Is this the best Easter egg ever?
Egg designed in Hinckley is solid chocolate
CHOCOHOLICS everywhere will be giving thanks this Easter for an edible egg that bucks the trend.
From a classified location close to Hinckley town centre, renowned illustrator Sarah J Coleman - better known as Inkymole - has been putting her signature painterly touches to boxes of unfeasibly chunky Solid Eggs.
Tipping the scales at a hefty 540g and boasting a whopping 2,500 each, the eggs have been created to Sarah’s specification in branded moulds by expert chocolatiers using some of the finest Columbian cocoa.
There are jaw-cracking solid dark (70% cocoa) and milk options, along with thick-skinned praline and even a protein-packed Whole Earth peanut butter version, some brushed with edible gold dust for extra lustre.
With minimal, quality ingredients and suitable for vegans, they should please the most fastidious eater, but if that’s not enough, there is also an allergen-free option, suitable for coeliacs and people with gluten intolerance.
What makes them egg-stra special though is Sarah’s personal touch.
Every egg is wrapped in branded paper and popped in a kraft box printed with the Solid Egg logo and lots of information before each one is hand-finished with an inky flourish and given a unique edition number.
The precise amount of eggs being produced is a trade secret but when they’re gone, they’re gone.
At £22 per egg - plus £5 post and packing if required - each is the edible equivalent of a Faberge and not the kind of treat to be hiding for the kiddies.
What you get is a visual and gastronomic delight that will last far longer than the air-filled shells that have become synonymous with the season.
Former John Cleveland College student Sarah, 46, is as passionate about her edible eggs as she is about the illustrious commissions she receives for her distinctive artwork.
Her cover for the 50th anniversary edition of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird was approved by the author herself.
She said: “We’ve always done lots of side projects, things we want to explore, and this sprang from a passing comment five years ago remembering how disappointing it was to bite into an Easter egg and find it hollow.”
The results have been snapped up greedily since the range was launched in 2012, with customers this year including Empire Fitness in Hinckley which has ordered a batch for gym regulars looking to bulk.
To complete the joy - and to provide chocolatey cheer for the rest of the year - Hinckley-based Campus Screen Print Ltd has produced some InkyMole illustrated SolidEgg tea-towels, cunningly coloured to hide genuine cocoa stains.
They and the eggs are all available online at solidegg.co.uk or from shop.inkymole.com where arrangements can be made to collect in person if required.
Shoppers in Leicester will also find them in Coco Amore on Silver Street and in the High Cross centre.