London: It is about the size of a small hen's egg, but it weighs 40g and packs a whopping 177 kilocalories, which is more than an actual egg and makes it a significantly less healthy option.
The world-famous Creme Egg is a trademark of the British-based global Cadbury chocolate company, which was acquired in 2010 for $19.5 billion by US beverage and food juggernaut Mondelez International.
The foil-wrapped egg, which has a thick milk chocolate shell and is filled with gooey white fondant and yellow "yolk," is a "Marmite" product. With six teaspoons of sugar in each egg, you either find it too sickly-sweet to eat, or you become addicted to the huge chocolate-covered calorie hit it provides.
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In either case, Easter is when the Creme Egg really shines in Christian nations, but it also has a devoted fan base all over the world, including in the Middle East.
It can be found in supermarkets like Tamimi Markets and Carrefour in places like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where it is especially well-liked as a sweet treat during Ramadan, which falls this year on Easter.
In the UK, Easter is the "eggcellent" media's silly season, and it is a testament to this obsession that fondant-filled Creme Eggs are frequently the subject of numerous articles at this time of year.
Consider the news stories that appeared in the last week alone: "Police solve 200,000 Creme Egg theft case."
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In stores all over the UK, Cadbury has placed 280 limited-edition, half-white, half-milk chocolate eggs as part of an Easter promotion that runs through April 9. The winning eggs, which bear the slogan "Cadbury Creme Egg — How Do You Not Eat Yours?" must be kept unopened in order for the purchaser to win the prize.
Unfortunately, YouTuber Adam Davis accidentally downed one while live-streaming on his channel Adz Ventures before viewers called attention to his pricey oversight.
One could be excused for suspecting that any one of these stories—or, in fact, all of them, along with many more at this time of year—might have come from Cadbury's public relations division.
But even if they did, the mainstream media's readiness to treat them as gospel is a reflection of the love people have for a treat that has been a UK bestseller for more than fifty years.
The first Cadbury Creme Egg was introduced in 1971, but the history of this treat dates back to 1824, when John Cadbury, a wealthy Quaker family's son, opened a grocery store in Birmingham and began selling drinking chocolate and cocoa.
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The Quakers, a Christian sect founded on the notion that "each individual can experience inner light, or the voice of God, without needing a priest, or the Bible," were a significant influence on Cadbury's beliefs and the founding principles of the company.