ONCE upon a time Russian Tsars treated their wives and mothers to the most extravagant of Easter gifts - a Fabergé egg.

This year a Brighton chocolatier has paid homage to the flamboyantly bejewelled 19th century trinkets by producing giant, hand-sculpted chocolate eggs worth £25,000 for three.

Featuring newly-hatched dragons and unicorns, one even celebrates Brighton's palace the Royal Pavilion.

Christine Taylor, the owner and creative director of Choccywoccydoodah, dreamt up the fairytale idea while David Ratcliffe - affectionately nicknamed Caption Creative or 'Pop' - has spent six weeks turning the designs into a reality.

The unicorn eggs are now on display in the Meeting House Lane shop window for all to admire, while the dragons are on show in the London store.

Christine said: "The world is such a dark place at the moment but we are in the privileged position of working in this industry which is a real joy so we wanted to go all out and create a bit of fun and ridiculousness to bring a bit of pleasure where we can.

"I love the Fabergé eggs for the piece of nonsense that they are. I am inspired by somebody's ridiculous fantasy. They are iconic globally and serve no purpose apart from being beautiful. I adore anything that's completely over the top.

"These are quite an expensive feast."

For £25,000, customers will receive a trio of eggs - each showing a stage of the mythical animal hatching.

Weighing a combined 100kg, with each measuring 90cm tall, they have an untold amount of calories.

Made entirely out of Callebaut Belgian chocolate and topped with sparkling food paint and glitter, customers will have to give the shop at least three weeks' notice to order their own.

Prospective buyers are expected to be wealthy London clients or members of overseas royal families.

Christine said: "We have quite a number of Middle Eastern royal families who will send a plane over just for chocolate. Or maybe someone who is planning to buy a BMW will change their mind and spend the money on some giant chocolate eggs.

"For everyone else I say come and visit - they are monumental. They are very much worth a special trip even if it is just to look in the window and lick the glass."

For her, the excitement was all in the creating and by the time it becomes a reality her mind is elsewhere, thinking up designs for the forthcoming season.

Masterpieces took six weeks to create

THE team at Choccywoccydoodah worked non-stop on the designs for six weeks.

From owner and creative director Christine Taylor’s ideas, sculptor David Ratcliffe, nicknamed CaptainCreative, set to work.

First luxurious Callebaut Belgian milk and white chocolate were blended to taste and tempered to form a marbling effect before being poured into giant egg moulds.

The milk chocolate, made up of 50 per cent cocoa solid, and the white chocolate, which is ten per cent cocoa butter, were built up and remoulded so the shape became thick enough and strong enough to stand and be manipulated into shape.

Chocolate feet and claws were sculpted so the eggs could stand before more chocolate was shaped for the design.

This involved making another egg mould to crack and decorate to give the illusion of the animal hatching out of the shell. Chocolate was also be sculpted into the shape of a dragon or unicorn before being decorated with sparkling food paint and glitter.

The result is a trio of 90cm eggs, weighing 100kg, hand made and sculpted entirely out of chocolate and costing £25,000. They are made to order and require three weeks’ notice. Individual designs can be discussed at an additional cost.

Christine said: “Dave is amazing, he makes my dreams become reality.”