Marks & Spencer unveils Easter chocolate carrot made with 23 carat edible gold leaf

Marks & Spencer has come up with a clever, luxury alternative to the traditional chocolate Easter egg this spring.

The retailer this week unveiled its '23 carrot gold egg', a clever pun given it comes hand-decorated with real 23 carat edible gold leaf on top.

They revealed that the bulk of the carrot-shaped dessert, produced in the UK, is made from "deliciously moreish blond chocolate".

What's more, when shoppers indulge, they will also receive four salted caramel-filled chocolate bunny ears – two white and two milk chocolate.

M&S Food announced the unusual launch on Instagram on Wednesday, and suggested that customers could purchase it imminently.

They wrote: "Introducing our new eggs-ellent '23 carrot gold' egg! Made from golden blond chocolate before being coated in edible gold leaf, this treat comes complete with salted caramel-filled chocolate bunny ears. Who’s going to be picking one of these up this week?!"

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Commenting on the post, which has received more than 8,800 'likes', social media users described the product as "amazing" and revealed it was "going in my basket".

However, some suggested that the "phallic" carrot seemed more like a "Valentine's item" in tongue-in-cheek comments on the post.

One person wrote: "I think someone should have done a bit of market research on what these items actually look like. Hint: it’s not a carrot or bunny ears."

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Another shared: "Am I the only one looking at that carrot with raised eyebrows !!!?"

A third pointed out: "Looking like an advert for Ann Summers!"

And a fourth added: "Who on earth thought that ‘carrot’ was a good idea – are you certain it isn’t a Valentine’s ‘top shelf’ item?!"

While exact details are yet to be released, the 'egg' is expected to be available in M&S Food Halls nationwide from this week.

Watch: Shoppers queue outside Marks & Spencer on London's Oxford Street on Black Friday