Behind the scenes of the viral M&S custard cream biscuity egg being made in Ireland
The M&S 'Outrageously Chocolately Custard Cream Biscuity Egg’.
With Easter fast approaching, many are finally looking to the decadent selections on shop shelves, but have you ever wondered how they got there?
With the Easter eggs becoming more and more elaborate, the got a behind-the-scenes look at how the M&S custard cream biscuity egg was made.
The viral ‘egg’ hit the mainstream last year, with its non-conventional rectangular shape imitating the popular biscuit within the M&S range. It piqued the interest of the masses and quickly shot to popularity.
Now in its second year on the shelves, it still remains a hot favourite among customers. The makers of the viral sensation? Ireland’s Lir Chocolates, tucked away in Johnstown, Navan, Co Meath.
Lir Chocolates was first established in 1987 by Connie Doody and Mary White. Originally operating out of Ms Doody’s kitchen, the company has expanded and is now owned by Zertis, a German-based company, and employs upwards of 250 staff at peak production times.
Lir Chocolates has been working with M&S since 2006 and has developed a close partnership with the multinational over the past two decades.
Usually, a product takes 18 months to reach the shelves from conception, creation and trialing and production.
“This [custard cream egg] took us two years to devise this egg,” said director of new product development at Lir Chocolates Mary O’Rourke.
The first thoughts of doubling up on layers first crossed the Lir Chocolates team in 2018, its first layered product hitting shelves by 2019, and now the concept has grown, with several of the M&S eggs offered in the Easter range featuring extra layers and flavours.
“We thrive on pushing boundaries,” said innovation controller at Lir Chocolates Nadine Rozario, with the innovation team having to formulate a way with the factory to create each piece while also balancing the science with technique to create each egg to the same standard every time.
The ‘Outrageously Chocolately Custard Cream Biscuity Egg’ was inspired by the M&S chocolate-covered custard creams, and features a hollow milk chocolate shell with biscuit pieces and filled with a white chocolate custard truffle as the second layer coating the inside of the ‘egg’.
“We pride ourselves on the quality and the taste of our chocolates. If it's not right, it doesn’t go anywhere,” Ms O’Rourke explained, with chocolates made in-house and handcrafted, with daily taste panels of products ensuring a high standard of chocolate leaves the factory floor each time.
The egg-making process starts with melted Belgian chocolate, which is tempered and poured into individual moulds at 28C. Biscuit pieces are added to the pools of chocolate and the moulds are sealed, before being vibrated and turned by hand to ensure the whole mould is mixed and coated evenly.
The moulds are then attached to a spinner and spun to allow the chocolate to set. The chocolate for this specific product is spun for 5 to 6 minutes, cooling the chocolate to roughly 17°C – 18°C before being placed onto a conveyor belt.
The tempering of the chocolate allows for easier removal from moulds once cooled, and also creates the satisfying snap and shine to the chocolate.
The egg is brought to a dispenser, and the inner layer is administered into the cool shell before being sealed and placed back on the spinner for another cycle to spread and set the white chocolate custard layer lining the hollow milk chocolate shell.
From there, the egg is packaged and shipped off to M&S stores countrywide and beyond to be snagged by customers.
