Fazer Mignon Egg is a Finnish Easter Surprise

Scandinavia is home to a unique Easter treat, a Mignon egg. You’ll find it at Fazer Cafes and shops. The Mignon, a seasonal, egg-shaped sweet is made by just the one company that created it and contains a solid almond-hazelnut nougat that is hand-poured into a genuine eggshell.

The roots of the Fazer Group date back to 1891, when confectioner Karl Fazer opened a café in Helsinki’s city center, on a pedestrian street called Kluuvikatu. While known for other offerings, the Mignon is Fazer’s second oldest product. Its manufacturing started in 1896 after opening the factory in 1894.

Fazer studied in St. Petersburg, where he trained to become a confectioner. The concept for a chocolate egg came from having discovered a similar type of egg while in Germany. Fazer decided to replicate it and began manufacturing Easter eggs using real eggshells.

Usually, factory production of the Mignon kicks off right before Christmas and continues until March.

How Mignon Eggs are Made

Producing a Fazer Mignon involves a lengthy step-by-step process. “We use only Finnish chicken eggs since the quality and food safety of eggs in Finland is the best in the world,” shares Liisa Eerola, Fazer Group’s vice president, communications and reputation management. “All Mignon eggshells need to be the same size, which is the reason for collecting them throughout the year.”

These farm-sourced eggs get shipped to DAVA Foods, Fazer’s supplier’s packing plant in the municipality of Kaarina, in Southwest Finland. This plant specializes in handling these eggs.

“For Mignon eggs, only eggs of a certain size and weight are selected, so that the delicacy always comes in the same size for the consumer,” explains Eeorla. “In addition, the eggs should be of first-class quality and have a uniform surface and color.”

Preparing these eggs to become Mignons involves much handiwork.

First, a hole of 10 to 12 millimeters in size (from just over 3/8th of an inch to almost half an inch) is drilled into each egg. The inner parts of an egg are also removed. A film is peeled off the egg from around the drilled hole.

All the eggshells are laid out to dry, with their drilled areas facing upwards, and taken to a thermal room for the night. After drying, the eggshells are carefully inspected and then packaged and shipped to Fazer’s chocolate factory in the Finnish city of Vantaa. About 1.6 million shells are prepared annually.

While the exact recipe is kept a secret, this Mignon’s filling is made of almonds, hazelnuts and cocoa butter.

“We have a special line for filling the eggs and every shell is filled by hand,” says Eeorla. “The process requires both talent and know-how.”

Once filled, the eggs are cooled. Their drilled holes are closed with a sugar mass.

The finished Mignon eggs are all packed by hand. It’s suggested to peel it like a hard-boiled egg to eat it.

Where to Find a Mignon Egg

The Mignon is sold throughout Fazer’s cafes and factories in Finland and other parts of Scandinavia, grocery stores, airport shops, ferry terminals, and available for shipping throughout Scandinavia and the United Kingdom. Outside of Europe, Fazer has a distributor in Canada, but it also might be possible for U.S. customers to find Fazer products through third-party sellers such as Amazon.

If visiting Helsinki, head to the original Fazer Café Kluuvikatu 3 to purchase Fazer products and order food and beverage menu items. Or travel to the Fazer Experience Visitor Centre in Vantaa for a full-on chocolate wonderland.