Jaffa Cakes

[Anders]

Do you eat them? Do you like them? What is the best brand? Have you tried making them at home?

[Anders]

Here are some various brands:

[JuanHamm]

Didn't Jorge start a thread about these before?

Either way, I love them. They were my first exposure to the joy of orange and chocolate together. As a Brit my preferred brand is Jacobs.

[Jorge]

Didn't Jorge start a thread about these before?

Impossible as I have no idea what they are

Well, some idea, now

[lennytheweedwhacker]

Didn't Jorge start a thread about these before?

Impossible as I have no idea what they are

Well, some idea, now

You do not.

[Anders]

Jaffa Cakes are a cake introduced by McVitie and Price in the UK in 1927 and named after Jaffa oranges.

Because McVitie's did not register the name "Jaffa Cakes" as a trademark, other biscuit manufacturers and supermarkets have made similar products under the same name.

In 2012 they were ranked the best selling cake or biscuit in the United Kingdom.

[Anders]

They have always been in the biscuit aisle in Norwegian shops. But the brands have changed with time. The most popular ones now are the cheap ones.

I only buy them rarely (been years now), but really felt lile eating some this past week.

[96583UP]

i cannot recall having eaten them but i will

i will find some

and eat them

and then report back here

[Anders]

Great. Very successful thread.

[tragabigzanda]

from the ashes of tonkotsu

[Anders]

Well, one is a biscuit, the other is a cake.

[Jorge]

A biscuit is just a little cake

[Anders]

That’s not true.

McVitie’s had been making Jaffa Cakes since 1927. But they were challenged for labelling their chocolate orange treats as ‘cakes’ in 1991 by Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise.

It was accepted under UK law that biscuits were a luxury item and the full VAT would be levied. But cakes, on the other hand, have been regarded as a staple food — so were zero-rated for the purposes of VAT.

Customs and Excise decided to rule Jaffa Cakes to be biscuits, partly covered in chocolate, and therefore standard-rate. But the cake manufacturers appealed against the decision and the matter went to court.

The arguments for Jaffa Cakes being a biscuit included: their size, as they were more like biscuits than cakes; packaging, as it was similar to biscuits; and marketing, as they were generally displayed for sale with biscuits rather than cakes. It was also put to the court that they were eaten as a snack, with the fingers, whereas a cake may be expected to be eaten with a fork.

But the key turning point was when McVitie’s QC highlighted how cakes harden when they go stale, biscuits go soggy. A Jaffa goes hard. The case was proven.

During the court battle between Mcvitie’s and Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise, Mcvitie’s baked a giant Jaffa Cake to prove that Jaffa cakes were really cakes and not biscuits.

It was a long and costly dispute, but McVities finally tasted sweet success and Jaffa Cakes were finally recognised as chocolate covered cakes.

Now the £1.19billion Jaffa Cakes made every year are free of the consumer tax.

[JuanHamm]

A biscuit is just a little cake

Ridiculous.

[JuanHamm]

I polished off a box of chocolate digestives last night. I love them, but Hobnobs are better.

[Jorge]

That’s not true.

McVitie’s had been making Jaffa Cakes since 1927. But they were challenged for labelling their chocolate orange treats as ‘cakes’ in 1991 by Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise.

It was accepted under UK law that biscuits were a luxury item and the full VAT would be levied. But cakes, on the other hand, have been regarded as a staple food — so were zero-rated for the purposes of VAT.

Customs and Excise decided to rule Jaffa Cakes to be biscuits, partly covered in chocolate, and therefore standard-rate. But the cake manufacturers appealed against the decision and the matter went to court.

The arguments for Jaffa Cakes being a biscuit included: their size, as they were more like biscuits than cakes; packaging, as it was similar to biscuits; and marketing, as they were generally displayed for sale with biscuits rather than cakes. It was also put to the court that they were eaten as a snack, with the fingers, whereas a cake may be expected to be eaten with a fork.

But the key turning point was when McVitie’s QC highlighted how cakes harden when they go stale, biscuits go soggy. A Jaffa goes hard. The case was proven.

During the court battle between Mcvitie’s and Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise, Mcvitie’s baked a giant Jaffa Cake to prove that Jaffa cakes were really cakes and not biscuits.

It was a long and costly dispute, but McVities finally tasted sweet success and Jaffa Cakes were finally recognised as chocolate covered cakes.

Now the £1.19billion Jaffa Cakes made every year are free of the consumer tax.

Spoiler: show

"I shouldn't be talking like this," said McVitie. "But truthfully, if you want my honest opinion, if you want to know where I truly stand on the how and why of it all... a biscuit is just a little cake."

[tragabigzanda]

from the ashes of tonkotsu

[tragabigzanda]

from the ashes of tonkotsu

[JuanHamm]

I polished off a box of chocolate digestives last night. I love them, but Hobnobs are better.

Why do you like the Hobnobs better? I kind of go back and forth on this.

I like the texture better and I guess I just slightly prefer the oaty flavor of the Hobnobs to the maltier flavor of the digestives.

It's close and I would never turn down a digestive.

[Anders]

That’s true.