Jaffa cakes - Biscuits or Cakes?

Conor108

Friend insists their cakes. The fool!

javaboy

There's no biscuit in them and they are actually branded as cakes so.... em cakes.

Xavi6

They're in the biscuits section in the supermarket so that's good enough for me.

spurious

Er...cakes.

minxie

cakes,
gorgeous topping and a spongy bottom.....:p

RE*AC*TOR

Biscuits go soft when stale.
Cakes go hard when stale.

So they are cakes.

JIZZLORD

Cakes : they go hard when left out for a few days
Biscuits : they go soggy if you leave them out for a few days.

that argument was used by mc vities in the high court in england a few years back in regards to the different taxes on cakes and choc biscuits. They won

Yes the VAT man wanted it to be a biscuit. That way it would fall by virtue of its chocolate coat into a category of products liable to VAT at the standard rate, i.e. luxury biscuits. As a cake however it is zero rated for VAT, no matter how luxuriant, much to the VAT man’s continuing annoyance. In fact Wifey and I once had a chat with ex Tory Minister John Knott who brought in VAT when the Conservative Government of the time took Britain into the Common Market. He recalled that the whole VAT introduction went surprisingly well expect for the Jaffa cake which caused all sorts of problems. In 1991 the matter went to a tribunal (number 6344 in case you were wondering) in which the VAT man argued that the Jaffa wasn’t a cake and so should not be exempt from VAT (VATA 1983 Sch 5 Group 1 excepted item 2), trotting out all the old arguments. McVities countered with all of the other old arguments plus a specially prepared 12 inch Jaffa Cake, which focused the tribunal’s attention on the sponge base. The tribunal concluded that, while the product also had characteristics of biscuits or confectionery which was not cake, it had sufficient characteristics of cakes to be a cake for the purposes of zero-rating. (The tribunal also determined that the product was not a biscuit.)

http://www.nicecupofteaandasitdown.com/jaffajudgement/

trout

I've been told, by people with very big brains, that there is a scientific way of proving this.

Apparently, biscuits and cakes react differently when they are left out in the air.

Biscuits go soft, and cakes go hard ... something to do with how they are made/moisture levels/ingredients ... whatever.

I've never been ar$ed to find out though ... any time I leave jaffa cakes out, I feel compelled to eat them.

I love them jaffa cakes. They are cakes.

/Edit - too slow ... again ^^

javaboy

JIZZLORD wrote: »

Cakes : they go hard when left out for a few days
Biscuits : they go soggy if you leave them out for a few days.

that argument was used by mc vities in the high court in england a few years back in regards to the different taxes on cakes and choc biscuits. They won

It's hilarious to think of stuff like that going to court. The recent Pringles case was another good one.

JIZZLORD

if it makes their product cheaper on the shelves, and thus making them cheaper than regular biscuits it makes sense. it's all about the money $$$$$

humanji

javaboy wrote: »

It's hilarious to think of stuff like that going to court. The recent Pringles case was another good one.

What was the Pringles case?

Oh, and technically, a biscuit is a cake, so they're definitely cakes and possibly biscuits.

One Cold Hand

They're called Jaffa cakes, not jaffa biscuits. That's a scientific fact.

Xavi6

One Cold Hand wrote: »

They're called Jaffa cakes, not jaffa biscuits. That's a scientific fact.

False advertising

robinph

Cakes, and the tax man agrees.

Reku

I would say biscuits by virtue of their size and their base not being soft enough to be a cake IMO, but then I'm not a big biscuit or cake eater so I could be completely wrong, in fact reading the prior replies I highly suspect I am.:o

Truck

In my humble opinion they are BUISCUITS !

If you were sent down to the shop to get a nice cake.
You would'nt come back with a box of Jaffa cakes!
They are in the buiscuit section in every shop.

:rolleyes:

javaboy

humanji wrote: »

What was the Pringles case?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2248033/Pringles-'are-not-crisps,'-judge-rules.html

Reku

javaboy wrote: »

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2248033/Pringles-'are-not-crisps,'-judge-rules.html

Daft trials....
Now we see why it takes so long to get criminals convicted, bloody courts are tied up with this tripe.:rolleyes:

fitz0

McVities countered with all of the other old arguments plus a specially prepared 12 inch Jaffa Cake

Sweet mother of jaysus Id kill for that cake!

humanji

javaboy wrote: »

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2248033/Pringles-'are-not-crisps,'-judge-rules.html

lol

Run_to_da_hills

They are only biscuits, and the company should be done for misleading the public.

kaimera

biscakes.

simple solution.

javaboy

farohar wrote: »

I would say biscuits by virtue of their size and their base not being soft enough to be a cake IMO, but then I'm not a big biscuit or cake eater so I could be completely wrong, in fact reading the prior replies I highly suspect I am.:o

The size argument. :rolleyes: Mr. Kipling makes exceedingly good cakes and they're tiny. Those little jam tarts are still tarts regardless of size. Jaffa Cakes are just smaller than average cakes.

Size isn't everything you know.

Conor108

Theres cocaine in it!:D

adsgirl

Big fat corporate lie.....

Try putting a Jaffa Cake out for visitors....ooooh what way shall i cut???
Off to the biscuit section, and million pound law suits:mad:

javaboy

adsgirl wrote: »

Big fat corporate lie.....

Try putting a Jaffa Cake out for visitors....ooooh what way shall i cut???
Off to the biscuit section, and million pound law suits:mad:

See my size isn't everything argument. What way would you cut a French Fancy, one of Mr. Kipling's exceedingly small cakes?

adsgirl

javaboy wrote: »

See my size isn't everything argument. What way would you cut a French Fancy, one of Mr. Kipling's exceedingly small cakes?

Wouldn't even get the knife out, biggest rip off this century, and we are buying into that crap...
Off to Lidl for their scrummy real cakes same price as a packet of Jaffas, less even, and cut to your heart is content..
Tell Mc Vities the buck stops in Lidl!

elmolesto

Cakes for me

18AD

Jaffa snacks! :pac:

Knightfall

They are so cakes. They're called cakes, they look like little cakes, and they taste sooo cakey. I love them.

Dudess

Hmmm... that court case thingie makes a good point, but they're still packaged and presented like biscuits. It's a difficult one.

On a related note: there are two types of Jaffa Cake - the soft, slightly moist one (Jacobs - orange box) and the drier, chewier one (McVities - blue box). Which one do you guys prefer? The ones in the blue box win hands down imo. I find the other ones too soggy...

Marcus.Aurelius

Cake. I like cake.

The jacobs ones are the nicest imo.