Wednesday 27 March 2024

Winners include Aldi’s hot cross buns, Asda’s cook in the bag lamb, and Sainsbury’s giant honeycomb Easter egg.

Over 100 products from 10 national supermarkets were blind-tasted by an expert panel of judges over two days.

With the Easter long weekend fast approaching, the experts at Good Food have revealed the top supermarket Easter treats, from classic milk chocolate eggs, to indulgent desserts and the all-important main course.

The Good Food expert judging panel taste blind-tasted more than 100s of different products including Easter eggs, hot cross buns, Easter desserts and mains, from 10 national supermarkets to arrive at the definitive list of top buys for Easter this year.

The products, as always, were put through the rigorous Good Food testing process, with all packaging removed before presenting to the judges, and comments and a score out of 10 submitted for each product via anonymous online judging forms. The entire judging process was overseen by an independent adjudicator.

Lulu Grimes, Managing Editor, Good Food, said: “Every year the Good Food Supermarket Taste Test Awards prove that you can eat well, and save time in the kitchen at Easter without spending a huge amount. The best Easter treats we found were not always the most expensive, and there’s a lot of creativity with flavour combinations. Or you can use some of the winners to make one of our thoroughly-tested Good Food recipes, social media is loving our Hot cross bun bacon butties!”

For the full results including Highly Commended, go to https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/review/bbc-good-food-easter-taste-awards

Winners of the Good Food Easter Supermarket Taste Test Awards:

Best milk chocolate egg
Winner: Sainsbury’s Belgian Honeycomb Corn Crunch Giant Easter Egg (£8) – Judges loved the unique flavour of this luxurious egg. Aiming to recreate the flavour of a nostalgic cornflake cake, this has a moreish balance of sweet-salty flavour. The chocolate is studded with nuggets of honeycomb and crunchy roasted corn.

Best dark chocolate egg
Winner: Morrisons The Best Dark Chocolate Himalayan Sea Salt Easter Egg (£5) – A good dark chocolate for an Easter egg, this has a really smooth texture, subtle balanced bitterness and hint of salt.

Best white chocolate egg
Winner: Waitrose The Cracking Pistachio (£14)  – Judges loved the unique design of this egg, shaped to look like a giant pistachio nut. The winning element is the ultra creamy blonde chocolate ‘shell’ which was incredibly moreish – but it is worth noting that the green pistachio inner has quite a weak pistachio flavour despite the vibrant colour.

Best vegan egg
Winner: Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Free From Extra Thick Rocky Road Easter Egg (£8) This chocolate has a good thickness, studded with crunchy biscuit pieces and fluffy marshmallows to add interest. The chocolate is sweet and has a simple ridged design on the outside.

Best children’s egg
Joint winner: by Sainsbury’s Choc-a-lot Bunny Box (£6.50) This box of goodies contains everything you need to throw an Easter egg hunt – large and small eggs, plus chocolate lollipops too. The box is a fun concept with games on the packaging and a guide to making an Easter bunny costume from the box too.

Joint winner: ASDA Belgian White Chocolate Charli the Chick (£4.40) Kids will love this sweet white chocolate egg with a cute chick design. The white chocolate is impressive quality – rich, creamy and sweet. A great gift.

Best chocolate bunny
Joint winner: M&S Nibbles the Bunny (£3) This adorable design is sure to be popular with children – almost too cute to eat! The chocolate tastes a little bit darker than some others we tested, for a touch more depth of flavour.

Joint winner: Aldi Specially Selected Milk Hazelnut Bunny (£1.69) Easter bunnies aren’t just for kids. This hazelnut bunny has a more grown-up flavour, with lots of crunchy nuts throughout and smooth chocolate on a simplistic design.

Best miniature eggs
Winner: M&S Collection Swiss Mini Eggs (£3.50) These smart foil-wrapped milk chocolate eggs have a soft hazelnut centre, for a distinctly grown up treat.

Hot Cross Buns
Best classic hot cross buns
Winner: Aldi Specially Selected hot cross buns (£1.25) These attractive hot cross buns have a shiny glaze and generous amount of fruit dispersed throughout. The raisins are plump and the dough has good squishy texture.

Best alternative hot cross buns
Winner: Waitrose Belgian chocolate hot cross buns (£2) These have a rich chocolate flavour with big chocolate chips – a good twist on a classic hot cross bun that sweet tooths will enjoy.

Best savoury hot cross buns
Winner: M&S Extremely Cheesy hot cross buns (£2, 4-pack) The cheese flavour of these buns appealed to all judges, with good texture to the bread and slight chew. One of these buns would make an extremely decadent grilled cheese sandwich.

Best Easter dessert
Joint winner: Aldi Specially Selected banoffee hot cross bun pudding (£3.99) Judges loved this comforting pud: crispy top, squidgy custardy centre and lots of fruit and spice from the hot cross buns. It is very indulgent and sweet.

Joint winner: M&S Easter Lamb Meets Colin the Caterpillar (£12) Who doesn’t love a Colin the Caterpillar cake? For this Easter makeover, you get two signature chocolatey cakes as Colin meets a lamb. It’s a fun Easter centrepiece that would make a great dessert if you’ve got lots of kids to feed over the Easter weekend.

Best simnel cake
Winner: Waitrose Easter simnel cake (£13) This classic simnel cake has a pretty design and lovely texture. The cake is generously spiced and the marzipan gives good depth of almond flavour.

Best Easter lunch centrepiece (meat/fish)
Joint winner: Asda Succulent cook in the bag lamb shoulder – If you want lamb at Easter, this is a super-easy pick. The ‘cook in the bag’ method keeps the meat really juicy, it is seasoned well and judges enjoyed the level of herbiness.

Joint winner: Waitrose No.1 Lamb Leg with Rosemary  (£34.20) – If you’ve got more people to feed at Easter, this Waitrose lamb leg is a great way to feed a crowd. We were impressed by how easy it was to cook and carve, whilst the herbs on top give the juicy meat flavour.