La maison du Chocolat

A colourful Easter

By Justine FRETIGNE
30/03/2015

Nearly Easter! Once again this year, London's chocolatiers and pastry chefs have created some incredible recipes to meet your highest expectations. The traditional chocolate egg with a bow seems to have disappeared and making way for sardines, meringues, short breads and even chocolate flying geese... Chocolate is sculpted, flavours are harmonised, animals multiply and recipes proliferate. London artisans are about to mesmerise you with their chocolates, pralines, nougatines and sugared almonds... are you strong enough to resist temptation?

Chocolate, caramel, cherry, coffee and praline coating at Aux Merveilleux

The Aux Merveilleux shop in South Kensington is celebrating its second birthday! Frédéric Vaucamps's creations are perfect for Easter, so treat yourself. It might be very hard for you to choose between whipped cream coated meringues, brioches and waffles though...

For Easter, "Merveilleux" and "Incroyables" are turning into gourmet nests, garnished with small chocolate eggs... The perfect cake to be shared with all the family! 

Succomb to the temptation of miniature meringues and brighten the party up with "Magnifiques", "Impensables" and "Excentriques". Whether you prefer black chocolate, caramel or cherry flavour, there is something for everyone. Our personal favourite: the "Incroyable", coated with speculoos whipped cream and white chocolate slivers.  

There are six kinds of miniature Merveilleux

South Ken's Aux Merveilleux shop

As soon as one enters the Aux Merveilleux shop in London, one is immediately overwhelmed by the trademark decor: pink marble, somptuous chandeliers and Bourgeois frescos telling history of the "Merveilleuses" and "Incroyables" during the French Revolution. Stop to admire the irresistible ballet of little meringues, covered with whipped cream and rolled in chocolate shavings and crystallised meringue. If you cannot resist, why not sit down and have one there and then with a tea or a coffee? 

Aux Merveilleux shops in London:

• 88 Old Brompton Road, SW7 3LQ London - 020.7581.0226 - 
  southken@auxmerveilleux.fr - Open everyday from 8am to 7:30pm

• 55 Northcote Road, SW11 1NP London - 020.7223.0771 -
  clapham@auxmerveilleux.fr - Open from Monday to Saturday from 8am to 7:30pm and on Sunday from 8:30am to 7:30pm

Aux Merveilleux

Eggs, hens, rabbits, bells and sardines at Jeff de Bruges

This year, Jeff de Bruges surprise us once again with the diversity of their Easter treats. From the chocolate lollipop to the hamper via all sizes of hens, rabbits and ducks, everyone will find the perfect match! 

Chocolate animals by Jeff de Bruges

The little ones will probably fall for the adorable black, milk and white chocolate animals. We loved them. The most audacious will go fishing and will come back home with buckets full sardines. The most creative will prefer giving a personalised chocolate egg, on which they will write messages. Last but not least, those with the sweetest tooth will arrange their own sweet box or hamper, which they will fill with a multicoloured assortment of chocolate eggs and figurines. 

Jeff de Bruges's chocolate sardines

Jeff de Bruges are once again demonstrating their innovative creativity and aim to surprise with a multiplicity of funny, gourmet and unusual ideas. Since 1986, the French chocolatier Philippe Jambon, who now owns 500 boutiques worldwide, plays the hand of excellence and savoir-faire. His numerous recipes perfectly associate two complementary traditions of chocolate: the Belgian gourmandise and the French "cocoa chic".

Your mouth is watering? Wait no longer: all those marvels are waiting for you on Thurloe Street. 

• Jeff de Bruges - 30 Thurloe Street, SW72LT London - 020.7225.0060

Geese, eggs, goggles and suitcases at La Maison du chocolat

Chocolate aviator egg

You might become speechless when looking at Nicolas Cloiseau's creations. This chocolate master, who was awarded the prize of Best FrenchChocolate Artisan in 2007, is revisiting Easter and invites you for an "Easter halt" with aviator geese... The result is simply mind-blowing! Nicolas Cloiseau definitely enjoys perfection. His hand-crafted creations are impressively precise. This year, he decided to focus on the topics of travelling and aviation, and offers a range of tricolour chocolate eggs and geese. Seeing the motifs covering the suitcases and the cutting of the scarves, one could easily forget they are made of chocolate.

Please note that the chocolate characters and suitcases are filled with pralined crepes and small eggs, stuffed with hazelnut or almond praline. 

Nicolas Cloiseau's Easter creations

Such an experience comes at a price, but one cannot argue with the quality of the work achieved. And for smaller budhets, La Maison du Chocolat also offers a range of more traditional chocolates: boxes, assortments and chocolate characters. 

Watch the video:

La Maison du Chocolat shops in London:

• Piccadilly - 46 Piccadilly,
W1J 0DS London - 020.7287.8500

• Harrods - 87-135 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge,
 SW1X 7XL London - 020.7730.1234

• Selfridges & Co, 400 Oxford Street,
W1A 1AB London

Melon or tea mousse at Maison Blanc

Fabergé egg

At Maison Blanc, traditional recipes meet unusual flavours. In the shop, you will be able to enjoy hot cross buns, carrot cakes and small bags of eggs, but also melon mousse or Matcha tea mousse cakes. Be prepared to surprise your senses. Maison Blanc is also revisiting great classics, such as the Fabergé egg, now filled with fudge. The whole family will love the large size Russian Charlotte and berry and chocolate pies, apart from the youngest, who might prefer the brooding hen or the adorable hatching chick. 

Maison Blanc shops in London:

• Chiswick - 26-28 Turnham Green Terrace, W4 1QP, London - 020.8995.7220

• Fulham Road - 303 Fulham Road, SW10 9QH, London - 020.7795.2663

• Hampstead - 76 High Street, NW3 1QX, London - 020.7443.9722

• Holland Park - 102 Holland Park Avenue, W11 4UA, London - 020.7221.2494

• Muswell Hill - 61 Muswell Hill Broadway, N10 3HA, London - 020.8883.7520

• St John’s Wood - 37 St John’s Wood High St, NW8 7NJ, London - 020.7586.1982

Fishes and rabbits at Poilâne

Rabbit biscuits by Poilâne

Poilâne, a family baker for almost a century, is offering rabbit-shaped shortbread biscuits for Easter.

- Rabbits: from 2 to 30 April, £3.80 the 100g bag (9 rabbits)

Two Poilâne shops in London:

• Chelsea - 39 Cadogan Gardens, SW3 2TB 
London - 020.3263.6019 - Open from Monday to Friday from 8am to 8:30pm and on Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 6:30pm. 

• Belgravia - 46 Elizabeth Street, SW1W 9PA 
London - 020.7808.4910 - Open from Monday to Friday, from 7am to 7pm and on Sunday from 7am to 3:30pm.