March 1st: EASTER 2009 Mini Eggs Superpost Part 1

You may have noticed that most of these products have been in the shops for over a month now, it seems that Easter starts earlier and earlier each year. Well since January I have been sampling the best that the UK market has to offer for Easter 2009. Having covered most of the standard egg varieties in last years Easter reviews (see HERE), I decided to have a look at the 'Mini Eggs' part of the market. Below are some short, concise reviews on many of the market offerings:

Terry's Chocolate Orange Mini Eggs: 

Kcal 131 Fat 7.3g Fat(sats) 4.3 Carbs 14.5g (per 3 mini eggs)

I am a big fan of Terry's Chocolate Orange so I was looking forward to trying the 'Mini Egg' format. In regards to presentation I thought they would have been a bit more suited to not actually going for the 'egg' shape, but sticking with the standard orange fruit shape. Due to the quite loose foil wrappers the the pieces did seem to lack a bit of freshness - this was evident by the weaker aroma and slightly scuffed surfaces. 

These were by far the biggest of the 'mini eggs' in the selection I reviewed. I must say I enjoyed the slight distinction that could be made between the smoother outer milk chocolate, and the ever so slightly rougher inner centre. If there can be one criticism of Terry's Chocolate Orange it can be said that at it can be a bit on the sweet side, these eggs proved a nice solution as they delivered exactly the same product just in a short sharper fashion. 

Overall no surprises that these were a nice enough milk chocolate orange option. Very fruity, very sweet but as minor criticism I would have like to have seen a bit more effort in regards to their presentation, which just seemed a bit generic for the normally more distinct Terry's brand.

7.8 out of 10 

Smarties Mini Eggs:

Kcal 245 Fat 10.2g Fat(sats) 6.4g Carbs 36.3g (per 50.0g)

These were a little different from the rest of the 'Mini Eggs' reviewed here, as these were more along the lines of your Cadbury Mini Eggs i.e. sugar coated milk chocolate rather than milk chocolate with fillings. I liked the presentation of the pieces - they came in all the usual Smarties colours which made for a nice looking product. I must also pass comment on the aroma that was released when I opened the bag - which was one that reminded me of chocolate milk ... very nice indeed. 

These reminded me hugely of the now non-existant Giant Smarties, in that they basically included a whole lot more chocolate in proportion with the sugar coated shells. In essence this meant that the pleasant crunchy texture from the coating was present, though the taste was far more lasting as it was more cocoa led then sugar. 

Overall I must say I actually prefer these to standard Smarties. Although the chocolate was also quite sweet with its dried milk like taste, the greater impetuous placed on the inner chocolate rather than the sugar coated shells was favourable in my opinion. I enjoyed these far more than the Cadbury Mini Eggs I reviewed last year.

8.3 out of 10

Maltesers & Friends Mini Eggs:

Kcal 530 Fat 29.9g Fat(sats) 17.1g Carbs 58.4g (per 100.0g)

Well I had never seen these before! Quite why Mars went for the Maltesers & Friends as the branding I do not know!? Maybe they view Maltesers as their strongest brand? Anyway this selection included Maltesers (duh!), Mars, Galaxy and Milky Way variants, each of which were nicely presented in their own individually branded wrappers.

For me this was a selection that had its highs and lows. The lows came from the Galaxy egg which although delivered a nice solid milk chocolate didn't have the desired truffle or caramel filling. Also I can't say I cared much for the Malteser piece as the honeycomb was very sparse, and I just think that one bigger honeycomb centre would have been a better option. The Milky Way and Mars pieces however were both fantastic. The Milky Way egg had a clear distinction in its outer milk chocolate and creamier dairy filling - it was a delightful combination. Although the Mars egg lacked nougat the caramel and truffle filling was definitely my favourite out the bunch.

Overall despite this selection still being really rather good I did feel it could have been done ever so slightly better with a few adaptations. I would have loved to have seen a Galaxy Truffle egg (like in Celebrations!), also I think a Bounty variant would have gone down well. Saying that, this is still a highly enjoyable range of mini eggs and one that I would recommend. 

8.5 out of 10

Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramel Mini Eggs:

Kcal 55 Fat 2.8g Carbs 6.5g (per mini egg)

The standard Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramel still holds number two spot on the ChocolateMission leader board and for good reason. These mini eggs came in fantastic looking foil wrappers, and as you can see above looked absolutely terrific when cross-sectioned with the golden caramel oozing out temptingly.

Remembering back to my review of the standard egg size I remember I had the slight criticism that the caramel overwhelmed the chocolate a bit ... well these mini eggs settled that problem. As you can see above the outer milk chocolate was deliciously creamy and melted absolutely divinely in the mouth. The caramel was as ever silky soft in its texture and wonderfully balanced in its sweet, burnt flavours. 

Overall if someone offered me these or a standard bar I would still choose the standard bar every time, as I just think it is absolutely spot on its delivery of the combination. As far as Easter products go though these are a fantastic product and are up there with there with the best. For caramel and milk chocolate combinations you never need look further than the Dairy Milk or

Galaxy products ... in a word AWESOME!

8.8 out of 10

Cadbury Creme Egg Minis:

Kcal 50 Fat 1.9g Fat(sats) 1.2g Carbs 7.8g (per mini egg)

The Cadbury Creme Egg is no doubt a superb product, and I always manage to get through my fair share each Easter. Before trying these though I must admit I had never tried them in mini egg variety. These incorporated the fantastically colourful Creme Egg theme, with both the packaging and eggs themselves cutting a distinct and appetising look. 

Critics of the standard Creme Egg often say that the abundance of the fondant can become quite sickening and overly dominant in its sweetness, well those critics might want to give these a go as I thought these mini eggs were absolutely fantastic. The creamy dairy milk chocolate had an even greater presence in the taste, which meant that the fondant centre wasn't quite as dominant as usual. The eggs were still very sweet, but this was magnificently managed in the mini egg format - a few of these at a time were highly satisfying.

Overall if I am honest these didn't quite deliver the same grand experience you get with the standard sized egg, but I must admit the sweet nature of the product was fantastically suited to the smaller format. Although these smaller eggs are not quite as iconic as the standard sized Creme Egg, I would strongly recommend digging into a pack of these this Easter ... another Cadbury cracker.

8.8 out of 10 

As you can see from above there are some great 'Mini Egg' options available this Easter. My own personal picks would be the Cadbury's products, though all of the above will give great enjoyment. You simply just got to love Easter :D .... more Easter products coming soon!