter gift, make sure you check out Artisan Du Chocolat for something a bit special too.

By Cinabar