Cadbury unveils 'world's largest' Creme Egg

Foiled again? Not quite - the wrapping has been recreated in paint, although everything else is real-deal chocolate

Chocolatiers have unveiled what they say is the world's largest Cadbury Creme Egg.

Funny foodstuffs had seemed to reach their zenith as recently as Friday, when the King had a blow on a carrot whistle.

But not to be outdone, Cadbury has since raised the stakes with its oval ambition.

Just how big, though, is the colossal confectionery? Well, let's just say you might bite off more than you can chew, and definitely wouldn't want to drop it on your foot. Cadbury proudly states it to be as tall as an emperor penguin, with the poundage of a newborn horse - or, in old money, 3ft (90cm) and 7st 1lbs (45kg).

And what's more, not a bit of the brown behemoth - on display at Birmingham tourist attraction Cadbury World - is fake. It's real chocolate, with real gooey fondant filling and even has the signature touch of the engraved twinkle.

The only bit of the Easter treat that isn't quite legit is the wrapping. It's actually a painted veneer, presumably because there was not a piece of foil large enough, lest a run on crinkly silver lead to stale sarnies.

Terry Collins, who made the egg with fellow chocolatier Dawn Jenks, said nobody "gets to eat the egg unfortunately". Although asked whether not even he got to have a little nibble, he confessed to BBC Radio 5 Live: "I was tempted during creation, I won't lie."

He said: "Here at Cadbury World we normally do creations for each season and we were just thinking 'what better way to celebrate Easter than something as iconic as a Creme Egg?' and we figured 'we've got to go [as] massive as we can with it'."

The pair crafted it by hand over two-and-a-half days.

The Easter creation is roughly the height of an emperor penguin, Cadbury says

Asked why it was so heavy, Mr Collins said: "That would be just purely down to the amount of chocolate we used and fondant.

"To actually make the egg we've had to have a mould, which we've got two sides of, and then we have to build up the chocolate by hand to make sure that the egg actually stays intact."

Ms Jenks said: "We challenged ourselves to create something unique and memorable this Easter.

"Replicating the much-loved Cadbury Creme Egg on an extra-large scale was an ambitious project, and it has been so rewarding to see the vision brought to life."

The egg is on display at Cadbury World's chocolate-making zone until 27 April.