Demarquette Hot Cross Easter Eggs These delightful Hot Cross Easter Eggs from Demarquette are bright, cheerful and beautifully presented. Made of 71.1% CacaoLux dark chocolate, each mini chocolate egg is filled with caramel flavoured sea salt, fresh Devon strawberry or passionfruit. This box is a lovely gift idea but they're so delicious we recommend you hold onto them yourself (020–7460 3348; www.demarquette.co.uk)
Fortnum & Mason Colossal Egg, £90
This imaginative Russian Doll-inspired egg is comprised of five different flavoured eggs and weighs an impressive 1.4kg. Indulge yourself with a milk chocolate caramel, chocolate orange, chai, rose and violet, and zesty Mitcham mint, all in just one egg. (020–7734 8040; www.fortnumandmason.com)
Fortnum & Mason Sea Salted Caramel Egg, £37.50 If you're looking for an egg that's so much more than chocolate, than this offering from Fortnum & Mason is the one for you. This handmade chocolate egg is created in antique silver moulds and filled with truffles made from milk and dark chocolate with caramel centres. It is also worth noting that the crystals of fine sea salt are from the French island of Noirmoutier. As I said, so much more than chocolate... (020–7734 8040; www.fortnumandmason.com)
Bettys Chocolatier's Egg 2015, £80 The Country Life office went wild for this absolutely stunning large Grand Cru Swiss dark chocolate egg. Beautifully decorated with hand-piped roses, the cut outs allow a glimpse at the hand-decorated milk chocolate egg inside. A chocolate masterpiece. (0800 456 1919; www.bettys.co.uk)
Bettys Champagne Truffle Eggs, £11.50 The perfect gift for any Easter dinner party or gathering, these eggs are all individually hand decorated with spring flowers. This includes a selection of dark, milk and white Swiss chocolate eggs with a rich Champagne truffle filling. (0800 456 1919; www.bettys.co.uk)
Prestat Red Velvet Egg This stunning Easter egg pays homage to the original 1920's Waldorf-Astoria recipe with a milk chocolate egg lined with creamy white chocolate icing. Once you've cracked through that you'll find award-winning Red Velvet truffles with crushed raspberries and soft velvet icing filling. Prestat is not just one of our favourites because of their delicious products, we are madly in love with their presentation. You'll want to keep the box long after you've gobbled its contents. (020–7494 3372; www.prestat.co.uk)
Credit: Alamy Stock Photo
Curious Questions: Why do we eat hot cross buns at Easter?
Annunciata Elwes traces the curious history of the hot cross bun in Britain.
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'I have lost a treasure, such a sister, such a friend as never can have been surpassed': Inside Jane Austen's Winchester home, the house where she penned her final words and drew her final breathJane Austen spent the last days of her life in rented lodgings in Winchester, Hampshire. Adam Rattray describes the remarkable recent discoveries made about the house in which she died.
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An utterly charming island home in Scotland with gardens so beautiful they made the cover of Country LifeAn Cala on the Isle of Seil has a fascinating history that is only enhanced by its amazing setting.
