Minnesota eatery creates 100-pound chocolate egg for Easter

April 14 (UPI) -- A Minnesota restaurant is taking its annual Easter tradition to the next level with a massive and ornate chocolate egg weighing in at 100 pounds.

John Schlitz, owner of the Lake Elmo Inn, said pastry chef Joni Marty has been creating chocolate Easter eggs at the eatery for more than 30 years, and this year the owner asked her to top last year's 30-pound egg.

Schlitz said he found a mold to create a 100-pound chocolate egg and left the rest to Marty.

"There aren't too many chefs or pastry chefs that do real ornate chocolate wear," Schiltz told KARE-TV.

Marty said her regulars always look forward to the chocolate egg.

"People love it because it's just so big and it's different," she told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

She said it took three days to finish the egg, which features eight layers of white chocolate and bears 240 chocolate flowers attached to its outside. The egg was made in two halves and then fused together, leading Marty to create a dark chocolate border to hide the seam.

"I'm always nervous when I have to get started on it and it's a big project, so getting it done is nice and seeing the end product," Marty said.

The egg will remain on display at the restaurant through April 23, Schiltz said.